Something saddened me the other day. As my kids and I exited Red Robin, I glanced up at one of the ubiquitous screens to find a clip of an amazing Polynesian dancer, circling omis (pelvic circles) at top speed, while floating across the stage in a full walking squat. If you have ever seen this, you know how freakin impressive it looks~ and it if youve ever tried it, you know how freakin challenging it is to do, let alone with grace. Pointing the dancer out in admiration, my 12-year-old daughter turned to me and commented dryly, What is she, twerking? I couldnt believe it. The trash talk around twerking and what its come to represent had poisoned even my daughters perception - the daughter of a bellydancer for Petes sake!! Whos seen firsthand how empowering it is when a woman moves her hips and booty not as a come hither for a male viewer but as an unleashing of her beauty and strength--a connection to her feminine core that I believe is intimidating to culture at large so they comfy-couch it in terms of seduction and objectification, especially with its non-Euro origins. I explained to my daughter what the Polynesian dancer was doing, and added that twerking, in fact, comes from African dance and has been appropriated and couched in terms palatable to society at large, to demean it. Watch these ladies break it down and youll know what Im talking about. Embrace the twerk, the omi, and the shimmy. Heck yeah a woman dancing in her full femininity is delicious to see. But shes not doin it for you. That sometimes we get to watch? Thats just a bonus ;)
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:21:24 +0000
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