White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
I just came across a video today on facebook with some white girls twerking and I thought about this, from my white stripper perspective. Is white girls twerking a kind of cultural appropriation? Does it make any difference at all if it's done in a stripclub, on a stage? I always associated twerking with stripclubs because that's where I first saw it, but I've realised that while some just think of it as dancing some see it as offensive when white people twerk.
In a way I can relate to this - as a stripper. I get angry when people don't give strippers the credit they deserve, for example when pole dancers who only ever took classes in a studio say they would make sooo much money as a stripper but they just chose not to. Yeah right. Or when they try in other ways to profit from the sexy image of the stripper. They take this thing that I know very well, the good and the bad, and pretend that they know just what they are talking about when really they have no clue. They are trying to be cool and to be part of something a little "edgy" that I take all the hate for. They want the sexy part of it, but not the hard part. It annoys me when we live in a world where strippers are seen in such a bad light and where our ecperiences are completely overlooked, that some people would play around with it and pretend they know it. When it's actually something that you have to live to fully understand.
Maybe noone thinks the same way about it or even get what I mean but still...
I can imagine white girls twerking being kind of the same thing, but worse because of white privilege and racism, someone doing it for fun, but not getting any of the context. Not living it.
I never did any twerking myself, I have the typical slow sensual style with some energetic pole tricks thrown in that you see a lot of in Europe, and yes I shake my ass but not in that distinct twerking style.
What are your thoughts? Can a white girl twerk without it being cultural appropriation? Does it make any difference at all if it happens in a stripclub, if a stripper is doing it? Is it just dancing or is there more to it?
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Well...I dunno. I guess it can be annoying if girls are twerking and trying to act cool and annoying about it like "oh look at me...I can twerk like those black girls" kind of thing. Like Miley Cyrus. Otherwise I don't care. I don't get annoyed when I see black people doing traditional white things.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Twerking originated in New Orleans (my second home) in the bounce music scene. I just find it crazy that it gets all of this attention all of a sudden just because some white girls began doing it. It's been out for yearssss and has been "perfected" already. Anything out of the norm creates buzz I guess.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Oh forgot to mention, in the club I don't care. I've worked in clubs where booty shaking was the norm and was expected so I had to adapt. Black, white, whatever. Anyone can twerk and I'm cool with it.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
It's probably fine as long as it's done in earnest and not for irony.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
meh. i dont feel like black ppl HAVE to do only black things and white people HAVE to do only white things, think that's bordering on nazi PC a bit. anybody of any race should feel free to do anything, and shouldn't feel that they can't do it because of the color of their skin, black or white, that's what's racist. and there are certain things that i grew up with that lived through that i see upper class girls try to emulate, joke around about, etc. i just find it funny and kind of cute i guess lmao
the only reason i get annoyed by girls doing pole work who aren't strippers, or attempting to do stripperish things is because the more prevalent and out there stripping because, the more normal it seems and the more we lose out on money. all about money to me in that respect.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Twerking (if you mean shaking the ass in a sexual/dance style) probably started back in 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were not black, contrary to what a few ill-informed people will try to tell you. I don't have any direct evidence for this other than wall paintings of clearly erotic dancers, but I can assure you women shaking their asses to get guys' attention was not 'invented' within the last 50 years.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
I think it's amusing when Miley does it. Hell it's almost as amusing when I do it because we both look ridiculous. I just don't take myself seriously.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Djoser
Twerking (if you mean shaking the ass in a sexual/dance style) probably started back in 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were not black, contrary to what a few ill-informed people will try to tell you. I don't have any direct evidence for this other than wall paintings of clearly erotic dancers, but I can assure you women shaking their asses to get guys' attention was not 'invented' within the last 50 years.
Yeah I figured as much, I don't know the history of ass shaking but I'm sure it has been done by people somewhere, someplace, over human history. But I think that nowadays its more associated with black culture than anything else, to the point that it could be considered cultural appropriation.
And anyway, it's not just whites that cultural appropriate (sorry this wording is new to me), although whites may do it for the wrong reason. For example, the flag of my mother's country is green yellow red. I have grown up with her culture and since I was young I saw plenty of people from the Caribbean, Jamaicans in particular, wearing those colors, and other African countries have adopted the color to use in their own flags. At first when I saw Jamaicans wearing those colors I thought it was strange, but they really do it out of admiration of sorts. Sometimes I would see Rastafarians wearing stuff with King Haile Selassie, who I have mixed feelings about. But hey, it's a free country and they can do whatever.
I do think that credit should be given where it is due, however. Another example of cultural appropriation from my mother's country that pissed off the whole family was when they heard about this:
http://media.tumblr.com/f4f59d8cbc6f...Gu11qz4rgp.jpg
What pissed off my family and the community mostly was that I think the guy who made these dresses never mentioned where he got the inspiration from. If he had at least mentioned he was inspired by those African dresses, I think a lot of people would be a whole lot less pissed off.
Anyway, I went off on a tangent. But not sure in the case of twerking. Maybe when artists use it they could mention which artists or dancers they got the inspiration from.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
caramelDip
I just find it crazy that it gets all of this attention all of a sudden just because some white girls began doing it. It's been out for yearssss and has been "perfected" already. Anything out of the norm creates buzz I guess.
Lol, I agree. I don't go out much and I barely even knew what the word twerk was until I heard about that Miley Cyrus thing. In the meantime I've seen people of all races twerking at the club over the last few years, I thought it was just a strip club thing to be honest.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
If white people can appropriate rap why not twerking? Doesn't mean it will be a pretty sight!
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Why is it just white girls? Pretty sure I've seen every color shaking it. Just like I've seen big and little booties shaking it.
I'm personally not that great at it but would like to get better. I've seen some amazing asswork by girls of all colors. I don't see the issue.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
"Appropriation" usually has a negative connotation. "Assimilation" usually has a positive one. I suppose whichever concept you see in place here would depend on your personal worldview and life experience.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stormi Weather
"Appropriation" usually has a negative connotation. "Assimilation" usually has a positive one. I suppose whichever concept you see in place here would depend on your personal worldview and life experience.
Yes, well I never thought about it from that point of view before, that it could be something negative, until I realised some people thought of it as appropriation. I just (like most people here I guess) thought of it as a strip club thing.
Where to draw the line between appropriation and assimilation... I don't know. I think it's difficult sometimes to know for sure but it probably has to do with your motives and attitude - how you do it and why.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sansonnet
Anyway, I went off on a tangent.
It's interesting to read about!
Sometimes there is a bit of stealing going on in fashion.
There was a show a few years ago, I think it was Dior, where they clearly had gotten some (a lot of) inspiration from the Andean culture. When you think about the fact that a lot of people who live there are very poor, and these clothes were sold for a very high price it's a bit... I don't know, it just seems like there could at least be some credit given when some items are bordering on being an expensive copy of what they make.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Djoser
Twerking (if you mean shaking the ass in a sexual/dance style) probably started back in 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were not black, contrary to what a few ill-informed people will try to tell you. I don't have any direct evidence for this other than wall paintings of clearly erotic dancers, but I can assure you women shaking their asses to get guys' attention was not 'invented' within the last 50 years.
It's not a new way of dancing you're right about that.
I'm not so sure though the egyptian dance was originally done just to get male attention - dance used to be rituals, sometimes religious, and have a lot of symbolism. But yes dancing was also entertainment as it became more secular. Probably it was at least partially done for attention but the ancient egyptians didn't even view nudity the way we do today so I think it's hard to say for sure that it was erotic.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
While I do empathize with all of the perspectives, in this thread, I support the shaking of booty's of all ethnicities. I do think its weird that Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, and a gazillion other black artists have been twerking it for years and no one said a word until Hannah Montana started shaking it. Now, all of the sudden, schools are kicking kids out if school for twerking and everyone is freaking out about it. If society thinks twerking is so nasty, why is it ok for black women to twerk? It seems like that sends a message that society believes black women are less moral that white girls, thus held to a lower standard. At least that's my take. And I do think that's crummy.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
i feel like it was just because it was former squeeky clean disney child miley, not so much that it was a white girl but i could be wrong! i feel like with iggy azalea nobody would bat an eyelash.
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Yeah Miley sure started something when she called that tiny little brief ass shake 'twerking'. Even I am now pretty much accepting the term as meaning ass shaking in general, whereas 6 months ago I would have been arguing that it meant a specific kind of ass shaking, one which I have seen a lot more black girls doing than white.
God knows there are a zillion ways to shake an ass, and some of them are a lot more extreme, stylistically speaking.
Truthfully--though I am a very big fan of booty shaking--I never cared for the strictly defined 'twerking' ass shaking style. Though it is impressive from an athletic point of view, it doesn't do much for me aesthetically or otherwise. Not that it matters so much what I like--it's more what the paying customers like, & what gets the guys to take the dancers into the Champagne Rooms, etc.
I do think way too many dancers use it as a crutch though. Rather like the ones who spend most of their first stage song cleaning the poles, but never do any tricks. :D
Re: White girls twerking = Cultural appropriation?
Internet culture. Everyone wants to be in on the joke, that is all that is going on here imo.
Twerking is basically a meme
Think of it like this. If you have ever said "the cake is a lie" but didn't play Portal... same thing.