Dirty Dance -- Degardes Girls

REPOSTED FROM:
Teens: Twerking degrades girls
By Briana Stansbury
Oakland Tribune Teen Correspondent

Dirty dancing is nothing new at high school dances. Dark rooms, loud music and rebellious teens -- not to mention often a lack of adult supervision -- is a recipe for all sorts of bumping and grinding.

Yet it seems that in the last decade, dirty dancing has gone from boys and girls being 6 inches apart to almost pornographic levels. Dirty dancing has been taken to a different level.

A new type of dancing has entered the teen world. It's called "twerking," and it is as repulsive as it sounds. I have been a jazz dancer for four years, and from my point of view, this type of "dancing" seems to annihilate the basic tenets of dance.

To me, dance is a form of expression, a way of connecting with the self. It forces the dancer to be incredibly in-tune with his or her body -- emotionally and physically. As a result, it builds self-esteem and creates powerful, centered individuals. Twerking seems to do just the opposite.

"Twerking" involves a boy and a girl and sometimes their surroundings as well. Chairs, walls and even other people are used to assist in this form of "dance." Usually, the boy sits and the girl, butt out and shaking, administers a sort of lap dance -- thus the chair. Teens get creative with walls and the use of other people. Usually boys stand against the walls, while girls "twerk" on them.
Boy behind girl, hips moving in circular motions with the occasional "popping" and "dropping" introduced in 2006 by Huey in his hit single "Pop, Lock & Drop It." "Popping" requires the lower back muscles in order to pull the butt up in a sort of reversed humping motion. "Dropping" -- often referred to as "droppin' it" -- is when a girl, after a few minutes of dancing, bends down in a sexualized manner as if to pick up a pen.

The implications of this "dance" should be enough to make girls question what they are doing. "Twerking" proliferates the sexual stereotype of male dominance by using women's bodies as sex tools. Girls do the actual "twerking" while boys stand and allow themselves to be danced on. The man is in control while the girl does all the work. Young women should have more respect for themselves and their bodies. No girl should feel the need to "twerk" for any guy, anywhere.

At a recent winter ball I attended, I was stunned to see a boy pick up a girl on the dance floor and use other people to hold her up as the two continued to dirty dance. Pelvises connected, both focused on gyration, the couple continued to "dance" as other people held the girl in the air. It was the first time I had witnessed the seriousness with which teenagers were committing to this form of "dance."

It was not the last time I would witness outrageous displays of twerking. More than simply appalling, it was blatantly degrading. Teenage girls need to realize their worth and find a new level of respect for their bodies and for themselves.