In light of Miley Cyrus attempting to twerk, pop culture writer Michael Arceneaux is tired of people getting excited whenever White people decide to get in on Black culture.
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Welcome to the wonderful world of twerking, White people. I’m so happy that you’ve finally joined us Negroes— albeit a few decades too late. Better late than never. Now before you get too comfortable, I need y’all to cease and desist with efforts to colonize my preferred method of dancing (once that gin gets in my system and someone pole becomes my victim).
I don’t have anything against Billy Ray Cyrus’ kid, but it’s frustrating as hell to see fairest skinned America crown her captain of the twerk team. We already have a Twerk Team and their thigh muscles been putting in work. Like cute for Miley Cyrus donning a unicorn suit and twerking something for the cell phone camera, but why is she getting national headlines for something many of us have been doing for what feels like forever?
One mainstream publication gave it this header: “Twerk it, girl! Miley Cyrus shows off her pop star training as she pulls off tricky dance routine while wearing a unicorn onesie”
Y’all know damn well if Raven-Symoné did the same thing it would not be cause for celebration. Plus, Ryan Seacrest tried the absolute hell out of it when he told the artist formally known to our nieces as Hannah Montana on his radio show, “It [twerking] is weird [but] weird is mainstreaming now.” Umm, “Weird?!”
Seacrest went on to acknowledge, “I didn’t know so much about it” – prompting Miley Cyrus to give him a quick history lesson.
It boggles the mind how the host of a nationally syndicated radio show plus soon to be named emperor of the universe had no clue about twerking. Maybe Seacrest was out on a bathroom break during Lil’ Jon’s “crunk era,” but he had to have heard Beyoncé mention twerking on songs like “Check On It,” which pop radio played to death. The same can be said for other crossover acts like Nicki Minaj, Usher, and Rihanna.
It’s not that I have a problem with White people twerking. I can recall my intern supervisor at a news station once doing a demonstration of Ciara’s “Goodies” era booty pop. During the departments lunch break, obviously. Thing was, while he knew what he was twerking with, he also understood exactly where it came from.
This all just goes to show how little the things we do matter until a White person joins in on the fun. That wouldn’t be as irritating if we weren’t frowned upon for it, though. Don’t give Miley a cookie for her twerk and shade to the rest of us when we do it.
Read the full story at EBONY.
