Abby Addresses Twerking
On May 7, 2014, a letter was published in the “Dear Abby” column in which the author showed concern for her son because she heard him mention twerking and didn’t know what the term meant.
Numerous sources hint that the columnist might be the victim of trolling, considering the language of the letter and the fact that Princeton does not give athletic scholarships. This may be true. However, my issue isn’t the letter itself but the way Abby described twerking.
Miley Cyrus didn’t make twerking popular. The VMAs didn’t even air until August 25, 2013. YouTuber Caramel Kitten has been posting twerking videos for a year now.
The Official Twerk Team has been posting for at least 3 years! There have been twerking tutorial videos online for years, as well.
Before “The Wobble” gained popularity because of its associated line dance, rapper V.I.C. made a song “Twerk It” in 2012. It too had a video. Late Southern Soul artist Jackie Neal sang about “twurking it” back in 2002. Who can forget the Ying Yang Twins “Whistle While You Twurk” in 2000? Cheeky Blakk in New Orleans made the song “Twerk Something” wwwaaayyy back in 1995, but the first recording of the word twerk/twurk is said to have been made in DJ Jubilee’s “Do the Jubilee All” in 1993. Remember DJ Jubilee? “Get Ready, Ready”
Yes, I had to take that break to remind YOU, not because I just wanted to dance to it for nostalgic purposes or anything. *side eye* Now, back to the subject at hand….
So, why is it that “twerking” is supposed to have been popularized by Miley Cyrus? Is it because mainstream America wasn’t aware of the dance style until she did her version on the VMAs? If that’s the case, I guess President Obama popularized politics, even though others were voting even before we had the opportunity.