Miley Cyrus Must Be Stopped!

I’m sick of Miley Cyrus. I’m not sick of her for the same reasons you’re probably sick of her, though. Sure, she’s out here “twerking” (she’s really doing a poor job of twerking, by the way), either trying to prove that she’s not Hannah Montana or trying to convince Satan to let her into the Illuminati, but that’s not why I think that Miley Cyrus must be stopped.

Miley Cyrus must be stopped because she’s helping my people to become science experiments and making us the “other” again. ABC News took Miley’s twerking cues and wrote up a scientific research article about it. Really, ABC? The problem that I have with this is that twerking is being studied, and for a PhD to be consulted for this, that person didn’t feel the need to research African roots of the dance or how it transitioned in slavery to what it is now in America? There are forms of twerking from Africa to the Caribbean to hip-hop videos, and even down at your local strip club. Open, unashamed twerking has existed in Black America since at least the mid-90s. I remember it in the 2 Live Crew and Luke videos in the early 90s. None of that was mentioned in the article.

I “get” that the article was written in a light-hearted way, but I need ABC and other majority-white publications to stop it. Black people are not science experiments. As I read on Twitter, for all the talk of America being post-racial, black people are quick to be “othered” when it comes to dancing, food, music, etc. And now we have a rhythm-less white woman re-purposing her muscle twitches and spasms as a dance that’s been popular in black culture. She used black dancers as props during her MTV Video Awards performance. She’s using our culture as a stepping stone for her to get more attention as she reinvents herself for the sake of her bank account. 2 Live Crew and Uncle Luke were called obscene for having women twerk in their videos, yet Miley is celebrated, lauded, and gets way too much attention for being a thief. ABC is reporting on her by peering at black people through a microscope instead of just letting us live as we let others live. Elvis Presley and the Beatles stole from Little Richard and James Brown. Madonna stole from Grace Jones. Beyonce stole from

And none of those artists have ever thanked or given credit to the artists from which they stole music, techniques, dance moves, or ideas.

 

I’m a person, not a thing. I could talk about how this extends into other parts of life (even sexually), but I’ve blogged enough for today. Stop treating my music, food, pattern of speech, and even how my President greets other blacks when not in formal company as something unusual that needs to be analyzed down to the last proton until it loses all meaning, effectiveness, and interest. I’m not bland and refuse to be boxed in that way.

So, can somebody please sit Miley Cyrus and her people down and explain that they’re essentially raping a people blind for profit and no better than their ancestors and their relationship with Africa? Did I go too far? Oh well.

Like Miley, I can’t stop.

Also, if you’re on Twitter:

1. Follow me – @KeenePOV

2. Check out the #ABCreports hashtag for some funny responses to ABC’s “report”.

Tags: #ABCreports, ABC, featured, Miley Cyrus, Politics, Race, Racism, Twerk, Twerking

Category: Entertainment, News, Politics