Challenging the Phallocentric
Juck (Swedish for hump) has a clear mission statement – ‘to bring forth freedom of expression, sexuality, having fun and expanding perspectives on femininity and gender’. Everything matters in this video by Juck, from how this dance video was shot, how the camera behaves, to the symbols used in this video, including the choreography and the costumes. These are all elements of a finely tuned concept which aims at destabilising the phallocentric ownership of the camera. There is a different quality to sexiness these dancers emit and the way camera captures them isn’t focused on traditional representations of desirable femininity.
Every scene matters. The pelvis thrust dancing moves shot in front of a school in Stockholm suggest a challenging of phallocentric view of power. The bubbles being blown in front of the camera are supposed to be suggesting naive girliness, child’s play and infantility that women are often associated with (names baby, shorty – ring-a-bell?), but juxtaposed to the scenes of fierce dancing challenge that effect. This list can go on: the squeezing of the fruit – a display of power, their facial expressions suggesting effort and using their physical might, their moves that seem like a crossover between krump, hiphop and random club dancing, as well as the chaotic group dynamic as opposed to organised group dance. And let’s not forget the school uniforms.
