Twerking is Mapouka. If you are not black or African you are culturally appropriating if you don’t pay homage to that fact. #periodt . Modern day twerking is very similar to Mapouka, a dance from Côte d’Ivoire. From its origin, Mapouka was a celebratory dance for festivals by Africans and was widely accepted because people believed that this dance led to encounters with #God. . BLACK WOMEN/GIRLS CAN NOT BE STIGAMATIZED for practicing what is ACTUALLY CULTURAL for us and white girls get be “sexy” or "desirable” while performing that very same act. . We have to #unapolgetically protect and call out appropriation of our culture. It’s already out of hand. We must not let it become #erasure. We allow so many inches that become miles. . My 4 year old “twerks” and it’s so fucking cute! I couldn’t be more proud that one day I will teach her that that is her legacy and history when she is ready to understand and further embody it. . The dance is so inherent to US. It’s in our DNA. We need to protect our culture. but first we must learn about it. From Wiki: "Historically and currently, similar styles of booty-shaking are found throughout the continent of #Africa as well as the African and Afro-Latin diaspora. Similar styles of dance are known as mapouka Côte d'Ivoire, leumbeul in #Senegal, and other styles can be found in #Tanzania, #Uganda, and #Kenya to name a few. This style of pelvic- and hip-isolated dancing is known as perreo or sandungueo associated with #Reggaeton from the #DominicanRepublic. Twerking can be said to be indirectly linked to African cultural dancing without any direct connections between people from Africa.Twerking like many cultural traditions or expressive dances associated with marginalized groups has become stigmatized in racialized and gendered ways that often associates those who perform the dance—primarily girls and women of color—with deviant behavior." #twerking #mapouka #blackhistory #africandiaspora #itswhoweare #itswhatwedo #africandance #blackonblackbk #blacklivesmatter #blackgirlmagic #magicmagic #blackmagician #wefight #weresist #wewillwin #outfittingtherevolution #deconstructtheconstruct #blackpower #blackpride (at Bedford-Stuyvesant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CE5sKVLFooA/?igshid=c8uaqhlwxysk