[Miley Cyrus’] ‘We Can’t Stop’ has caused as much of a ruckus as did [Robin Thicke’s] ‘Blurred Lines,’ but for its racial appropriations, not sexual objectification. The song, originally intended for Rihanna, reportedly appealed to Cyrus because she was seeking a “black" sound. Her new image accommodates her shift away from peppy rock-based songs toward the beats-oriented sound of the world beyond Disney: Claiming to have more black friends than white ones, she’s emerged as an expert at the rump-shaking style known as ‘twerking,’ which has roots in African dance but more recently emerged in neighborhood clubs in New Orleans. ( a good overview of her twerking escapades and the responses to it.) Many critiques of Cyrus rightly question why this privileged young woman has chosen to adopt an “urban" style grounded in the most abject aspects of African-American culture, as it’s been filtered through a ‘hipster-racist’ subculture that reduces black masculinity to thug primitivism and femininity to door-knocker earrings and big, juicy butts.
These outraged objections contain much truth, just as the feminist reading of Thicke’s song reminds us of how crucial it is for women to decide the fate of their own bodies. Yet the first question raised by both of these Top 40 controversies is: Do they mean it? Is Thicke (or the character he inhabits in the song and video) just playing, or would he force his conquest on his prey? Does Cyrus genuinely like and participate in the cultural expressions she’s now taken on, or is this just another case of artistic theft in the name of love?
titsay
gummygunk
2087
prguitarman
