Daddy I Want to Twerk!

by Chelsa Brown

A few weeks ago a video posted on WorldHipHopStar.com of a father beating his daughters with a cable cord, whom he allegedly caught making a twerk video, is being debated if he was demonstrating good parenting or him going too far went viral. Recently, news media revealed that the father is now being indicted on corporal punishment after the mother reported to the police the incident and welts and open wounds were left on his daughters from the beating. Many have commented on the video and links commending the father for disciplining his daughters and stirring them from possibly becoming strippers.

What’s a twerk video? Unless, you’ve been sleeping under a rock, twerk videos on the internet have become quite popular. Most of these videos are recorded by young girls and women to show who can shake wind and make their booties clap the loudest. Reward for the best twerker…the most likes or hits on a video and attention. What’s wrong with these videos? Some may say nothing. Let’s be real, many of us grew up listening to Luke Skywalker’s” Pop That C***hie”, and mastering the butterfly along with dropping it low. I myself remember going to school dances and popping my booty quite a bit. The difference is now social media allows people to get even more attention, but what they forget about are the perverts and pedophiles who are watching as well.

I can imagine that this father thought about this as well and became enraged that his two daughters, ages 12 and 14, were making such a video to post online for the world to see. So do I agree that they should have been punished? Yes! I’m sure these two girls were not aware of kind of attention they would get after recording such a video but their father did. What I don’t agree with is him disciplining them with a cable cord. There is a right way to discipline your children. This may not have been the right way. However, no parent is perfect and this may have been his only way of knowing how to discipline his children and the cable cord was probably the first thing he saw to discipline them. Even so it was still extreme. I also question, had the father walked in on his two sons watching a twerk video or porn would he have acted in the same manner? My answer is probably not.

This should open discussion for parents to talk to their children, girls and boys. I’ve seen comments saying their little fast tails shouldn’t have been doing that. How can we call these girls fast when all they see is everyone else making twerk videos so it must be okay? Did or has the father talked to his girls and told them that are worth more than shaking and winding their behinds? Will these girls ever attempt to make another twerk video? If I were them I know I wouldn’t. I think this is a serious lesson learned for the father and his daughters. It should be a lesson for all of us that we have to talk to our children and find outlets for them to express themselves besides through social media. Put them in a dance class, better yet an African dance class. Not one in your area? Find videos on YouTube and show them that this dancing or twerking originated from their African ancestors who are not dancing for attention but to express themselves out of celebration, joy or pain. If our children aren’t getting attention from us, we can obviously see that they will get it from likes and getting the most views on YouTube.