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How Respectability Politics Led Men to Complain about Black Women Twerking
Assessing the tone-policing of Black women
Women are rewarded for their bodies and sexualities, and they are punished for them too, in equal measure (Clark-Flory, 2014).
Twerking became a nationwide dance revolution popularized in New Orleans during the 1980s. At block parties, people danced to the backdrop of Hip-Hop and Bounce music. They heard the beat drop. Then women ran to the dance floor to pop, lock, and drop it. While twerking reflects uninhibited self-expression, many men assume women only twerk for the male gaze. Respectability politics leads men to complain about Black women twerking.
This theory implies that Black people should rise to a particular moral caliber worthy of respect. Their approach assumes that Black people have lower moral standing than other groups. Respectability politics becomes particularly troubling when Black men use public ridicule to punish Black women for exhibiting nonconformist behaviors.
True Kitchen + Kocktails is a restaurant owned by a Black restauranteur in Dallas, Texas. They serve an eclectic take on classic Southern soul food. On the Sunday following the Thanksgiving Holiday, the restaurant appeared packed with family and friends, enjoying some downtime.
