About
Twerking is a type of dance commonly associated with movements involving the shaking of hips and posterior while in a squatting position. The dance became well known online after the group Twerk Team began posting twerk videos on YouTube in June of 2009.
Origin
The music that characterizes twerking has been around since the 90’s, with the emergence of Southern hip hop and crunk genre in particular. The term itself didn’t start gaining prominence until after the new millennium. In 2000, the hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins debuted with the single “Whistle While You Twurk” (shown below). On October 9th, 2001, rapper Bubba Sparxxx released the album Dark Days, Bright Nights, which included the single “Twerk a Little”.
According to an article in The Age,[1] the term “twerk” is thought to be an amalgamation of the words “twist,” “jerk” and “footwork.” On April 6th, 2002, Online Slang Dictionary[12] user Brandon submitted an entry for “twerk”:
“v. to dance in a sexual manner, usually involving shaking on the buttocks.”
Spread
The first Urban Dictionary[2] entry was submitted by user Robin on April 7th, 2003, which defined the dance as “to work one’s body, as in dancing, especially the rear end.” On February 28th, 2006, Yahoo Answers[13] user Sass Say submitted a request for the definition of “twerk,” to which user Dough responded that it was a slang term used to describe dancing sexually. On September 21st, 2011, the website YouTwerk[7] was launched, which highlighted YouTube videos of Twerkers categorized by race. On February 28th, 2012, the /r/twerk[10] subreddit was created, in which Redditors vote on and submit twerk-related videos. On March 30th, the “Twerk Olympics” Tumblr[11] blog was launched, which highlights videos and animated GIFs of women twerking.
On June 1st, YouTuber lohanthony uploaded a tutorial video on twerking (shown below, left), which received 2.1 million views and 10,600 comments within seven months. On November 16th, YouTuber sugarvirals uploaded a video of two young Caucasian girls attempting to twerk (shown below, right). On the same day, Redditor svannah11 submitted the video to the /r/cringe[8] subreddit, where it received over 375 up votes and 180 comments within the next eight weeks.
On November 24th, the Facebook[3] page “Twerkers Gone Wild” was created, which gained over 139,000 likes within six weeks. On Nocember 27th, Redditor BBulaga75 submitted a video of YouTuber lohanthony twerking in his school uniform (shown below) to the /r/cringe[9] subreddit, which received over 2,400 up votes and 860 comments within the next month.
Twerk Team
Many attribute the popularity of twerk videos on the Internet to the female dance group Twerk Team. According to an article in the Florida and A&M University news site Famuan,[5] the Twerk Team was started in 2005 by three 14-year-old girls in Atlanta, Georgia. On June 5th, 2009, the OfficialTwerkTeam YouTube channel was launched, which featured music videos and footage of the group dancing in a variety of locations. As of January 2013, the YouTube channel has received over 76.1 million video views and 258,000 subscribers and the @TwerkTeam[6] Twitter feed has accumulated over 114,000 followers.
Notable Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1]The Age – Do you know how to twerk?
[3]Facebook – Twerkers Gone Wild
[5]Famuan – Twerk team sets a bad example for younger children
[6]Twitter – @TwerkTeam
[8]Reddit – two girls trying to show off twerk moves
[9]Reddit – Kid attempts to twerk in his private school uniform
[11]Tumblr – Twerk Olympics
[12]Online Slang Dictionary – twerk
[13]Yahoo Answers – What does the word twerk mean