Twerking

A 2013 Oxford Dictionaries blog post states, "the most likely theory is that it is an alteration of work, because that word has a history of being used in similar ways, with dancers being encouraged to "work it".{{Cite web| url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/08/what-is-the-origin-of-twerk/| title=What is the origin of 'twerk'?| date=2013-08-29| access-date=December 1, 2014| archive-date=December 15, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215002042/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/08/what-is-the-origin-of-twerk/| url-status=dead}} Local bounce practitioners attribute the term to a contraction of "to work" ("t'work"; or, spelled as it is pronounced, "twerk").{{Cite journal|last=Gaunt|first=Kyra D.|date=September 1, 2015|title=YouTube, Twerking & You: Context Collapse and the Handheld Co-Presence of Black Girls and Miley Cyrus|journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies|volume=27|issue=3|pages=244–273|doi=10.1111/jpms.12130|issn=1533-1598|doi-access=free}}{{cite news|last=Levy|first=Megan|title=Do you know how to twerk? (Or even what it is?)|url=http://www.theage.com.au/data-point/do-you-know-how-to-twerk-or-even-what-it-is-20121213-2bbrp.html|access-date=December 20, 2012|date=December 14, 2012|work=The Age|location=Melbourne|archive-date=December 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217064724/http://www.theage.com.au/data-point/do-you-know-how-to-twerk-or-even-what-it-is-20121213-2bbrp.html|url-status=live}}

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an early 19th-century use of the word as a blend of "twist" (or "twitch") and "jerk", which was reported by the BBC in conjunction with the black cultural context.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33265370|title=Twerk dates back to 1820, says Oxford English Dictionary|date=June 25, 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=June 30, 2017|language=en-GB|archive-date=July 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716092932/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33265370|url-status=live}} The word is said to have originated from the inner-city of New Orleans and was used frequently in New Orleans bounce music by rappers and DJ hosting block parties in the housing projects. On record, the 1993 song "Do the Jubilee All" by DJ Jubilee - which contains the lyrics "Twerk baby, twerk baby, twerk, twerk, twerk" - has been cited as its earliest use.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/300/2018/05/dj_jubilee_bounce_new_orleans.html|title=Meet the twerking-class deejay who jump-started the N.O. Dance trend|date=May 27, 2018 |access-date=May 14, 2019|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514012009/https://www.nola.com/300/2018/05/dj_jubilee_bounce_new_orleans.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OEY849PmL10C&q=twerk%20bounce%20music&pg=PA260|title=Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-Hop Became a Southern Thing|last=Sarig|first=Roni|publisher=Da Capo|year=2007|isbn=978-0-306-81647-5|page=260|access-date=November 3, 2020|archive-date=June 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601204129/https://books.google.com/books?id=OEY849PmL10C&q=twerk+bounce+music&pg=PA260|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.fuse.tv/2013/08/brief-history-of-twerking|title=A Brief History of Twerking|website=Fuse|access-date=May 22, 2016|archive-date=May 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523022424/http://www.fuse.tv/2013/08/brief-history-of-twerking|url-status=live}}

The word became popular in the 2000s, when it was used by Atlanta rapper Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz.{{Cite journal|last=Miller|first=Matt|date=April 2006|title=Bounce: Rap Music and Cultural Survival in New Orleans|url=http://www.emory.edu/HypheNation/Bounce.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924070444/http://www.emory.edu/HypheNation/Bounce.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2006|journal=HypheNation|publication-date=2006|volume=1|issue=1|access-date=May 22, 2016}} A Google Trends search reveals that interest in the word "twerk" arose in November 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=twerking|title=Google Trends - Web Search interest - Worldwide, 2004 - present|access-date=June 25, 2016|archive-date=February 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217030131/https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=twerking|url-status=live}}

The Oxford English Dictionary defines twerking as dancing "in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance".{{cite news |title=Twerk dates back to 1820, says Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33265370 |access-date=22 October 2021 |work=BBC News |date=25 June 2015 |archive-date=August 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804051213/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33265370 |url-status=live }} Merriam-Webster gives the definition as a "sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting".{{cite web |title=Definition of Twerking |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/twerking |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=22 October 2021 |archive-date=October 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022165220/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/twerking |url-status=live }}

The Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the term may fuel the stigma{{Cite web |last=Pinheiro |first=Ester |date=2021-06-13 |title=The Art Of Twerking: How Women Continue To Be Denied Bodily Autonomy |url=https://feminisminindia.com/2021/06/14/the-art-of-twerking-how-women-continue-to-be-denied-bodily-autonomy/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=Feminism in India |language=en-GB}} around twerking as a sexual and provocative dance.{{Cite web |title=Twerking–A Brief History {{!}} The Vast World of Dance |url=https://sites.psu.edu/mnshermanpassion/2017/03/17/twerking-a-brief-history/ |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=sites.psu.edu}}

Elizabeth Pérez (2015) states in the African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal:{{cite journal |last1=Pérez |first1=Elizabeth |title=The ontology of twerk: from 'sexy' Black movement style to Afro-Diasporic sacred dance |journal=African and Black Diaspora|date=28 Jul 2015 |volume=9 |pages=20, 22–23 |doi=10.1080/17528631.2015.1055650 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17528631.2015.1055650 |issn=1752-8631 |oclc=5996660442 |s2cid=147153935|url-access=subscription }}

Booty dances have threatened the status quo by emphasizing group membership, the free movement of forceful Black bodies, and Afro-Diasporic counter-narratives. The Colombian mapalé, or baile negro, is a case in point. Mapalé recalls the fish tail dances of the North American plantation; Davila writes that ‘the fish’s movements after they are captured resemble [the dance’s] pelvic and midriff contractions to the beat of the drum’ (Davila 2009, 120). ‘The only dance that was permitted during times of Spanish rule’, mapalé became associated with rebellion through its liberatory insistence on the body’s value as a vector for the transmission of ancestral knowledge (Davila 2009, 120).

‘Where dance on a social level was criminalized, in Mapalé, it continues to be an indestructible force of Afro-Colombian identity within the fabric of the Atlantic Coast’ (Davila 2009, 134). The batuque, with its ‘artificial rotations and contortions of the hip’ was officially suppressed, as were candombe and the bongo (quoted in Röhrig Assunção 2003, 167). The consensus is that such dances cognate to twerk – as indicated by their names and presence among Bantu-language-speaking slaves – are Central African in origin. A number of scholars well versed in the matter have arrived at Kubik’s conclusion: ‘motional emphasis on the pelvis, buttocks, etc., especially pelvis thrusts or circular pelvis movements described in United States jazz dance history as “Congo grind” are always suspect of a Congo/Angola background’ (Kubik 1979, 20).

Pérez (2015) states:

The historically proximate precursors to twerk are as seldom cited as its analogues. Twerk emerged from earlier movement styles, like ‘the up-and-back hip-swinging bowed-legged movements of a dance called the Tootsie Roll’ and p[ussy]-popping (Gaunt 2006, 285). As Miller notes, ‘it is likely that P-Popping constitutes an expression of what Chadwick Hansen identified in the late 1960s as “a long tradition of erotic shaking dances in America”, which “have clearly been continuous within the Negro community”’ (Miller 2012, 98). Some of the earliest footage of such moves may be seen in clips of the legendary Joséphine Baker. Picart writes, ‘[Baker biographer Phyllis] Rose conjectures that Baker’s frenzied improvisational “stomach dance” was probably derived from moves related to the belly dance: the Shake, the Shimmy, the Mess Around – all of which were popular with New York Black jazz dancers in 1920s’ (Picart 2013, 58).

Other ‘serpentine’ dances that presaged twerk are the Georgia crawl and ‘the sensuous grind’ called ballin’ the jack, both with their heyday in the nineteen-teens (Gaunt 2012, 108; George-Graves 2009, 59; Oliver 1999, 107–108). In the same period, ‘From Florida came the Swamp Shimmy, in which vigorous undulations of body, hips, and limbs made up for lack of forward movement’ (Oliver 1960, 149). The historical record indicates that dances like twerk date to the antebellum period in the American South. Enslaved people performed sinuous snake hip and fish tail dances on plantations during festivals and special gatherings, such as celebratory dinners. Perhaps tellingly, like the snake hip movement, twerk can serve as an ‘embellishment’ or ‘an independent dance in its own right’ (Hazzard-Gordon 1990, 123).

File:Twerk Brasil dancing funk (270714043).webm twerking]]

In 1990, the introduction of bounce music into the New Orleans music scene brought along the dance of twerking.{{Cite book|last=Vendetti|first=Tyler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9n_-DwAAQBAJ&q=twerk+new+orleans|title=The Illustrated Compendium of Essential Modern Slang: Including Cray, Lit, Basic, and More|date=October 20, 2020|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-951511-02-9|location=|pages=194|language=en|access-date=March 22, 2021|archive-date=July 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725095555/https://books.google.com/books?id=9n_-DwAAQBAJ&q=twerk+new+orleans|url-status=live}} In 1992, Panamanian singer Renato recorded the videoclip "El más sensual" (the most sexy), a reggae song with the twerking dance.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/uWJ3uEB5h2o Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211010045919/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJ3uEB5h2o Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJ3uEB5h2o| title = EL MAS SENSUAL-RENATO | website=YouTube| date = July 15, 2012 }}{{cbignore}}

The diffusion of the dance phenomenon began earlier via local parties and eventually strip clubs often associated with mainstream rap music and video production aired by video cable television shows that featured rap music and R&B music. Popular video-sharing platforms such as YouTube amplified interest since the advent of digital social media.{{Cite web|url=https://www.biapic.com/twerking/|title=Twerking – BIA PIC|access-date=May 8, 2019|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508192343/https://www.biapic.com/twerking/|url-status=live}}

Twerking first received national recognition in the United States in the early 2000s, when the song "Whistle While You Twurk" (2000), by Southern hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs component chart. It was later referenced in their later track "Say I Yi Yi" (2002), in which the lyrics "she got her hands up on her knees and her elbows on her thighs / she like to twerk and that's for certain I can tell that she fly" are heard. The chorus of Silkk the Shocker's 2001 song "That's Cool" features the line "Somebody that's off the chain / who could twerk that thang.”

R&B and pop girl group Destiny's Child was the first mainstream American girl group to use the word in a song in their song "Jumpin' Jumpin'". Beyoncé made use of the word and dance in her 2005 song and corresponding music video "Check on It".{{cite web|url=http://rapgenius.com/Beyonce-check-on-it-lyrics|title=Beyoncé – Check on It Lyrics|publisher=Rap Genius|date=November 11, 2012|access-date=September 21, 2013|archive-date=September 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926192207/http://rapgenius.com/Beyonce-check-on-it-lyrics|url-status=live}}

In 2013, the dance became a viral sensation beyond African-American popular culture, when pop singer Miley Cyrus used the dance in a video that was uploaded first on Facebook and then on YouTube in March which then later became a viral meme throughout social media outlets.{{Citation|last=Nellie Jay|title=Miley Cyrus Twerk.|date=March 20, 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8YCl7_CpPY|access-date=June 25, 2016|archive-date=December 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211093129/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8YCl7_CpPY|url-status=live}} Though twerking began trending as a web search in November 2011, and despite its origins in the bounce culture of New Orleans in the late 1980s, the word twerk would be added to the Oxford Dictionary Online{{cite news |date=August 28, 2013 |title='Twerk,' 'selfie' added to Oxford dictionary |publisher= |agency=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/twerk-selfie-added-to-oxford-dictionary/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924183740/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/28/twerk-selfie-added-to-oxford-dictionary/ |archive-date=September 24, 2015}} and attributed to Cyrus following her appearance at the MTV VMA Awards in August 2013. It became the number one "what is" Google search that year{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/17/twerking-2013-google-search-rankings|title=Twerking dances its way into 2013 Google search rankings|last=Hern|first=Alex|date=December 17, 2013|newspaper=the Guardian|access-date=June 25, 2016|archive-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611072830/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/17/twerking-2013-google-search-rankings|url-status=live}} as those outside the culture questioned the popularity of the dance. The word was a runner-up to "selfie" in the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/19/selfie-word-of-the-year-oed-olinguito-twerk|title=Selfie is Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year {{pipe}} Books {{pipe}} The Guardian|publisher=theguardian.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 19, 2013|author=Guardian Staff|archive-date=July 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719162044/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/19/selfie-word-of-the-year-oed-olinguito-twerk|url-status=live}}

In 2006, the hit single "SexyBack", by American pop singer Justin Timberlake, featuring Timbaland, from the former's second studio album Futuresex/Lovesounds, featured Timbaland rapping the lyrics "Let me see what you're twerking with / Go ahead, be gone with it, Look at those hips".

In 2007, the song "Pop, Lock & Drop It", by American rapper Huey, reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The 2012 single "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J contains the lyric "Start twerking when she hear her song",{{cite web|title=Juicy J – Bands A Make Her Dance (Remix 2) Lyrics|url=http://rapgenius.com/Juicy-j-bands-a-make-her-dance-remix-2-lyrics#note-960268|publisher=RapGenius|access-date=December 20, 2012|archive-date=November 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113224045/http://rapgenius.com/Juicy-j-bands-a-make-her-dance-remix-2-lyrics#note-960268|url-status=live}} while French Montana questions the ability of a girl to twerk by asking "What you twerkin' with?" in his 2012 single "Pop That" featuring fellow rappers Drake, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross.{{cite web|title=French Montana – Pop That Lyrics|url=http://rapgenius.com/French-montana-pop-that-lyrics|publisher=RapGenius|access-date=December 20, 2012|archive-date=November 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117043926/http://rapgenius.com/French-montana-pop-that-lyrics|url-status=live}} The aforementioned songs, along with "Express Yourself" by Nicky Da B and Diplo, "made twerking the most popular dance move since the Dougie".{{cite news|last=Weiss|first=Jeff|title=2012: The Year We All Got Ratchet|url=http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/12/28/2012-hip-hop/|access-date=January 8, 2013|date=December 28, 2012|publisher=MTV Hive|archive-date=January 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101004453/http://www.mtvhive.com/2012/12/28/2012-hip-hop/|url-status=live}} In 2014, the song "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, makes numerous allusions to twerking.

In November 2018, the City Girls released a song called "Twerk" featuring rapper Cardi B which peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 29. The lyrics to the song ("Twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk-twerk with her") is self-explanatory as to how the City Girls wanted to grab the attention of their female audience.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/cardi-b|title=Cardi B Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=April 30, 2019|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429002346/https://www.billboard.com/music/cardi-b|url-status=live}} The music video has over 200 million views on YouTube as of June 2022.{{Citation|last=CityGirlsVEVO|title=City Girls - Twerk ft. Cardi B (Official Music Video)|date=January 16, 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QryoOF5jEbc|access-date=May 6, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504075339/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QryoOF5jEbc|url-status=live}}

In 2011, the Twerk Team, a group of female dancers from Atlanta who have posted several videos of themselves twerking on YouTube, were mentioned in the song "Round of Applause" by Waka Flocka Flame featuring Drake, in the line "Bounce that ass, shake that ass like the Twerk Team".{{cite web|url=http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/04/could-twerking-possibly-be-a-new-way-to-stay-fit/|title=Could 'Twerking' Possibly Be a New Way to Stay Fit?|last=Morgan|first=Glennisha|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529010101/http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/04/could%2Dtwerking%2Dpossibly%2Dbe%2Da%2Dnew%2Dway%2Dto%2Dstay%2Dfit/|archive-date=May 29, 2017|url-status=dead|work=Frugivore Magazine|access-date=April 12, 2013}} Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has incorporated twerking into her live shows since 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iggy-azalea-miley-cyrus-twerking_n_4036595|title=Iggy Azalea Claims Miley Cyrus' Twerking Was 'Probably' Inspired By Her Dance Moves|work=HuffPost|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=October 3, 2013|archive-date=June 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626033509/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iggy-azalea-miley-cyrus-twerking_n_4036595|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://bossip.com/853804/top-iggy-azalea-twerk-moments-video/|title=Top Iggy Azalea Twerking Moments|publisher=Bossip|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=October 21, 2013|archive-date=June 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623123853/http://bossip.com/853804/top-iggy-azalea-twerk-moments-video/|url-status=live}} In July 2012, during the Workaholics episode "The Lord's Force", Anders Holm says "Let's just, uh, put on some twerk videos or something, right?".{{cite web|url=http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=workaholics&episode=s03e07|title=Workaholics s03e07 Episode Script {{pipe}} SS|publisher=springfieldspringfield.co.uk|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=September 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909143405/http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=workaholics&episode=s03e07|url-status=live}}

In March 2013, American pop singer Miley Cyrus posted a video on Facebook which featured her performing a twerking routine while wearing a unicorn suit, to the 2011 single "Wop" by J. Dash. The popularity of the video, along with parodies and responses made by fans, influenced the song's re-emergence on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite web|title=How to Do the Wop? Miley Cyrus Demonstrates|url=http://fusion.net/culture/story/wop-miley-cyrus-demonstrates-7760|work=Fusion|access-date=April 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415133730/http://fusion.net/culture/story/wop-miley-cyrus-demonstrates-7760|archive-date=April 15, 2014|url-status=dead}} Miley Cyrus's "Wop" video would go to become viral. By April 9, 2013, copies of the video had amassed over 4 million views on YouTube. Also in March 2013, Mollie King, an English singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of British-Irish girl group The Saturdays, was seen twerking when her bandmate Rochelle Humes uploaded the footage on YouTube.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/mollie-king-twerking-video-filmed-1782748|title=Mollie King Twerking on video filmed by The Saturdays bandmate Rochelle - 3am|publisher=Mirror Online|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=March 24, 2013|archive-date=August 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801160312/http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/mollie-king-twerking-video-filmed-1782748|url-status=live}}

American actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens was seen twerking in March 2013 on American late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.{{cite web|url=http://uproxx.com/webculture/2013/03/who-did-it-better-vanessa-hudgenss-booty-dance-vs-miley-cyruss-unicorn-twerking/|title=Who Did It Better: Vanessa Hudgens's Booty Dance Vs. Miley Cyrus's Unicorn Twerking|publisher=uproxx.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=March 21, 2013|archive-date=August 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817201629/http://uproxx.com/webculture/2013/03/who-did-it-better-vanessa-hudgenss-booty-dance-vs-miley-cyruss-unicorn-twerking/|url-status=live}} In September 2013, Hudgens was later seen twerking, this time to the song "Bubble Butt", during her performance at Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood, with her girl group YLA.{{cite news|url=https://tmz.com/2013/09/25/vanessa-hudgens-yla-twerking-video/|title=Vanessa Hudgens -- My Ass is Small But I'm Twerking Like It's BIG|work=TMZ|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=August 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801071010/http://www.tmz.com/2013/09/25/vanessa-hudgens-yla-twerking-video/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.heavy.com/entertainment/2013/09/vanessa-hudgens-twerking-video-yla-bootsy-bellows-performance/|title=VIDEO: Vanessa Hudgens Twerks in Live Performance with YLA {{pipe}} HEAVY|publisher=heavy.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=September 25, 2013|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714130755/http://heavy.com/entertainment/2013/09/vanessa-hudgens-twerking-video-yla-bootsy-bellows-performance/|url-status=live}} Hudgens was again seen twerking in a video for Shade 45's radio show Sway in the Morning.{{cite web|url=http://swaysuniverse.com/celebrityinterviews/vanessa-hudgens-booty-pops-on-sway-in-the-morning-answers-sex-questions-from-sways-mystery-sack |title=Sway's Universe {{pipe}} Vanessa Hudgens Booty Pops on Sway In The Morning & Answers Sex Questions from Sway's Mystery Sack |publisher=swaysuniverse.com |access-date=July 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717214940/http://swaysuniverse.com/celebrityinterviews/vanessa-hudgens-booty-pops-on-sway-in-the-morning-answers-sex-questions-from-sways-mystery-sack |archive-date=July 17, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://doandroidsdance.com/videos/vanessa-hudgens-dance-express/|title=Watch Vanessa Hudgens Booty Pop to Diplo's "Express Yourself|publisher=Do Androids Dance?|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=July 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721153508/http://doandroidsdance.com/videos/vanessa-hudgens-dance-express/|url-status=live}} American actress and singer Ashley Tisdale can also be seen twerking in a video for Shade 45's radio show Sway in the Morning.{{cite web|url=http://therottenappletv.com/home/ashley-tisdale-twerks-on-sway-in-the-morning-is-she-better-than-miley-cyrus/|title=Ashley Tisdale Twerks on Sway in the Morning. Is She Better Than Miley Cyrus|publisher=The Rotten Apple|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502115318/http://therottenappletv.com/home/ashley-tisdale-twerks-on-sway-in-the-morning-is-she-better-than-miley-cyrus/|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kimmicupcakes.com/2013/04/interview-ashley-tisdale-twerks-on-sway-in-the-morning-shade-45/|title=INTERVIEW: Ashley Tisdale Twerks on Sway in the Morning – Shade 45 » Kimmi Cupcakes: 50% Korean + 50% Panamanian = 100%|publisher=kimmicupcakes.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502123209/http://www.kimmicupcakes.com/2013/04/interview-ashley-tisdale-twerks-on-sway-in-the-morning-shade-45/|archive-date=May 2, 2014}}

On July 9, 2013, a video was posted on the Twitter-owned video sharing service Vine entitled "Twerk Team", which featured a group of five women provocatively twerking to "Don't Drop That Thun Thun". The clip was shared by users over 100,000 times, becoming a trend for the community and users created their own responses and parodies featuring the song, collected under the hashtags "#dontdropthat" and "#thunthun". The viral popularity of the Vine clips led to an unexpected increase in sales for the song; prior to the posting of the "Twerk Team" clip, only 4,000 copies of the song had been sold; in the following weeks, sales went up to 34,000, then to over 72,000. By late July, "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" had reached #5 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs chart, and it eventually peaked at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.{{cite web|title=Vine Twerk Mashups Bump Sales For FiNATTiCZ' 'Don't Drop That Thun Thun'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/5055525/vine-twerk-mashups-bump-sales-for-finatticz-dont-drop-that-thun-thun|work=Billboard.com|access-date=April 13, 2014|archive-date=February 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221052115/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/5055525/vine-twerk-mashups-bump-sales-for-finatticz-dont-drop-that-thun-thun|url-status=live}}

Both "Wop" and "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" have been cited as examples of how viral and user-created videos can bring renewed interest to songs; Spin writer Jordan Sargent considered "Wop" to be rap music's "Harlem Shake moment", but not a meme to the same extent as it.{{cite web|title=How Twerking on Vine Sent Years-Old Rap Songs Up The iTunes Charts|url=http://animalnewyork.com/2013/how-twerking-on-vine-sent-years-old-rap-songs-up-the-itunes-charts/|publisher=Animal New York|access-date=April 13, 2014|date=August 2013|archive-date=August 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803194533/http://www.animalnewyork.com/2013/how-twerking-on-vine-sent-years-old-rap-songs-up-the-itunes-charts/|url-status=live}} In April 2013, American rapper Danny Brown released the song "Express Yourself", inspired by music producer Diplo's song of the same name. The song, produced by Trampy, features a fast-paced electronic beat and is a composition about the popular dance craze twerking.{{cite web|last=Zeichner|first=Naomi|title=Danny Brown, "#ExpressYourself" (Prod. by Trampy) MP3|url=http://www.thefader.com/2013/04/05/danny-brown-expressyourself-prod-by-trampy-mp3/|work=The Fader|publisher=The Fader, Inc|date=April 5, 2013|access-date=April 27, 2013|archive-date=May 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509091509/http://www.thefader.com/2013/04/05/danny-brown-expressyourself-prod-by-trampy-mp3/|url-status=live}} Brown dedicated the song "to all the ladies that like to turn up and have fun," in which he raps "Toes on the wall and her ass in the air / And she twerk that thing like she ain't have a care".{{cite tweet|user=XDannyXBrownX|number=319986234141327360|title=https://t.co/oUhH6G3ir2|date=April 4, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://rapgenius.com/Danny-brown-express-yourself-lyrics|title=Danny Brown – Express Yourself Lyrics|publisher=Rap Genius|date=August 1, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060117/http://rapgenius.com/Danny-brown-express-yourself-lyrics|url-status=live}}

In the music video for Barbadian singer Rihanna's single "Pour It Up", which was released in May 2013, the singer can be seen twerking.{{cite magazine|last=Reed|first=Ryan|title=Rihanna Twerks Dangerously in 'Pour It Up'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/rihanna-twerks-dangerously-in-pour-it-up-20131002|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=October 5, 2013|date=October 2, 2013|archive-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005082921/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/rihanna-twerks-dangerously-in-pour-it-up-20131002|url-status=live}} In June 2013, American rapper Busta Rhymes released a Jamaican dancehall-inspired single titled "Twerk It", featuring Nicki Minaj, who has been featured on several other "twerking songs", including "Shakin' It 4 Daddy" by Robin Thicke, "Dance (A$$)" by Big Sean and "Clappers" by Wale. Minaj can be seen twerking in all four of the aforementioned songs' respective music videos. Minaj can also be seen twerking in the music videos for American rapper Nelly's single "Get Like Me" and American singer Ciara's single "I'm Out".{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a503080/nelly-nicki-minaj-pharrell-reveal-get-like-me-music-video-watch/|title=Nelly, Nicki Minaj, Pharrell reveal 'Get Like Me' music video - watch|publisher=Digital Spy|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=August 2013|archive-date=April 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404194942/https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a503080/nelly-nicki-minaj-pharrell-reveal-get-like-me-music-video-watch/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.idolator.com/7467732/ciara-nicki-minaj-im-out-video#more-7467732|title=Ciara & Nicki Minaj's "I'm Out" Video: Watch The Sexy Clip {{pipe}} Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com|publisher=idolator.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=July 2013|archive-date=June 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601204132/https://www.idolator.com/7467732/ciara-nicki-minaj-im-out-video#more-7467732|url-status=live}} In August 2013, the song "Twerk", by Lil Twist, featuring pop singers Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, was leaked online.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10274618/Miley-Cyrus-and-Justin-Bieber-team-up-for-new-song-called-Twerk.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10274618/Miley-Cyrus-and-Justin-Bieber-team-up-for-new-song-called-Twerk.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber team up for new song called Twerk|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=September 9, 2013|location=London|date=August 29, 2013}}{{cbignore}}

On July 14, 2013, Showtime broadcast Season 1 Episode 3 of the series Ray Donovan, entitled "Twerk", in which actor Jon Voight's character enters a college library and pays a student to give up his computer terminal so that he can watch online videos of women twerking.{{cite web|url=http://collider.com/ray-donovan-recap-twerk/|title=Ray Donovan Recap: Twerk|website=Collider|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=February 26, 2017|archive-date=August 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824014640/http://collider.com/ray-donovan-recap-twerk|url-status=live}} A YouTube video of the scene has more than 38,000views.{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fkrmMcluwAg|title=Ray Donovan hilarious jon voight scene Twerk!!|website=YouTube|date=July 15, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2017|archive-date=June 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601204202/https://www.youtube.com/youtubei/v1/navigation/resolve_url?key=AIzaSyAO_FJ2SlqU8Q4STEHLGCilw_Y9_11qcW8&prettyPrint=false|url-status=live}}

In August 2013, Juicy J announced via Twitter that he would give out a $50,000 scholarship for the girl who can twerk the best. The competition is inspired by the track "Scholarship" on his third album Stay Trippy, which contains the lyric "Keep twerking baby, might earn you a scholarship."{{cite magazine|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/29/twerk-hard-and-earn-a-50000-college-scholarship-courtesy-of-juicy-j/|title=Twerk Hard and Earn a $50,000 College Scholarship Courtesy Of Juicy J|magazine=Time|date=August 29, 2013|access-date=September 11, 2013|archive-date=September 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903065839/http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/08/29/twerk-hard-and-earn-a-50000-college-scholarship-courtesy-of-juicy-j/|url-status=live}} In early September 2013, a video titled "Worst Twerk Fail EVER - Girl Catches Fire!", began circulating around online; the video went on to become viral with over 9 million views, and received media coverage. The following week, American comedian and television host Jimmy Kimmel revealed the video was a hoax that he and his team had devised, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2013-sep-10-la-et-st-jimmy-kimmel-behind-twerking-girl-on-fire-viral-video-20130910-story.html|title=Jimmy Kimmel reveals truth behind 'twerking girl on fire' video|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Meredith|last=Blake|date=September 10, 2013|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625025130/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-xpm-2013-sep-10-la-et-st-jimmy-kimmel-behind-twerking-girl-on-fire-viral-video-20130910-story.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/09/10/jimmy-kimmel-admits-twerking-girl-on-fire-video-hoax/2791829/|title=Jimmy Kimmel: 'Twerking girl on fire' video was a hoax|publisher=usatoday.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|first1=Ann|last1=Oldenburg|date=September 10, 2013|archive-date=May 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525225903/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/09/10/jimmy-kimmel-admits-twerking-girl-on-fire-video-hoax/2791829/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-admits-twerking-fail-girl-video-was-totally-fake_n_3897484|title=Jimmy Kimmel Admits 'Twerking FAIL' Video Was Hoax Set Up By His Show|work=HuffPost|date=September 10, 2013|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625222718/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-admits-twerking-fail-girl-video-was-totally-fake_n_3897484|url-status=live}} In April 2014, the video won the Webby Award for best viral clip of the year.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/worst-twerk-fail-ever-video-3477857#ixzz30XngkXZ|title=Worst Twerk Fail ever video: Girl sets herself on fire while twerking clip wins top viral Webby award for internet excellence - Mirror Online|publisher=mirror.co.uk|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=April 30, 2014|archive-date=July 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705001807/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/worst-twerk-fail-ever-video-3477857#ixzz30XngkXZ|url-status=live}}

Also in September, "Twerk" from the MTV VMA show was named the Top Television Word of the Year (Teleword) of the 2012–2013 TV season by the Global Language Monitor. In October 2013, American actress Beth Behrs, of American television sitcom 2 Broke Girls, was seen twerking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JrHzQx99-I|title=Beth Behrs Twerks the DJ Stand on Ellen show|publisher=youtube.com|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=June 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609192913/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JrHzQx99-I|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ellentv.com/2013/10/03/beth-behrs-twerks-the-dj-stand/ |title=Beth Behrs Twerks the DJ Stand |publisher= EllenTV.com |access-date=July 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508114605/http://www.ellentv.com/2013/10/03/beth-behrs-twerks-the-dj-stand/ |archive-date=May 8, 2014 }} Behrs was later seen twerking to the 1992 hit "Baby Got Back", in January 2014, during the 40th annual awards ceremony of the People's Choice Awards, which she hosted alongside her co-star Kat Dennings.{{cite web|url=https://screen.yahoo.com/beth-behrs-baby-got-back-082751720.html |title=Beth Behrs "Baby Got Back" Twerking Sketch at 2014 People's Choice Awards|website=Yahoo Screen |publisher= Clevver News |access-date=July 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508143250/https://screen.yahoo.com/beth-behrs-baby-got-back-082751720.html |archive-date=May 8, 2014 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beth-behrs-performs-baby-got-back_n_4566361|title='2 Broke Girls' Star Twerks To 'Baby Got Back' At The 'People's Choice Awards'|work=HuffPost|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=January 9, 2014|archive-date=July 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701000852/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/beth-behrs-performs-baby-got-back_n_4566361|url-status=live}}

The fifth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, which aired November 13, 2013 and was titled "The End of Twerk", revolved around the twerking phenomenon.{{cite web|url=https://vulture.com/2013/11/glee-recap-wrecking-ball-blurred-lines.html|title=Glee Recap: Twerking, Moles, and 'Blurred Lines'|date=November 15, 2013 |publisher=Vulture|access-date=July 12, 2014|archive-date=July 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713233931/http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/glee-recap-wrecking-ball-blurred-lines.html|url-status=live}} The seventh episode of the second season of the American reality television series Bad Girls All-Star Battle, which aired February 25, 2014 and was titled "Twerk It Out", featured the contestants twerking as fast as possible with pedometers on their back.{{cite web|url=http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/02/25/bad-girls-star-battle-season-2-episode-7-twerk/|title='Bad Girls All Star Battle' Season 2, Episode 7: 'Twerk It Out|publisher=Atlanta Blackstar|access-date=July 12, 2014|date=February 25, 2014|archive-date=May 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004220/http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/02/25/bad-girls-star-battle-season-2-episode-7-twerk/|url-status=live}}

In August 2013, American recording artist Miley Cyrus, generated controversy following a sexually provocative performance during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, in which Cyrus twerked during a medley of her track "We Can't Stop", "Blurred Lines" and "Give It 2 U" by Robin Thicke.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/miley-cyrus-booty-shaking-vma-performance-gets-quite-the-reaction/|title=Miley Cyrus' booty-shaking VMA performance gets quite the reaction|author=Lauren Moraski|publisher=CBS News|date=September 21, 2013|access-date=December 11, 2013|archive-date=November 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126062752/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/miley-cyrus-booty-shaking-vma-performance-gets-quite-the-reaction/|url-status=live}} Cyrus also received criticism for "stealing" African American culture, also known as cultural appropriation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/ebro-implies-miley-cyrus-is-a-culture-vulture-after-quoting-cardi-b-news.75132.html|title=Ebro Implies Miley Cyrus Is A Culture Vulture After Quoting Cardi B|website=HotNewHipHop|date=March 21, 2019|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503015314/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/ebro-implies-miley-cyrus-is-a-culture-vulture-after-quoting-cardi-b-news.75132.html|url-status=live}}

In October 2013, Valerie Dixon who was 27 years old, was arrested in Lake County, Florida, because she was twerking and speaking foul language in front of a school bus. Other arrests in Florida for electric twerking in public include the video blogger Carmel Kitten and two unnamed Canadian tourists.{{Cite magazine|title=Florida Woman Arrested For Twerking In Front Of School Bus Full of Children.|last=Locker|first=Melissa|date=October 9, 2013|magazine=Time}}

In August 2014, American recording artist Taylor Swift, featured twerking in the music video to her single "Shake It Off".{{cite web|last1=Phillips|first1=Catherine|title=Is Taylor Swift's video for Shake It Off racist?|url=http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/21/is-taylor-swifts-video-for-shake-it-off-racist-4840418/|website=Metro.co.uk|access-date=August 21, 2014|date=August 21, 2014|archive-date=August 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822011730/http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/21/is-taylor-swifts-video-for-shake-it-off-racist-4840418/|url-status=live}} This caused some controversy with American rapper Earl Sweatshirt saying that the video was "perpetuating stereotypes".{{cite web|last1=Gupta|first1=Prachi|title=Taylor Swift's music video is uncomfortable, but is it really racist?|url=http://www.salon.com/2014/08/19/is_taylor_swifts_new_music_video_offensive/|website=Salon.com|access-date=August 21, 2014|date=August 19, 2014|archive-date=August 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821031520/http://www.salon.com/2014/08/19/is_taylor_swifts_new_music_video_offensive/|url-status=live}}

In January 2024, the Guinness world record for the longest duration twerking, was set by Babajide Isreal Adebanjo, in Lagos Nigeria. He twerked for 3 hours, 30 minutes.{{cite web |title=Longest duration twerking |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-duration-twerking |publisher=Guinness World Records |access-date=8 August 2024}}

• African-American dance
• Belly dance
• Cordax
• Daggering
• Erotic dance
• Grinding
• Malayah
• Mapouka
• Moulding of Cockle-bread
• Ndombolo
• 'ote'a
• Pelvic thrust
• Sandungueo
• Soukous
• Surra de Bunda
• Tamure
• 'upa'upa

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Twerking}}

{{wiktionary|twerk}}

• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102185114/http://www.vh1.com/music/tuner/2013-08-07/twerking-complete-history/ |date=January 2, 2015 |title=A Complete History of Twerking (1993-2013)}}
• [https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/the-female-rappers-who-shaped-hip-hop/ Let's Talk About The Female MCs Who Shaped Hip-Hop]
• [https://www.fuse.tv/2013/08/brief-history-of-twerking A Brief History of Twerking]

{{African-American dance}}

{{Street dance}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twerking}}

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