You might not know who Kimari Brand is, but you really should. The standout star of Twerk It Girl, a documentary about the culture of twerking, she says she does the dance for empowerment. And, as we all should know by now, that’s a really legit way of selling it.
The dance move is far from something invented by Miley Cyrus to put parents’ backs up at the MTV VMA’s last year. It’s a dance move originating in Atlanta strip clubs and black women have been doing it for years.
Kimari is now studying how it’s related to African American history. If you think that might sound a bit silly, have a think back to Chris Rock’s Good Hair documentary. Seemingly about black women's hair, it dug a lot deeper and is actually a fascinating look at cultural attitudes and how they manifest in hair, as well as how beauty ideals of hair have been used to oppress black women.
Kimari says of her studies: ‘I wanted to bring the revolution right from where I was at. Radical change from the inside out. I became extremely passionate about African American dance expression and twerking, and how it ties into politics about black identity.’
Check out the video for more, including some clips which might not be entirely acceptable for your workplace.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.