FemmeCreole
Island Gyal
Barack Obama was responding to a question at the MBK Rising town hall when he talked about twerking and chains etc.
While at the “MBK! Rising” conference in Oakland, Calif., last week, a student asked Barack Obama how to change the narrative on how men of color are generally perceived. He answered in the Obama-branded way he usually does when he speaks to large groups of young black men—thoughtful, measured, sincere, witty, and veering towards respectability. (The Q&A starts around the 51 minute mark.)
As he concluded his answer, he remarked that “If you’re very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerking.” This was both a very obvious attempt to provide some levity (he says “twerking” with a performative affect, like he was just advised by a nephew how to pronounce it 15 minutes ago) and the latest example of his disappointing habit of being a bit of a scold—something Derecka Purnell articulated in the New York Times last week.
I'm not sure why some folks take this negatively. He was speaking to a room full of young black men. Some of them in the room needed to hear that. We like to task successful black men to use their platform for good. Which black man has more visibility than Barack? Many young men still think that that's what they need to do to be a man.
While at the “MBK! Rising” conference in Oakland, Calif., last week, a student asked Barack Obama how to change the narrative on how men of color are generally perceived. He answered in the Obama-branded way he usually does when he speaks to large groups of young black men—thoughtful, measured, sincere, witty, and veering towards respectability. (The Q&A starts around the 51 minute mark.)
As he concluded his answer, he remarked that “If you’re very confident about your sexuality, you don’t have to have eight women around you twerking.” This was both a very obvious attempt to provide some levity (he says “twerking” with a performative affect, like he was just advised by a nephew how to pronounce it 15 minutes ago) and the latest example of his disappointing habit of being a bit of a scold—something Derecka Purnell articulated in the New York Times last week.
I'm not sure why some folks take this negatively. He was speaking to a room full of young black men. Some of them in the room needed to hear that. We like to task successful black men to use their platform for good. Which black man has more visibility than Barack? Many young men still think that that's what they need to do to be a man.
Last edited: