Yesterday evening the word "twerk" was added to the online Oxford Dictionary. A text of biblical importance for users of the king's English, the OED defining this word will introduce it to millions of new humans just waiting to wring their hands like they were remembering the first time they saw Elvis.
The word has experienced unprecedented growth in its popularity all this year, in large part because of Miley Cyrus's campaign of ratchetness. (If you're interested in the problematic aspects of her behavior, here's some reading material.) This includes her twerking in a unicorn costume, twerking at a Juicy J show, and twerking in a music video for her new song "We Can't Stop." The campaign peaked with her VMAs performance last Sunday, when she performed that new song at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Robin Thicke was there, too, dressed as Michael Keaton's character Beetlejuice from the movie Beetlejuice.
This word has a long history. By no means is the following a complete history of the word's use. No one can provide that. Nope, this is just a timeline tracking the word's likely contact with white listeners. (Just like me! Sorry.)
This is a Timeline of White People's Awareness of Twerking.
RELATED: The 25 Best Twerking Anthems
RELATED: A Recent History of Celebrites Twerking
95 South's "Whoot, There It Is" Demands Listeners "Twerk That Thang Like a Real Deal"
Date: March 22, 1993
White person it resonated with: Michael Rapaport
The year was 1993, and Miami Bass music was reaching the apex of its popularity outside of its homebase, rattling buttcheeks like car stereo speakers. 95 South, out of Jacksonville, released their biggest single: "Whoot, There It Is." It in turn inspired Tag Team's even more popular "Whoomp! (There It Is)." The titles are similar to the point of easy confusion, but there's one crucial difference: Only "Whoot" contained the word "twerk." If it had been the other way around, nothing would be the same, and the practice of squatted booty-moving would have found white audiences even sooner.
Ying Yang Twins Release "Whistle While You Twurk"
Date: March 7, 2000
White person it resonated with: Bubba Sparxxx
The inspired Atlanta duo behind the brief Intimate Club Music movement (it lasted all 2:59 of "The Whisper Song"), Ying Yang Twins put a twist on the word with their Disney-inspired "While While You Twurk." Where the hell did that U come from, and where did it go?
[via GIF Soup]
Beyoncé Sings "Twerk It" on Her Single "Check on It"
Date: December 13, 2005
White person it resonated with: Robin Thicke
The queen of pop got nasty on "Check On It," her song for The Pink Panther soundtrack with Slim Thug. Scores of weary Americans want an apology from Miley Cyrus for her performance at the VMAs, but we just want an apology from the people responsible for that disaster of a movie. Bless Beyoncé's contribution, though.
[via Tumblr]
Drake's "Miss Me" Addresses a "Twerk Something Basis"
Date: June 1, 2010
White person it resonated with: Asher Roth
Quoting his favorite pals UGK, Drake wants to get to know you on a "work something, twerk something basis." Turns out this is not how many people imagined getting to know Miley Cyrus.
[via ItsStrictly]
Diplo's "Express Yourself" Video Calls for Mass Twerking
Date: February 16, 2012
White person it resonated with: Paris Hilton
Diplo has been championing (appropriating?) bounce and sissy bounce dance practices for years. In 2012 he recorded a song with Nicky Da B that flipped twerking upside down. In the video, the song's command to "make it clap" took on a different dimension when viewers realized you were supposed to be doing an handstand against a wall when booty clapping.
[via WhatShouldBetchesCallMe]
French Montana's "Pop That" Asks, "What You Twerkin' Wit?"
Date: June 15, 2012
White person it resonated with: Mac Miller
Whether we realized it or not, we were all twerking like crazy in nightclubs last summer anytime this French Montana single blasted from the speakers. Featuring Drake, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne, "Pop That" roars with a boisterous Uncle Luke sample (from "I Wanna Rock"), courtesy of producer Lee on the Beats. The first words heard come from Montana himself, asking everyone on the dancefloor, "What you twerkin' wit'?"
Could "Pop That" also be the impetus for Miley Cyrus' obsession with twerking? After all, she and French Montana hung out around the time that this song was huge. Meaning, let's blame it all on French.
[via Tumblr]
White Teacher Fired for Posting Topless Twerking Pics
Date: January 31, 2013
White person it resonated with: Anderson Cooper
Kudos to Carly McKinney, the Overland High School teacher tied to the best Twitter alias ever: Crunk Bear. As a high-profile mascot for all things twerk, the 23-year-old was put on paid leave for tweeting a photo for her twerking to Diplo. She later claimed that it was her friend who created the parody account and posted the photo. Just imagine all the suburban moms and dads googling #FreeCrunkBear.
Miley Cyrus Becomes a Twerking Unicorn
Date: March 21, 2013
White person it resonated with: Billy Ray Cyrus
Earlier this year, Miley Cyrus officially left her Disney label Hollywood Records for RCA. There, she cultivated a new image, one that didn't include the Hannah Montana wig. Cyrus teased her ratchet persona with a solo twerking video to the song WOP. It was a sight as mystifying to the general public as a baby unicorn.
Mass Twerking Results in Mass Suspension at San Diego High School
Date: May 2, 2013
White person it resonated with: Matt Lauer
Twerking is a crime. At least, it was for the school board of Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego who didn't know what the hell to do with the 30+ students that participated in a bootleg twerking video. The suspended students took to Twitter with no fucks given, and #freethetwerkteam started trending.
Mile Cyrus Twerks It Out in Her "We Can't Stop" Music Video
Date: June 19, 2013
White person it resonated with: My little sister
The former child star is no stranger to being at the forefront of pop culture phenomenons. Just take a look at the massive success of Hannah Montana. Considering Miley Cyrus loyalists have kept her a mainstay on E! news, it wasn't a surprise that her twerking in "We Can't Stop" video officially made the booty-shaking move mainstream.
Jon Voight's Ray Donovan Character Loves Twerking, Audience Learns About This in the Episode Titled, Yes, "Twerk"
Date: July 14, 2013
White person it resonated with: My dad
The most cliche-ridden new TV show of 2013? Showtime's Ray Donovan. Home to more Boston gangster tropes and tired, wannabe-Entourage Hollywood plot points than Mark Wahlberg could ever imagine, it's a shamefully watchable mess saved by showy, all-in co-star Jon Voight. He plays Micky, the title character's (Liev Schreiber) ex-con father, who just so happens to love black women. So much so that, in the season's third episode, "Twerk," he watches a female rapper's bootleg, ridiculously stereotypical Trina knockoff music video in which she raps about "twerking." Micky's enthralled.
Five episodes later, in "Bridget," Micky asks a woman he's trying to bed, "Do you know how to twerk?" She doesn't. And you, discerning Sunday night viewers, have made the right decision in avoiding Ray Donovan. Keep it up.
Also, yes, it's true—Voight did once win an Academy Award (for the 1978 film Coming Home). #NeverForget
Miley Cyrus Performs at the VMAs
Date: August 25, 2013
White person it resonated with: Taylor Swift
The VMAs were a Taylor Swift fan's wet dream, considering the amount of attention the cameras gave her bubbly fandom. But that turned into a nightmare when Miley Cyrus joined Robin Thicke on stage for an ass-shaking performance of "Blurred Lines" GIF'd around the world. Mickey Mouse hands, that lizard-like tongue, those '90s top knots, and a flesh-colored bra and panties—Miley Cyrus made pop culture history, and every parent so damn uncomfortable.
ABC News Reports on Twerking
Date: August 27, 2013
White person it resonated with: Diane Sawyer
There's a crisis in Syria right now. But you know what's more pressing? This twerking phenomenon! And you can tell because ABC News asked an exercise coach from Auburn University to explain the move: "You take a wide stance with your legs turned out at 10 and 2 so your hips are externally rotated. Then you pulse up and down as you thrust the pelvis bone forward and back."
She also cautioned that over-twerking might throw out your back. Conclusion: This is not the move for anyone going through a mid-life crisis. SRSLY.
"Twerk" Added to Online Oxford Dictionary
Date: August 27, 2013
White person it resonated with: Stephen Hawking
The next time you're unsure what the exact definition of the word "tweeze" is, leading you to consult the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, be warned: A casual scan through the "tw-" words will remind you that, yes, "twerk" is officially an Oxford-defined word. The news arrived yesterday that, along with "fauxhawk" (seriously) and "selfie" (the end is nigh!), "twerk" is now included, and is defined as, "v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance." Now you'll never have to feel like an uneducated "twerp" again while breathing, since, you know, twerking is everywhere nowadays.
