Shaking The Taboos
Just as we do with all systems, we subject the body to a hierarchy, declaring certain parts more important than others. Sometimes science, sometimes society, and sometimes the limited perception of our memories and the meanings we attach to them create this hierarchy. These often converge in common areas, placing restrictions on us—restrictions that are clear but rarely spoken of.
We are associative beings, influenced by ancient, archaic records that control us without our conscious awareness, leading to unconscious reactions. Sexuality and its surrounding topics are where we see the strongest expressions of this tendency.
Perhaps it’s about sexual selection, but I believe, more importantly, it’s about liberating our erogenous zones from the cage we’ve imprisoned them in—zones that hierarchical perceptions have built up, sometimes imbued with excessive meaning.
The anus, and by extension the hips, is a part of the body that deserves careful exploration because it touches upon many taboos, childhood experiences, and triggers all at once. The anus symbolizes the rejection of what is unwanted, our shame, and what we consider beneath us, while simultaneously, for some, it represents pleasure, fertility, and the experience of joy. It forms the foundation of a deep fear and taboo in heteronormative perceptions. It is the common ground of both desire and resistance. One way or another, it provokes us.
Twerk, on its own, is a simple act. The movement is simply about shaking and mobilizing the tissues in the hips, but its impact is far-reaching. It begins to shake all the reflections, judgments, fears, desires, curiosity, admiration, and disgust that people associate with the hips.
The person performing the twerk is essentially just freeing their hips and enjoying the effortless dialogue with the ground. Many of my twerk participants, over time, report that their relationship with sexuality has become more relaxed, their menstrual issues have disappeared, their self-confidence has increased, and their life energy has risen.
Twerk serves as a gateway to rituals, purification, and celebration that humanity has known for ages.
Anatomically speaking, twerk provides the technique to truly connect with the ground and raise awareness by letting the hips loosen. The abdomen and hips become activated, awakening our relationship with the lower half of the body. The shaking has a calming and invigorating effect throughout the body. It brings to mind a quote from the book *In a Voice Not Spoken*: "God is in the place where we tremble..."
I receive messages on Instagram like, “You do twerk, but how can you be so intellectual at the same time…” These kinds of messages reveal just how much we categorize things and how deeply we are crushed beneath our taboos. The act of twerking embodies the idea that "nothing is that significant,” and I believe we need to physically experience this idea. Instead of becoming rigid, we should live—and maybe shake up the taboos a little.