The Black history of twerking -- and how it taught me self-love | Lizzo

TED Talks Daily

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 September 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Twerking is mainstream now ... but do you know where it came from? Superstar Lizzo traces booty shaking to a traditional West African dance and tells how Black women across generations kept the rhythm alive, from blues and jazz singers to modern rap and hip-hop performers. With her characteristic energy, she shares how twerking empowered her to love her own body -- and explains why understanding its origins helps protect Black culture from erasure and misappropriation. (And, yes, she twerks on stage.)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's TED Talks Daily. I'm Elise Hugh.
0:05.9	And even though my job is to introduce speakers on this podcast, I feel today's talk needs no introduction.
0:12.1	Because it is singer, rapper, songwriter, chart topper, famous twerker, Lizzo.
0:17.8	She brought her Lizzo Energy and Lizzo Booty to the stage at Ted Monterey 2021,
0:22.6	and I am so delighted to share it with you today.
0:28.6	If you follow me on social media, you probably seen my heinie before. It's no secret.
0:33.9	But, you know, I used to hate my ass. Believe it or not, I have my father's shape and my mother's size, so it was big and long.
0:42.3	I used to think that only asses like J-Lo's or Beyonce's could be famous. I never thought that could happen to me.
0:49.3	I always felt like my body type wasn't the right one or the desirable one growing up. Because I grew up in an era where having a big ass wasn't mainstream.
0:58.0	I grew up watching movies where women were like, does my ass look fat in this?
1:02.0	Like it was a bad thing.
1:04.0	I felt like the ass odds were against me, but baby,
1:09.0	this badonka-donk-dunk was going places.
1:17.1	My ass has been the topic of conversation. My ass has been in magazines. Rihanna gave my
1:21.8	ass a standing ovation. Yes, my booty. My least favorite part of my body.
1:28.3	How did this happen?
1:30.3	Twerking.
1:31.3	Through the movement of twerking, I discovered my ass is my greatest asset.
1:39.3	Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ted, twerk.
1:43.3	So, the first time I saw twerking in person, Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Ted, twerk.
1:48.0	So the first time I saw twerking in person was at a teen club called the Z in Houston, Texas.
1:52.3	There I saw a bunch of girls my age shaking their booty
	...

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