Oh my dear. Say it isn’t so. The designers over at sexy costume source Yandy are using a terrible misinterpretation of “twerking” to sell outfits. In a section they call “Costumes to Twerk In,” the venders market costumes that expose the buttocks. Of course, the first is an knock-off Miley Cyrus VMA costume called “Furry Party Animal Halloween Costume.” The other costumes have absolutely nothing to do with twerking except that they have cheeky bottoms; the list includes an interpretation of Wonder Woman, a ninja, and a soldier.
The webpage itself is enough to make your skin crawl. In a rolling series of promotional videos, models walk seductively back and forth saying suggestive things like, “Hey there, Sailor” and blowing on referee whistles. In most videos, the model even explains what she personally “likes” about the costume in a moan-like tenor that seems more appropriate for the bedroom than an online costume distributor.
These videos and the images of the costumes diverge from the real concept behind twerking as a dance form. As Big Freedia explains in reaction to the VMAs, twerking is about “empower[ing] women of all walks of life to express themselves through dance music,” but these costumes do the opposite. The models aren’t encouraged to express themselves; they walk in rigid lines while the camera follows them. They are all about the same age, the same shape, the same race (all white). To add insult to injury, the images are animated so as to make the ladies’ hind ends jiggle around in an exaggerated and inhuman manner. They definitely don’t seem to have personal agency.
Sexy costumes can be liberating for some, but I can’t see anything empowering in the way these costumes are presented to consumers. Both twerking and halloween are about self expression. This is the one time of the year you can wear whatever you want, and these costumes, presented in this way, provide little chance for unique personal expression. Gimme a break, Yandy!
What do you think of the costumes and the way they are presented? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks to Yandy
Images via Yandy
