Page 9 - AM230807

Dialuna, 7 Augustus 2023 AWEMainta
{Continuation of the previous article}
Quiere’ perreo, no balada
When someone says, “Oh, but they were provoking me,” they mean
to say that someone intentionally tried to arouse them with sexual
desire or interest. Is it so? Because I see it this way. Shaking my
booty to some soca, dancehall, or dem bow rhythm means that I’m
feeling the music; I’m feeling myself. If someone else gets provoked,
it’s their problem. It’s their thoughts, not mine. And if one acts on
those thoughts, it’s their actions, not mine. Do you see where I’m
heading here? For a long time, we’ve placed the blame on the time,
place, lights, and length of the skirt, thus the victim. I wish I could
see more accountability and responsibility being put on perpetra-
tors, don’t you think?
There’s this amazing thing called consent
“But Jammita, why do women dance to “vulgar” songs that “sexu-
alize” them? These songs are exploiting women!” Well, newsflash,
women shouldn’t get less respect because of the music they listen
to and dance to. Ever heard of consent? It’s bizarre if you think
otherwise.
I always say this in my lectures: a person could be roaming around
naked, and that doesn’t give anybody the right to treat them
with less respect, let alone touch them. Because if you think that
if someone wears clothes that will cover all their flesh and dance
only to waltzes, nobody will sexualize them, think again; everything
can and will be sexualized at one point. Not just a girl wearing a
cute top with a bit of underboob because she thought it was cute,
not because she’s trying to seduce and provoke you. Women don’t
always dress for other people; we dress for ourselves most often.
We want to feel, because it was taken away from us for a long time,
that we have ownership of our own bodies; we are in charge!
The socio-cultural Impact of Dance
The earliest historical records of the origins of dancing trace back
8000 years BC through cave paintings in India. A society’s culture
is known throughout its dance. In ancient cultures, dance and reli-
gion went hand in hand. Dance was standard in some rites and cere-
monies. Myths and traditions were passed from one generation to
the other. Theatrical displays of colors and bold moves are part of
cultural dances. At the same time, in some cultures, women moved
more slowly, stiff-like, and did humble movements that symbolized
femininity. Because in the ideal world of patriarchs, women are to be
gentle, modest, and quiet (but they’ll still search “wild girls” on the
Hub when nobody’s watching, am I right?)
The rhythmic flow of the body means different things to people
and is strictly culturally and contextually bonded. Dance is a tool
of cultural and self-expression. I’ve never been to a party without
music. Well, I have, and it wasn’t a party; you will find dancing at
every celebration. The versatility of dance makes it almost impos-
sible to be pinned down and act as a cultural identity.
Dance expands social and cultural interaction and provides a sense
of belonging, community well-being, and togetherness. And let me
tell you, when you’re kilometers away from your home, you’ll need
this “community glue” that will pick you up and put all your broken
pieces back together, sure the edges will be uneven, but this tremen-
9
dous bonding is what will get you through it. That’s how dancing
empowers collective groups and sparks positive social change. It
functions as this common language that brings people together,
and sometimes you may not even understand each other and may
disagree with one another on different stances, pero bailando se
entiende.
Plus, dancing is a simple way to express ourselves, have fun, exer-
cise, and blow off steam, and it lets us show a more confident version
of ourselves to others (well, that last one really depends).
Palabra final
Awo, ami no sa ken e organisacion ta, pero… nan tin durf.
Especialmente mirando e historia cu Hulanda tin cu nos islanan
(papiando pa islanan ABC y SSS). E ironia ta cu nan ta pidi despensa,
promove dunamento di fondo pa proyectonan relata na esclavitud pa
despues e “organisatie” sali cu e cos aki? Awo mi ta compronde cu
e decision di e “organisatie” no ta representa, ni refleha ful Hulanda
y/of otro organisacionnan y iniciativanan, pero con nan por a pensa
cu un desicion asina lo wordo tuma.
Con nan por a tribi di purba kita un tiki di e cos mas cerca cu nos
hendenan tin aya na tera friu di nan pais, nan cas? Boso por a
imagina mi cara di felicidad ora mi a wak cu e participantenan a haci
lo contrario di e “beleid” straño ey cu nan kier a bin cu ne e aña aki.
Borchinan di manifiesto a demostra cu mi hendenan lo sigui eman-
cipa y core cu actitud y accionnan deriva di tempo di colonialismo.
Oh, and this whole thing also got me thinking about pissed adults
(talking about us) who had a taste of what it means to have a part of
their identity taken of them. Now you know what the children, espe-
cially girls, feel when you scold and police them about their clothing
choices and mess with their bodily autonomy.
Bin bishita nos y probecha!
Paña di bon calidad na bon prijs.
Adres: Avenida Milio J. Croes 47 local 3
Telefon: 5646733 – 5653466
E-mail: info@carlymar.com