“tell me you’ve seen it, champ! i can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet!”
like all other internet savvy adults with a few somewhat, but not really all that internet savvy relatives, i’m a bit weary when certain family members send me urgent emails about things that i “must see“. depending on the person, these forwards can be anything from “confirmed proof” that alicia keys and michelle malkin are really the exact same person to a video slideshow of annoyed puppies rocking fatigues. in the past week alone i’ve happily deleted so many “if you send this to 8 people, you’ll be saved” emails that my reflection doesn’t appear in mirrors anymore.
so, with this in mind, imagine my surprise friday afternoon when clicking on a link my cousin sent me, and being introduced to luiz otavio for the first time.
otavio, better known as the samba baby, is the star of one of the few viral videos that’s actually as cute, funny, amazing, and mesmerizing as everybody says it is. for three minutes straight, diaper-clad baby luiz samba dances (on beat!) on a table, while (what i hope were) family members record and urge him on. while watching, i didn’t know whether to be amazed his hilariously rhythmic pelvic thrusting and his stamina (lets just say that i know first hand that more than 75 consecutive seconds of intense pelvic thrusting can lead to cramps, soreness, and in some cases, gout) or tickled by his brazilian faux-hawk and his intensity. the samba game clearly is not a game to luiz.
but, after viewing it a second time, i began to feel a little uneasiness. i couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the video was bothering me. then it hit me:
a month or so ago, another video featuring young people doing a “mature” dance went viral. but, instead of laughter, amusement, and amazement, this video was met with anger, disbelief, and disgust.
from cnn to espn, pundits and critics drummed up their best faux-outrage to speak about how this video was a virtual rape and pedophilia petri dish. in “following in beyoncé’s ‘single ladies’ footsteps strips 7-year-olds of innocence“, sarah kaufman of the washington post even argued that it was borderline criminal child abuse.
Pedophiles don’t need more kindling on their deranged fires, but displays like this one shovel it on. And put other little girls at risk.
What’s troubling here is more than just the moves these kids are making — it’s the element of adult manipulation behind them. Sexy children, pushy parents: Think back on JonBenet Ramsey, the rouged and blow-dried beauty pageant princess, dead at 6. The irony is that kiddie pageants back then — she was killed in 1996 — were undoubtedly tamer than some of them are nowadays, with skimpy attire and dirty dancing all the rage
anyway, people of vsb.com, maybe you can answer the (still unanswered) questions that were causing me such uneasiness friday afternoon. what’s the difference between the samba baby and the young single ladies snizzles? despite the fact that they contained basically the same content (underdressed young people performing somewhat racily for the amusement of encouraging adults), why did one video make me smile while the other made me want to burn my clothes?
—the champ
What I wanna know is why can that baby out-pelvicthrust Quagmire?
Can you not be first one day? Just… maybe? Perhaps? Is it genetically possible?
@santa monica
I was 1st one day last week. I’m still celebrating because it’s highly unlikely to happen again!
lol, i hope you took a screen shot.
It’s one of my plans to do just that and enter it in the Guinness Book of World Records.
“What I wanna know is why can that baby out-pelvicthrust Quagmire?”
what i really want to see is him and the smoking baby from indonesia hit the club together in 20 years
Why wait 20 yrs. They’re Trey Songz Ready
I actually thought of the Indonesian chain smoker when I saw this post myself. lol
Like how great of a YouTube video would that be? Them two huffing and puffing while dancing.
Actually, that would be terrible. Nevermind me, I’m gonna turn the corner here and go right down to hell…
Speaking of things we’d like to see, relationship advice
.
How about how important are sports to a relationship? I’m in a new relationship, a baby frankly like a month old and ive never been annoyed with anyone as I am when he interrupts a soccer match. How do I get it across that I might care more about him then the world cup in the future in general, but I care more about the game then him when its on right now, without coming off as uncommitted. Since your formspring me is neglected…. one of cheekies comments is the next best thing I figure.
“Since your formspring me is neglected…. one of cheekies comments is the next best thing I figure.”
lol, this made me smile.
I may put on my tombstone, “Here lies Cheekie, a frequent VSB first commenter.” I’d probably get WAY more flowers that way.
haha, i’d throw you like a tulip or something for sure
How do I get it across that I might care more about him then the world cup in the future in general, but I care more about the game then him when its on right now, without coming off as uncommitted
do what every guy in the history of history has done when confronted with this issue: give him head 20 minutes before the game starts
I dunno whether i shud be proud of myself or ashamed to admit I already tried that, but its the internet and you’re a love doctor.
Frankly we’re in the honeymoon rabbits stage.. everything leads everywhere and i missed the last cote d’ivoire game (AFRICA! AYIYIYIYIYIYAH!) cause i dozed off.
Any other suggestions?
Maybe because it’s easy to see how a pedophile can enjoy the girls but it’s harder to see them enjoying the baby.
It’s all pretty ridiculous to me though.
“Maybe because it’s easy to see how a pedophile can enjoy the girls but it’s harder to see them enjoying the baby.”
anytime “pedophile” and “enjoy” is in the same sentence, it just feels icky.
Young boys and Young girls have the same rate of child molestation.
However I think the difference between these videos is that the girls were dressed in provocative clothing which looked like something that came out of Frederick’s. This made the single ladies dance which was provocative enough seem overly sexual. While Beyonce was wearing a very night outfit with allllll those legs out its just something about lace that screams sex(no pedo).
nice* outfit.
On this pedofile thing: Ya know…. I think that the lady is onto something here. I am gonna take it a step (or 5 further):
The fact that it IS young GIRLS (who will inevitably grow up to be young ladies), versus a shitty diaper baby boy (who will probably grow up o be a shitty drawl grown man) sorta takes any hint of sexuality out of it.
Meanwhile… if you REALLY THINK about it… this routine has likely been recreated on stage a million times over at EVERY majority Black elementary school talent show in the Atlanta, Washington, DC, Houston, New York and Maryland…. except for PG County because they “don’t do those sorts of dances” – HA! … since the song came out – without so much as a viral PEEP about how promiscuous, exploited or otherwise “pedofilic” the dance (or that made up word) might be !!
I believe that some part of the uproar MAY have something to do with the fact that these are little WHITE girls and it is just plain alarming for (other white) people to see their little girls dancing and acting the way they do when their parents aren’t watching (and let them sail around the globe alone). Think about it, when was the last time you watched a white woman of ANY age girate and “pump it” without SOME sort of peculiar amusement atached to it (of SOME sort). When white girls (done) “Gone Wild” it is bad enough, but when they (done) “Gone Black”…. and start all “that stuff”, then a Tea Party-like group and town hall meeting need to be formed and this behavior needs to STOP IMMEIDATELY – - otherwise, these little girls will not be afraid of Black people (like they are supposed to be)…. worse, they might be comfortable enough to develop close friendships with “them” and start adding them to their adult networks – ***GASP***!!!! “OH NO – OKAY THIS SHIT’S GOTTA STOP RIGHT NOW!!! UNLEASH THE PEDOFILE TALK (CRACKEN)!!!”
You see – there would be shock, but moreso only that peculiar amusement/fascination (that I mentioned before) if these girls were15 years older = these girls are, what… 7 years old, right? For most of us Black (dudes) if they were 15 years older, some of us might be rewinding this video in order to study each woman individually…. personally, my speed is more like 35 years older (I like ‘em bumped around and having lived a little bit)…. anyway – point is: We are just not used to seeing little white girls do THIS (or being pregant at 16)!!!
In conclusion: If the little white girls dancing “out pedofiles” the shitty diaper baby boy’s, then a lot of it is due to the expectations set by our society. Frankly, the girls performing after, what I am SURE was a TON of practice and incorporating solid ballet principles and hip-hop dance routine work… well…. they SHOULD be applauded – I promise you I would have clapped like hell for either one of my little girls on that stage (if they somehow were able to slip through the cracks and participate in a “WAY TOO GROWN” performance such as that…. which would lead me to the kitchen (or some other place under this rooft near the Kool Aide in order to have ‘a discussion’ with their mother.
Oh! … and shitty baby boy should be appluaded as well. I mean, have YOU ever tried to Samba with a crotch full of excrement (sp?) and look cool while somehow charming other grown people to cheer for you??? Think about it – …..
… and for the record, the amount of oil coming out of that damn oil well in the gulf (on that video feed) looks damn near THE SAME now, AFTER the “containment cap” as it did BEFORE. If these mutha phuckas are capturing 60%+ of this oil…. well… basically the world might be doomed! Maybe I should go run up my credit, ya think????
These little girls are cute and very talented.Give them a break!
Hank
Males don’t need protection from society… duh.
in all seriousness though it’s probably because people still equate rape and molestation with lust… and not power.
But i gotta admit that those girls are just plain WRONG!
Not having to do anything with pedophilia, those 7 year olds are being awakened to their sexuality… and if we as a society are okay with arming people at such a young age with awareness of their sexuality, then is it that big of a leap to the child marriages that occur in third world countries that we love to condemn?
“those 7 year olds are being awakened to their sexuality”
hmmm, i see what you’re getting at, but i think all young children realize their own sexuality regardless of outside influences. they may not consciously act on it, but even babies can be sexual beings, even if they don’t know what sex actually is
“even babies can be sexual beings, even if they don’t know what sex actually is”…… Whaaaat? Please elaborate
yah please explain this one Chester! jk
He may mean Sigmund Freuds ’5 stages of psychosexual development’:oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital (thanks Psych 101 @ VSU!!!)
@ Jai,
Which VSU do you speak of? Virginia or Valdosta state?
“even babies can be sexual beings, even if they don’t know what sex actually is”…… Whaaaat? Please elaborate”
lol, there have been numerous studies that have shown that kids as young as 6 months are aware of their sexuality and subconsciously act on it. babies are much, much more cognitively developed than we usually assume.
There’s using sexuality as a power, and there’s sexuality as self discovery.
People are meant to stumble across their sexuality and grow from it, not to wield it at 7 years of age as a subject of entertainment from others. These girls are being taught to use their sexuality as a power, to attain attention and validation from outside sources. Every girl learns the power of her vajayjay at some point in life, but to learn it exists and learn how to use it at 7 years of age is just unnatural, abnormal, paranormal, disgusting and on some other other ish.
@ Ash…that would be Virginia
“These girls are being taught to use their sexuality as a power, to attain attention and validation from outside sources.”
lol, the pagent performance has nothing to do with that. you can go to any playground and see young “innocent” kids who’ve still somehow managed to learn that they wield a bit of sexual power. being in a pageant doesn’t accelerate a process that’s inherently human
do those playground children have adults telling them which way to swing their hips for maximum impact?
plus theres the whole issue of these girls getting a head start on their sexy, i didnt grow into mine till 18 and hated the ones that it came to naturally. If you’re not gonna worry about the performers, think about the late bloomers and how this kinda unfair advantage practicing sets us behind even further.
@champ being in a pageant doesn’t accelerate a process that’s inherently human<~ agreed. I did pageants most of my life and wasn't aware of "vajayjay's" power until college.
Also while babies may be more developed than we assume, I am freaked out that they're in their cribs tryna kick it to each other
The baby is funny and cute. He wasn’t trying to be entertaining he was just being adorable.
The little girls on the other hand were performing and that’s the big difference. The costumes, hair/make-up and dance moves were all too sexy for elementary school kids. I’m not judging them and I think they were great dancers but a different song, routine and costumes would have showcased their talent better and kept them out of controversy. The adults in their lives failed them. (I also think that if they were Black/Brown this wouldn’t have been news but that’s a different topic.)
We live in an age where sex is everywhere and our kids are becoming hypersexualized more and more each day. I’m not wishing for “Little House on the Prairie” days but I do miss that once upon a time childhood was treasured and full of toys, games and candy. Now it’s just a race to be a teenager and innocence gets lost along the way.
perfect synopsis, of everything I thought!
You win at analyzing ish, homie.
Thanks ya’ll! I don’t have any kids but I work with them. People are always complaining about how teenagers run around like mini-adults but fail to realize that for most of their lives they’ve been socialized to act beyond their years.
Instead of complaining and shaking our heads more of us need to start mentoring and the younger the kids are the better the outcome will be. It’s a lot easier to train up a child than it is to reprogram one.
“We live in an age where sex is everywhere and our kids are becoming hypersexualized more and more each day.”
so a baby mimicking a somewhat sexual dance act that he obviously watched many people perform isn’t proof that his parents failed him as well?
i know i’m being the devil’s advocate here, but i think the most interesting thing here isn’t just the cultural differences in how we view sex, but the cultural expectations we have of each other. for instance, i bet if that diaper clad baby was an african-american female baby dancing to single ladies or an instrumental to rude boy she wouldn’t be looked at as funny, cute, and adorable. people would probably say that the parents need to be drawn and quartered, she probably doesn’t have a dad at home, and that she’s 15 years away from filling out a resume for strokers or magic city
I think it’s definitely a cultural difference, but a #FAIL on either end. I don’t recall one person saying the little baby doing the Staky Legg was cute or adorable. Everybody laughed, but at the end of the video, they hung their heads in shame for the baby and his/her (i can’t remember if it was a little girl or little boy) parents.
In case you didn’t see it…
Baby does the Stanky Legg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeX-kj_8uvs
“so a baby mimicking a somewhat sexual dance act that he obviously watched many people perform isn’t proof that his parents failed him as well?”
The Samba is sex neutral in Brazil. You are looking at something from another culture with Puritan shades on.
“The Samba is sex neutral in Brazil. You are looking at something from another culture with Puritan shades on.”
thats one of the points i’m getting at. i think our perceptions of what is and isn’t offensive or inappropriate are more culturally influenced than we think
The Samba is sex neutral in Brazil. You are looking at something from another culture with Puritan shades on.
and that’s the gist of it…
It’s American puritanism at play here… The problem is those little girls and their instructors are aware of American puritanism and despite it, made a point of using chex as a selling point of the performance… Maybe the intent was not to be chexually out there, but knowing the cultural reference you are surrounded by, one should be more careful.
I have done dances that use a lot of hip sways and shaking of assthings etc… in elementary school (overseas). But those are cultural often traditional dances and nobody mistook it for us trying to be chexually aware… It was just dancing.
Cultural references are important in most everything. Samba (and half- nakedness) in Brazil is not taboo.
You’re right, but she probably would be.
We can’t live in denial of context. Chances are, for that baby, it IS just a cultural dance, nothing more. And chances are that, for the black baby, she is being hyper-sexualized by prematurely hyper-sexualized parent(s) who don’t see anything wrong with little Keisha popping it to Lil Wayne.
We live in an environment where black girls are sexualized young, have sex way too young and have children without relationships or marriages. To put them on equal footing is ignoring the cultural context we live in.
And on the surface, it seems hypocritical, but it’s just our acknowledgment that our issues run deeper.
That’s why it’s easier for blacks to not get riled up about the white girls, because chances are they go home to two parents (even though their mothers are probably washed up and thus living vicariously through their daughters, but that’s a whole other issue) and private school with extra curricular activities, but for the black girls, chances are they’d be trying to dance their way out of the hood with
R Kellysome perv waiting around the corner to invite them over.“We live in an environment where black girls are sexualized young, have sex way too young and have children without relationships or marriages. To put them on equal footing is ignoring the cultural context we live in.”
and this doesn’t happen in brazil? between the child trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping, and rampant AIDS, i’d say things are a bit worse in that country than they are here, but there a sexual dance is “cultural” and here it’s proof that we’re all f*cked up
Well, you have a good point. But really, here, we are all f-ed up! The baby videos are just publicly viewable proof.
What she said!
Those little girls were purposely hyper-sexualized at an age where they are very close to beginning puberty and should be being taught how to be little ladies – not little hookers.
That baby was imitating something that is part of his heritage and he is far too young to understand anything other than “I like to move to this music.” He didn’t have on sequins, lipstick and a sleazy outfit.
Completely agree. I have to expound and say that when it’s a male, regardless of age, it’s seen as “boys being boys.” But, girls are taught from a very early age to guard their sexuality as sacred. Nothing is wrong that that either, but I happen to feel that it should work both ways. If you don’t want to see lil Kayla shaking to a Beyonce song on stage, then you should be equally as outraged at lil Mario thrusting to Trey Songz, samba music or whatever.
Idk, maybe it’s because those little girls are painted up like $2 trollops and were stylized to look highly sexual,
as the lil dancing baby was just captured in a swole pamper *sideyesparents* dancing at home for his own little amusment.
when I was on twirl team in h.s. we probably could have never worn those same costumes those little girls are wearing in the video, because everything had to be approved through parents and sponsors, and they would have given us a swift “hell no!” if we would have shown them those getups. (kinda like how Claire wanted to kick Vanessa’s ass when she formed that scantily clad singing group w/ her friends).
even our dance routines had to be approved and edited if it was too much jelly shaking going on.
Idk, maybe it’s because those little girls are painted up like $2 trollops and were stylized to look highly sexual,
as the lil dancing baby was just captured in a swole pamper *sideyesparents* dancing at home for his own little amusment.
hmmm. you don’t think that baby video was choreographed as well? i mean, between getting the baby on that table (you know he didnt climb up there himself), playing the samba song, and having two adults near by ready to record, this sh*t was obviously planned
Choreographed no, planned yes. I’m guessing this isn’t the first time the baby was juking all around the house, and the parents probably wanted to catch it on tape this time. But I don’t think with the intent to make the video go viral and have him popping his pamper on everyone’s computer screen for fame.
However, this little girls are on a much larger platform to be viewed and scrutinized. Some adult choreographed that routine, put them in fishnets and short shorts, makeup and sent them out in front of the camera’s for that performance.
I can tell you what bothered me about the “samba baby”
1. i was scared he was going to fall his lil a$$ of that table
and
2. he needed his diaper changed…diaper just full!
That’s all I could think too, “Boy that diaper looks pretty heavy… please Lord let the adhesive keep it attached to his bottom.”
LOL! Well.. we’ve all changed diapers before. Thats the first thing I noticed too.
Differences
1.Age of children involved baby is still innocent and while the viewer is aware of the the imagery and connotation of these moves the child in the diaper is not. The 7 year olds have at least an inkling.
2. Diaper is appropriate attire for a baby. A 2 piece fring bikini and fishnets not so much for. 7 year old
3. with all things kids related certain shyt just by nature is cute/tolerated under age of 3 and not at all after
Temper tantrums, talking back, hitting adults and apparently sexy dancing
3. with all things kids related certain shyt just by nature is cute/tolerated under age of 3 and not at all after
Temper tantrums, talking back, hitting adults and apparently sexy dancing
do you think it’s an age thing or a cultural thing?
I will have to agree with the other posts here, I think those little girls dancing skills could have been presented a little better…they were pretty much dancing in panties and made up to look like grown women….I don’t think everyone in the world is a pedophile, but they are out there and these little girls parents should have really taken a second look at what they were signing their daughters up for before allowing them to go out on that stage.
As for the baby, I think it doesn’t bother people as much because he still represents some form of innocence. We know he isn’t thinking about sex or anything like that ( or we hope so) and we know he was just doing what he saw…now his parents need to be careful that he doesn’t try and pelvic thrusting on a any school mates in the following years ….cuz that right there could become an issue!
Just sayin..
*stepping down from pedestal*
As for the baby, I think it doesn’t bother people as much because he still represents some form of innocence.
well, what age does it become a problem?
—-well, what age does it become a problem?—–
At the age where you start to viciously protect children, especially little girls, from the dangers of pedophiles and try to educate them about protecting themselves. People are bothered by the girls because it flies in the face of everything we believe about protecting girls from predators.
If a little baby were in danger of sexual abuse/exploitation, it would be at the hands of its parents. At 7 years old, you’re at the age where YOU’RE taught about avoiding potentially troublesome situations.
But hey, white people can do that, they think they’re immune to everything.
Actually, I was weirded out by both videos. The only difference I can see is that the girls are older, and are more in control of their body movements, which makes the Single Ladies dance more provocative. Those little girls were popping it. And it is nothing since they aren’t developed, but still the illusion is more real than it is for the Samba baby.
“The only difference I can see is that the girls are older, and are more in control of their body movements, which makes the Single Ladies dance more provocative.”
basically, the difference is that the girls were “taught” instead of the baby merely mimicking?
i cosign with you on this one.
i didnt watch the whole thing but was creeped out by samba baby.
everyone is looking for their 15 seconds of fame (no longer 15 minutes..out attn spans aren’t long enough). there was a time when home videos STAYED at home. America’s funniest home videos (ironically enough rarely funny) was the exception. Now everyone wants to be a viral star. this baby doesn’t get to choose, and is mimicing moves he’s obviously seen. there’s gonna come a point where it’s no longer cute and he won’t understand why.
the single kiddies just made me see red.
Because we’ve all seen babies innocently ‘dance’ and be cuddly and cute.
But to see young girls dance to such a grown song…well- I guess it’s like they’re growing up too fast or maybe in my overactive imagination I can see them swingin’ on a pole with a disco ball and mirrored ceiling above them.
I’m like nooooo–you can be so much more than that! (Like I said, overactive imagination)
It’s. Just. Different.
“I guess it’s like they’re growing up too fast or maybe in my overactive imagination I can see them swingin’ on a pole with a disco ball and mirrored ceiling above them.”
so it comes down to your imagination and perceived connotation instead of what they’re actually doing?
The baby video is a spontaneous expression… his diaper was probably full and he was on the table because she was gonna change him and he just started grooving.
(I had to come up with some story for the nasty full diaper)
The girls are choreographed, rehearsed, and styled… by adults.
Their innocence is compromised because what they did was under the direction and approval of not one but several adults.
And yeah I gotta co-sign the sista who noted that this would not have outraged people or been news had they been little brown girls.
And I will also have to agree that is a topic for another time ~JS
“And yeah I gotta co-sign the sista who noted that this would not have outraged people or been news had they been little brown girls.
And I will also have to agree that is a topic for another time ~JS”
maybe it wouldnt have made national news, but it would have caused the ninjanets to spontaneously combust. someone might have even tried to assassinate beyonce.
welcome and sh*t, btw
Thank you and sh*t…
We all know that there is a Beyonce bot set to deter any and all assassination attempts so I ain’t worried about that one.
Am i the only person who thought the Single Ladies dance team KILLED it? OMG! Do you know how hard it is to do a fouette, let alone a series of them THAT FAST? Those little girls were sick. Sorry, that was the dancer in me that took over. As a normal, non dancing human being, I’d probably say there was a bit too much booty poppin for that particular age group. Do I think it warranted all that media throw up? No. People reeallllyy need to dial it down a notch.
As for the samba baby? I’m just shocked that diaper stayed on. It should be an ad for the best pamper ever made.
I’m not hating on the girls skills. They.Were.Fierce! My favorite move is around the 1-minute mark. If I could get my leg up like that ya’ll wouldn’t be able to say ish to me!
If I could get my leg up like that ya’ll wouldn’t be able to say ish to me!
dont fret. you have time to practice before the vsb bbq
whenever that BBQ is, champ…
whenever THAT is…
waiting on vsb bbq like I’m waiting on Dre’s Detox album
“dont fret. you have time to practice before the vsb bbq”
LIES!! ALL LIES!!! DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!!!!!
I DONT BELIEVE YOU!! YOU NEED MORE PEOPLE!!!
Since the VSB bbq is pure fiction that doesn’t give me much motivation. Stop messing around and give me a goal to work towards!
Church…
If Ms. Esquire77 ain’t ready to go on I got a red cup trick that has been bonded by Lords of London.
I’m just sayin’… ~JS
I saw a reference to the samba baby while I was searching youtube for Linkin Park music videos and I resisted the urge to view it. Lo and behold I log onto VSB and there it is. While I was intrigued on how that kid could have better dance skills as a two year old than I have as an adult, similar to what someone stated upthread, I was uneasy because that table wasn’t a very large stage and no adults were within arms reach to prevent a tragedy should his moves get the best of him. I’m just glad that he wasn’t smoking a cigarette.
As for the 7 year old girls, I recognize that their outfits and some of their moves are considered age inappropriate, but for those who are up-in-arms citing the temptation of pedophiles at their routine, i respectfully disagree. Yes, it is quite possible that a pedo would find them tempting, but I doubt their outfits and dance moves have anything to do with that. I would venture to say that most of the children defiled by pedo’s were neither scantily clad nor dancing provocatively which suggests that both are irrelevant. To me, it’s just kids dancing so I’ll just file the associated outrage that people have expressed under “things I may better understand once I’m an overprotective parent”.
Did you ever see Little Miss Sunshine.
There is a scene where the dad (Greg Kinnear) sees a rough rider motorcycle dude in the audience and ask him which little girl is his.
The motor cycle dude takes out ear plugs and ask him to repeat the question… Greg ask him again which little girl is his… dude says “this must be your first time” chuckles and puts plugs back in his ear.
This same dude jumps up at the end and gives a standing ovation when the lead girl (Abigail Breslin) finishes a comically executed bump and grind to Rick James Superfreak.
No one else is clapping. ~JS
little miss sunshine was a great movie.
that is all
It was an excellent movie. Great cast of characters, great storyline, hilarious scenes. Just great.
I agree, Caballeroso. I wouldn’t say the outfits and dance moves on the girls would encourage pedophiles as all children who are molested and sexually abused are not scantilly-clad. Good point.
Pedo’s like children to look like children. The little girl in the sun dress with a flower in her hair is more appealing to the pedo.
when did everyone become a resident expert on pedophiles and their likes/interests?
I would be willing to bet that there are ranges of pedophiles who like to see little children look like little children and then there are those that want to see them hyper sexual.
There is a whole business of child porn I am sure its not just pictures of babies playing at the park getting men arrested.
Never said I was an expert but both of our comments are true none the less. I didn’t say it’s all they like but statistics show they have more of a liking towards the “innocence” and “child like” behavior of a child. It also comes down to control and power which has nothing to do with how the child is dressed….just saying.
Do you equate what you saw in the dance routine with child porn? If the purveyors of child porn you reference had only photos of these girls dancing, would he be arrested for that? If not, then you’d have to suspect that it is something more extensive than what these girls were wearing that would precipitate an arrest.
I don’t proclaim to be a resident expert on pedophillia, but to me, some things are just basic…kinda like not being an astronomer, but knowing that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west.
Saying that the outfits these girls are wearing will entice someone to pedophillia is like saying that a lady who shows cleavage and wears a skirt is begging to be raped.
@Cab
…kinda like not being an astronomer, but knowing that the sun will rise in the east and set in the west.
I heart you for this. LOL
“when did everyone become a resident expert on pedophiles and their likes/interests?”
when law and order svu became syndicated
“when law and order svu became syndicated”
ROFL
@ Cab
I am not saying that there outfits will entice someone to pedophilia or that it is child porn. I was just rejecting the idea that pedophiles would not be turned on by kids dressed up provocatively. Honestly, I just thought it was inappropriate moreso for the parents to say “OHHHH sign my daughter up for the sequel to the Mouiln Rouge video. I want my kid to look JUST LIKE Christina Aguilera and Pink!!!”
The only thing I ever thought when watching the video was thank god they are white children….
I refuse to watch the little girls. I tried to watch the baby, but became disgusted. Maybe I’m just bein’ a hater, but I saw nothin’ cute about him thrustin’ and hoppin’ around in that nasty-lookin’ a** pamper. (I should add that things that amuse other folks –where children are concerned– don’t usually amuse me.) Plus, he reminded me of the smokin’ baby.
I think you found one vid funny, and the other offensive, because one vid featured a kid wearing a neutral type of body cover (the diaper), and the other featured some kids wearing clothes that are meant –in a normal context– to arouse men.
The gender of the two parties could have something to do with it, as well. If the kid wearing the diaper were female, I’m guessing you may be appalled (or maybe I’m just projecting); if the “single ladies” were “single boys” –donning the same attire as the girls– we’d probably find it less offensive. Silly, even.
If they were little (white) boys people would be horrified at the homo-erotic context of the moves.
Remember the Calvin Klein creepy commercials shot in the basement that insinuated that young people where auditioning for underground kiddie porn.
(If you don’t remember them google “creepy calvin klein ads)
The campaign was launched with girls and nothing much was said but when they started showing the boy ads they were pulled.
Male sexuality is viewed as normal… even in infants.
But even the hint of the homo-erotic makes the American publics skin crawl ~JS
“if the “single ladies” were “single boys” –donning the same attire as the girls– we’d probably find it less offensive. Silly, even.”
would this be before or after my eyeballs started bleeding?
LMMFFFAAAOOOOO
both videos are creepy, but also amazing reminders of the capacity of small children to absorb and recreate adult behaviors.
but yeah, i dunno…somehow the samba baby doesn’t seem as vulnerable or exploitable as the 7 y/o girls- even tho the girls are much older. that makes me totally guilty of buying into gender-based double standards. his pelvicthrusting came off as “precocious” or “mannish” (but also creepy at times too). whereas, my first thought when i saw the girls was: “Oh Lawd!” i also wonder if the faux-anger surrounding the little girls would be as strong if they had more pigment to there skin…
“somehow the samba baby doesn’t seem as vulnerable or exploitable as the 7 y/o girls- even tho the girls are much older. that makes me totally guilty of buying into gender-based double standards.”
i wanted to dive into this idea a bit more, but, to be honest, it would have taken too long to write about it.
welcome and sh*t, btw (i think)
I’m with B.Collins! The girls are actually pretty amazing dancers. I grew up in that world. That is nothing new. It’s too bad that the lil Asian chicks kick into a pirouette went unnoticed. So on point! The problem is the girls outfits. It they didn’t look like mini strippers no one would have a problem. Now for Luis… I’m with you. As much as it is cute… there is something a lil wrong about it. I think it’s acceptable because it’s Cultural. Samba isn’t necessarily sexual (eventhough it most of the time leads to that). My question is, how much different is it from that horrible video of the Puerto Rican kids grindin at a bday party? Ya’ll see that?
http://kidkameleon.wordpress.com/2008/08/21/omg-little-kids-dancing-nasty-in-a-video-where-are-the-parents-2/
re: the video link…oh em gee, day um what the hell, that’s horrible, not even dancin’ just dry humpin’..people especially teens don’t know how to dance anymore (not talking about that soulja boy cha cha slide ish) but every time it’s bump and grind…
I had totally forgotten about that video. *bows head and thanks the Lord for not having children and for not having to protect them from the filth that they might be exposed to due to other parents lack of parenting skills*
That is absolutely ridiculous and it’s obvious that adults and older children were encouraging that little girl. When I was a child, dancing like that would’ve raised eyebrows from adults and children alike and the little girl probably would’ve had to get a “switch” from the closest tree for dancing nasty.
WOW! I’ve never seen anything like that. That is NOT the norm in the islands…just to clarify. Very sad…that hurt my heart.
welcome and sh*t. and thanks for ruining my mango omelet.
my mango omelet
Pray tell what on God’s
browngreen earth is a mango omelet? Because I refuse to picture random mangoes floating in an egg mixture.* The Single Ladies girls are amazing dancers, they just need an appropriate routine and clothing. That ho stroll outfit and strip routine was all kinds of fail
* Side note: Louis CK was on The Daily Show a couple days ago, and said there are two types of people: pedophiles, and those that despise them. No one says, “well, I don’t touch kids, but I get it”
louis ck might be the single funniest person on earth right now. well, him, patrice o’neal, and ron artest
I find it interesting how people are stating the baby dancing on the table is less troubling because it was done in the privacy of the home, while the girls were dancing on a stage in front of an audience. The problem with that is someone in that baby’s family (probably the parents) put a video of the act on the internet so millions of people can watch and made sure to include his real name. Something is really wrong with that, especially since he isn’t old enough to have a say in this image of him being put on the internet. I mean I know parents are suppose to scar their kids, but this is too much. In regards to the girls dancing, this is something they probably have an interest in and might even want to pursue professionally. Also, context is an imporant factor. The venue looks to be a dance competion or exhibition of some sort, where the audience is probably other dancers and parents. Now if the girls were dancing at some party and grinding on boys then it would be a different matter. The dancing didn’t bother me. The song choice could have been better and the outfits could have covered more, but I think people blew the whole thing out of proportion.
Yeah, I’m not really of fan of parents putting up questionable videos or photos of their children who aren’t able to give consent on the internet. My girl has a facebook friend who has posted numerous photos of her sons (all under the age of 7) with their bare asses out for the world to see. That’s disturbing to me because the parents who suppose to protect their children are taking away their children’s voices about something so private.
Easy, one featured a male child, the other, female children. If it were a group of similar aged boys doing some other suggestive-ish dance, reactions would be quite different.
We live in a world where our view of women is heavily sexualized and that of men is not. So boys doing something like that – generally get some positive praise, maybe described as cute if they are young enough, or future ladykillers if older. Girls doing the same thing – sluts, regardless of age.
We live in a world where our view of women is heavily sexualized and that of men is not.
do you think this is a “worldly” thing or just a cultural issue?
So i am gonna go with the less obvious reason and say the lil boy is participating in something closely tied to his culture and nationality: Samba. I mean he is afterall, in Brazil, and the samba is a way of life. I was pretty jealous I couldn’t get my samba on when I was there for two weeks (I’m too uncoordinated in my hips), but the women (and men) could do it SO EASILY. i dunno, the lil boy’s samba looks kinda wack to me, but what do I know? Either way, I think if I had like a national dance (seriously Brazil has a holiday called the day of samba or some such) and my lil toddler was dancing to it, I’d prolly record it too. Would I put it on YouTube? Prolly not. But if a tree falls in a forest, does anyone hear it? I’m sure there are toddlers all over Brazil doing the samba unbeknownst to those of us who like to judge parents who enjoy their kids dancing and want to share it with others.
Like you, while watching the video I thought, wow, it’s simply in their blood to be able to dance like that. Kind of a stereotype I’m perpetuating, but whatever. Then, I thought about all the black children with rhythm that I’ve seen compared to the non-black children (and adults for that matter) without rythym and it reaffirmed that stance- that sometimes it’s just in the blood so-to-speak.
I was contemplating your comment just now and thought about what I see when I watch the few music videos that I’ve seen in recent history, the cheerleader routines we see in movies like the “Bring It On” series, and other movies depicting dance. Would non-Americans view all this and assume that the dances these little girls were doing is just a part of our (American) culture? Afterall, my knowledge of what other cultures do is based on movie depictions I’ve seen and reinforced by the interactions I’ve had with members of said culture. Would other cultures even consider it to be too much? I think we as Americans tend to be, or at least tend to act, more sexually repressed compared to other cultures. In the grand scheme of things, is it really that big a deal?
I agree. I’m sitting here thinking well goodness…I’d hate for folk to have been in my Guyanese (or any West Indian household) where win’in and waltzing is a way of life.
I’d hate for folk to have been in my Guyanese (or any West Indian household) where win’in and waltzing is a way of life.
Word!
“So i am gonna go with the less obvious reason and say the lil boy is participating in something closely tied to his culture and nationality: Samba.”
I didn’t look at it from this angle, but this is a great point.
Totally agreed!
After seeing both vids I can understand why you feel bad for the second vid rather than the first. While watching the second one, it took me by surprise the performers’ clothing choice.
Mention uptread, it’s the way we interpret both parties.
Outside of the clothing, I applaud the dance routine. Those girls pulled off advance ballet spins for their age group, that’s quite impressive. Also it was their version of a popular song and dance routine, which took the country by storm when it came out. If you were a dancer in the past, you might be able to name some of the choreograph moves you see. By the look of background, I’m guessing it’s a dance competition. It’s impressive but, those clothes look so…..so Victoria Secret?
As for baby boy, the parents clapping along while the boy wiggles around in his draper is also impressive because for a young age he’s got rhythm. We as a country really jump back and forth when it comes to youth and maturity. I don’t like the fact that words like “grown” and “adult” always means sex or something sexual.
Watching both vids reminds me of two things:
1. The TLC show called Toddlers and Tiaras. The Soup made fun of this show every Friday a couple of months ago but, what stood out was the parents doing everything in their power to make sure their kids won. Something tells me the parents didn’t mind the outfits since it was going to get the judges attention and cheer them on until the backlash.
2. Some people really shouldn’t be parents. I wish I was gross out more but, thanks to some hood cookouts, I seen worst. Correction: We seen worst. Kids singing songs they have no business singing. Parents cheering on the birthday boy while he tries to grip some twenty-something yo WOMAN backing that up on him, Trey Songz music playing at a house party for children while. All while the parents are in ear shot, they become the biggest supporters of this foolishness sometimes. SMDH
“I wish I was gross out more but, thanks to some hood cookouts, I seen worst. Correction: We seen worst. Kids singing songs they have no business singing. Parents cheering on the birthday boy while he tries to grip some twenty-something yo WOMAN backing that up on him, Trey Songz music playing at a house party for children while. All while the parents are in ear shot, they become the biggest supporters of this foolishness sometimes.”
Is it possible that our culture has moved beyond our own perceptions of our culture, and since we don’t care to embrace it, it leaves us with the ole “back-in-my-day” syndrome? i.e. “Back in my day people didn’t dance with the hips gyrating and all. What’s this world coming to?” Kinda like when Elvis debuted with the gyrating and was banned from certain performance venues.
Exactly…there was an 11 year old singing Twista’s ‘wetter’ while her parent recorded it (like it was cute) and I was appalled.
***sidenote…I will need some penicillan and a blood test if I hear Trey Songz sing about ‘da business’ one more time
@Jai,
Is it just me or does Trey Songz sing alot bout s*x???
@Caballeroso,
Yeah, kind was sounding like old man wasn’t I? lol
1. The TLC show called Toddlers and Tiaras. The Soup made fun of this show every Friday a couple of months ago but, what stood out was the parents doing everything in their power to make sure their kids won. Something tells me the parents didn’t mind the outfits since it was going to get the judges attention and cheer them on until the backlash.
Well, since you mentioned the Soup, let me tell you that I received a Direct Message from one @joelmchale on Twittah after kinda-sorta e-stalking him for the weekend (heard he was in Seattle, and felt the urge to harrass him). Yes, I’m still excited about it.
Man, Thats so awesome. #jeaously
Side note – I’m a HUGE fan comedians.
1. The TLC show called Toddlers and Tiaras.
Oh my god I FCUCKIN hate this show. Hate it, hate it, hate it!! It’s just so wrong and borederline child abuse.
But for the record, I am against all forms of pageantry or the likes anyways… especially for children.
Ooooooooooooooo Brazil is on the topic today! So let me say what I have to say and why I was shocked with the girls and am not with the baby dancing. The girls were TRAINED to perform! Theyve been going on and on with that thing for ages, danced a song about single ladies and wore something i am sorry but its just not something I find appropriate for 7 years old girls to be wearing.
The boy, is dancing a song call Kuduro, which is a samba about the Luanda rhythm, and that it envolves all that thrusting, but has no sexual conotation. The song he’s dancing has no sexual conotation in terms of lyrics, and anyone that can understand the lyrics would know. What the baby is doing is copying the way he saw people dancing, absolutely unaware of the contents of the song (which pretty much says “This aint rap, This aint samba, This new hype comes from Luanda, Kuduro, Kuduro” repeated for whatever long the song lasts lol). The girls could definitely understand the lyrics of Beyonce that if Im not wrong has a sound and loud “I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips, hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans, acting up, drink in my cup
I couldnt care less what you think”.Not that I think that theres anything wrong with them, but maybe a bit too much for some 7 year olds to be singing. So forgive me to think that a kid reproducing a dance from Luanda and and a group of girls performing in front of an audience (whoever is in it, i dont know), two completely different things.
PS.: Theres other videos of this kid dancing,on youtube. None of the songs hes dancing to has any sexual content. Believe me, I live in Salvador and theres sh*t loads of songs of the same type of music (PAGODE!!! Dont call that samba ever again lol!) that are sexual, but I still haven’t seen that boy dancing to them
thanks for the info, mariana. still, maybe its the american-made puritan glasses i’m rocking, but i fail to see how isolated pelvic thrusting has absolutely no sexual connotation whatsoever.
welcome and sh*t, btw
hmmm, Mariana, not sure what u mean there are no sexual connotations/innuendos etc. Kuduro [the music and the dance]…is about shakin the ass. literal translation…HARD ASS! the song is just listing where the dance is being danced. yes, homage to Luanda, Angola -where it all started – BUT if you know what kuduro means, how the dance is danced etc. you cannot say NO sexual connotation. That’s a joke and an insult to the senses and this conversation. If you want to say that its not offensive to you, inspite of what its about…then have that conversation.
What you are saying is like saying a song chanting ‘shake that ass – in Miami, in LA, in Atlanta, in DC” over and over again is not sexualized because it isn’t saying anyting BUT ‘shake that ass’. [the song is repeating kuduro over and over again and listing different cities in Brazil and Angola where its danced].
My heritage is Mozambique/Guinea-Bissau. Kudoru is danced in our clubs, house parties etc. Mainly a youth [pre/teens/early 20's] type dance -the adults very rarely get in on the middle of the floor for kuduro so i’d compare it to what the youngins get into out here at the club or school dance when mama and papa drop em off. OR what we do on vacation on south beach or vegas as adults.
Lets keep this ish real!!
1. Children do not need to be “awakened” to their sexuality. Humans are sexual beings; we are not neutered or asexual creatures until puberty. Trying to shield sexual being from sex instead of openly discussing sex and sexuality (including age appropriate behaviors) have messed up tons of people.
2. The girls’ dance was a little provocative, but really only if you are letting your mind go there. Otherwise, it was a pretty good routine, one that, as a former dancer and choreographer, I really enjoyed.
3. Dance is a very important part of Brazilian culture, especially samba. I am living in Brazil right now, and doing samba is almost like doing the hustle in the US. “Everyone” knows how to do it and grew up doing it. When you want to have a get together here, especially here in the state of Bahia (which I believe the video is from), you have a samba, which may include live music, food, and drinks. The “roda de samba” (samba circle) is very historically and culturally significant. I have never seen a baby that young samba, but I am not surprised. Carnival is an event like NOTHING you will ever see in the US, and its one week long street party in Bahia…I can’t even describe how intense it is. The St. Joao festival is about to start, and it is another big, dance intensive festival that lasts for days. Dance and creative expression are major parts of most cultures of the world, but it is less so in the US, so I can see how Americans can be “uptight” about it.
I concur with your assessments!
“Carnival is an event like NOTHING you will ever see in the US, ”
OMG!! You’re speaking good word right there!
Yeah I was thinking of Carnival. It’s an island thing that many would not understand. I think the young age is what played a part.
1. Children do not need to be “awakened” to their sexuality. Humans are sexual beings; we are not neutered or asexual creatures until puberty. Trying to shield sexual being from sex instead of openly discussing sex and sexuality (including age appropriate behaviors) have messed up tons of people.
***nodding head***
THIS!!!!
“Carnival is an event like NOTHING you will ever see in the US”
*Grabs oufit* Did somebody say Carnival!!
I’m just happy the the lil boy didn’t samba out of his saggin pamper!
‘Samba baby’ reminds me of ‘Stanky leg baby’; babies simulating the type of dancing in their lives. Perfectly innocent, somewhat safe (tables and dirty diapers, notwithstanding), and super cute. And, they’re babies, there’s still a overwhelming innocence that doesn’t disturb me when watching them dance.
The single ladies girls age,dress, choice of song, and dancing combined makes their performance nauseating. It was all too mature for girls that age. The single ladies girls are definately talented dancers, but there are other options for displaying talent.
The single ladies girls are definately talented dancers, but there are other options for displaying talent.
i agree. personally, i would have been much more impressed if they were able to knit a blanket while doing the single ladies dance
re the little girls’ “Single Ladies” dance routine
–The song is inherently sexual (lyrics).
–The girls are performing URBAN dance. It’s not ballet or square dancing. Urban dance music generally involve sexual objectification of women in the songs and in the videos and in the dance styles.
Ex: Beyonce is not saying “If you liked ME, then you should have proposed to ME.” She’s saying “If you liked IT…”
Ex: Ciara’s new video “Ride” during which she dang near intentionally exposed her entire crotch. (You’re not going to see Taylor Swift pulling her pants down in her music video any time soon. It’s a different art form.)
–Those bump & grind dance moves are what the parents knowingly pay for their children to learn. The parents realize that the kids’ performance IS sexually precocious. That’s why the parents (during an ABC interview) made excuses about the target audience and the costume design. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/girl-single-ladies-dance-sparks-controversy-internet/story?id=10644648
Since the media frenzy, the girls have taken 1st place in at least one dance competition using the same routine and outfits (scuttlebutt). It wasn’t broken, so they didn’t fix it. These girls will be great candidates for cheerleading in highschool and beyond. They are learning team work and cooperation and physical fitness and artistic expression. It’s not all bad.
The baby on the table is dancing alone to a song with no lyrics. He is imitating adults that he has seen dancing, but his performance probably wasn’t choreographed at all or rehearsed much. That art form involves less degradation of women (in lyrics and dance movements). He’s a BOY baby. Society is less protective of them. So it’s grade A parenting (provided his fat butt doesn’t roll off the table).
“The parents realize that the kids’ performance IS sexually precocious.”
doesn’t this apply to the parents of the brazil baby as well?
“The parents realize that the kids’ performance IS sexually precocious.”
doesn’t this apply to the parents of the brazil baby as well?
There was nothing cute about either video. The first video made me wonder how provacative the adults are being around him or what are they allowing him to watch. It wouldn’t be cute if it was a black baby girating around in a saggy diaper, bending over and grabbing her ankles because that’s how her mom and friends dance around her. We would be shaking our heads and ready to call CPS.
I fault the stupid azz parent’s for lack of any judgment. These parent’s are so happy with how little Becky and friends are performing but will be the first one up in arms when if some pedophile says or does something inappropriate to their ‘innocent’ baby. The kids may not understand that this (outfit, makeup, choreography) is wrong but the parent’s should. Beyawnce’ did not intend (i assume) for little kids to dancing to this music (that’s what Kidz Bop is for) and they should have used a different song(what happened to the ‘itsy-bitsy spider’), dance and costume.
*gyrating
On point. The fact that a TWO year old could do those moves means he’s seen it bad and worse. I’ve seen videos of lil Taquanda poppin it and it was an outrage. If it was a black baby, it would be bad news…trust.
Wow the Portuguese side really humiliated the North Korean side in the World Cup. Even Ronaldo scored a goal.
I was amused by both. The girls remind me of a story a friend of mine tells about some girls performing to Adina Howard’s( my second ever crush she followed Patra), “T-Shirt and My Panties On”, and a random parent jumping on the stage and going into a profanity laced tirade.
The uneasiness could be the result of the choreographed nature of the girl’s routine.
Your made me laugh out loud…don’t know why…but you did. LOL
Wow the Portuguese side really humiliated the North Korean side in the World Cup. Even Ronaldo scored a goal.
And with that, my team is ready to pack up their stuff and go home… They should have scored against Portugal, dang it!!!!!!
*goes to corner and cries*
I just think we (adults) are chock-full of double-standards and hypocrisy when it comes to certain things. Some of it is natural and some of it comes with conditioning and being socialized.
As someone mentioned upthread, I don’t believe the outfits the girls are wearing means much to a pedophile. If he/she wants to do something to a child, all they need is the opportunity.
“As someone mentioned upthread, I don’t believe the outfits the girls are wearing means much to a pedophile. If he/she wants to do something to a child, all they need is the opportunity.”
Basically.
If he/she wants to do something to a child, all they need is the opportunity.
…true, but it doesn’t help and it’s still inappropriate.
As someone mentioned upthread, I don’t believe the outfits the girls are wearing means much to a pedophile. If he/she wants to do something to a child, all they need is the opportunity.
yeah I dont think “pedophilia” has anything to do with it.
but I also dont agree that its hypocrisy or a double standard in THIS instance.
those little girls have been deliberately taught a dance and dressed provacatively. they are buying in to the s.e.x sells philosophy way too early
but on another note
Those little girls are amazing dancers…
“those little girls have been deliberately taught a dance and dressed provacatively. they are buying in to the s.e.x sells philosophy way too early”
THIS.
I started dance when I was 4 and started competitive dance around age 7 and this was what we did. We outdid each other to win and I did not grow up to be an oversexed, slutty teenager. We “popped” our *sses at age 9 harder than most adults, took home the trophy and went to school on Monday like it was a normal day. I also belonged to a caribbean dance troop and even have a taped performance of us poppin on our heads (which I can admit was HELLA wrong but it was the 90′s). Still I was pretty normal teen. I guess everything is relative.
Now that I’m an adult (and have a 5 year old daughter), yes it would bother me to see my daughter do these dance moves. With that being said, everything in life falls back on parenting. I honestly think these girls are doing it for fun and it’s up to the parents to drive that message home. Believe me, I had friends who went to catholic school and didn’t even know what the street lights looked like…and was doing them same moves on some guy’s bed. It’s all relative.
After thinking about this some more…I change my mind. There is something wrong with it and “we” caribbean/island/south america/african etc massive should change that. We need to keep adult music and adult dance separate from children. It isn’t cute.
since we talkin dancin and extremes….
peep this…..i don’t even know that to say…
http://wpgc.radio.com/2010/06/21/we-hate-to-talk-about-peoples-parenting-skills-but/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook
smh
*Note to self*
Don’t ever click on a link from kingpinenut again. It’ll ruin your morning and probably give you nightmares 16 hours later.
i ani’t listened to pgc since I left the dc/md area….
i’m kinda glad….
apologies
I thought both videos were awesome. Those girls were some badass dancers. And the only people who getting mad are the ones whose minds automatically roll in the gutter just because they see some gyrating hips. Back home in Nigeria, this would be applauded. It’s not about the dancing, it’s about the message people want to get out there. As I understand it, these girls were in a dance competition. No one over there is thinking about them in a pornographic way. They’re there to see badass dancing, and that’s what those girls delivered. That baby who was doing the samba? That dance is an integral part of his culture, he probably grows up hearing samba music everyday of his life. It’s just about the message people wish to portray.
Americans are so quick to jump on the perverted bandwagon when it comes to things like this.
I was thinking about Africa and how dancing like that is more than common. It’s all relative.
We Americans are quick to jump on the perverted bandwagon because we see it/hear about missing kids, raped kids,etc too often. I don’t get mad when I see gyrating hips, but as a concerned adult for our youth and as a parent, it bothers me when other adults showcase kids like this. In a perfect world, the audience (which is not limited to the auditorium once it hit the internet) was there to see little girls dancing, but when they come out scantily clad dancing to an adult song, you have to wonder what was going on. If it is in your culture to dance a certain way than I can only assume that the music is age appropriate or meant for any genre.
preach on sista
Damn Jai,
You broke it down “so it can consistently and foreva be broke”. I never thought about it like that. Child brides and child abuse is high in Africa and the caribbean for that matter. Maybe we need to rethink what is “okay” for our children.
Real story: I went to a party in Jamaica when I was 11 and we were all whining and dancing to a song. This boy came behind me and grabbed my hips to dance so hard that it hurt me and he wouldn’t let me go. I kind of got upset but everyone around me were laughing like it was cute…so I let it go. Cultural acceptances can definitely sway your opinion.
real fcuked up that they thought it funny when it bothered you. I had my best friend’s uncle sing that KRS One song 13 and good to me…when I was 11 (he was 26). I told her Mom and she said he was just teasing because that’s what he does (wtf…reminding myself to cuss her out now cuz I’m grown).
Last summer I took my daughter to the MLK library in downtown DC and she was around 10 or 11. She had on some loose pants that had “limited too” on the backside. I didn’t think much of it because she is a kid. Well some pervert was made a loud comment about my daughter’s backside (I will refrain from repeating). W/o thinking about if my family could post my bond (if I was given one) I went off on his azz and security (yes they have armed security and at that time metal detectors) had to break us up and once security found out what it was about, the ‘gently(ha) tossed him out. As parents we have to protect our kids….not laugh and think it’s cute when they acting/looking grown.
You can’t let one bad experience as a kid overshadow the lives of EVERYONE around you, though. The adults who filmed those little girls we re probably floored that there were kids who could dance like that.
When is the last time you listened to a Beyonce song with your kids in the car without thinking “Maybe I shouldn’t expose them to her lyrics so soon.” If anything, Beyonce is pretty TAME compared to what some of the little girls who aren’t placed in dance competitions are gyrating to. It’s all about perspective. You see little white girls shaking to Single Ladies and think “They’re too young to be doing that.” I see bright futures in their dance careers for being able to move like they’re not trying to mimic dead fish.
“Americans are so quick to jump on the perverted bandwagon when it comes to things like this.”
this is true, but this…
“No one over there is thinking about them in a pornographic way.”
…isn’t.
welcome and sh*t, btw
….Would they really be applauded? With the high number of “uncles” that take advantage of young girls, let alone young girls dressed this way, I think there would be outrage too (and you know Nigerians like to be holier than thou). Even when you see cultural dance teams (I was an egedege dancer till I left home), the different age groups dressed and danced accordingly. I was not rolling my hips too much at 7 yrs old…our dance aunty would slap the mess out of me if I started that. The baby boy might be applauded but those little girls, not so much…not in the East or South and definitely not in Northern Nigeria.
….Would they really be applauded? With the high number of “uncles” that take advantage of young girls, let alone young girls dressed this way, I think there would be outrage too (and you know Nigerians like to be holier than thou). Even when you see cultural dance teams (I was an egedege dancer till I left home), the different age groups dressed and danced accordingly. I was not rolling my hips too much at 7 yrs old…our dance aunty would slap the mess out of me if I started that. The baby boy might be applauded but those little girls, not so much…not in the East or South and definitely not in Northern Nigeria.
I think the outfits the girls had on made the performance a little inappropriate or suggestive. The dance moves (the lifting of their legs was not suggsetive…it was ballet) would’ve been receieved differently had their outfits been tutu’s or something more age appropriate.
The samba baby…didn’t bother me at all. I’ve traveled to different places where dancing like that is apart of the culture. It’s in their blood. I’ve seen little kids in Barbados that can wind their hips with the best of them. I don’t give it a second thought b/c that’s how they dance in that culture.
The samba baby…didn’t bother me at all. I’ve traveled to different places where dancing like that is apart of the culture. It’s in their blood. I’ve seen little kids in Barbados that can wind their hips with the best of them. I don’t give it a second thought b/c that’s how they dance in that culture.
couldn’t you say the same thing about little black girls p-popping to “how low can you go”?
I remember being disappointed in the girls overt sexuality, I think they’re too young.
For me, the difference is that the boy is dancing the Samba, a dance brought by enslaved Africans from Angola- beautiful blend of Afro-Brazilian culture. Also, I didn’t find it to be gratuitous or explicit-he’s a baby! Maybe because the girls are older and I assume it’s not just the dancing, it’s the messages being sent to them throughout media telling them they should dance this way to get positive attention…
“For me, the difference is that the boy is dancing the Samba, a dance brought by enslaved Africans from Angola- beautiful blend of Afro-Brazilian culture”
eh. couldn’t you say that the stanky leg is a dance brought by enslaved africans from nigerian- beautiful blend of afro-american culture?
First time viewing both videos…I can now expound.
In the single ladies video – all I see is talent. First thing I thought of was these girls have skills, they should pursue this further..the outfits aren’t that outrageous to me. I think the choreography is great. I don’t really see what the hoopla is about..its a dance competition.
The samba baby – Ricky Martin watch out! That is all I thought…lol
The samba baby – Ricky Martin watch out! That is all I thought…lol
you thought the baby was gay?
Is you being funny?
It is not outside of the realm of possibilities….lol.
I have not viewed either of these two videos in question, but I have seen others in the past that raise similar questions and uneasiness.
There is a definitive line between child-like cuteness and being provocative. While at times it can be captivating and cute to see a child playfully mimic certain NEUTRAL adult behaviors, it becomes a problem when a child is encouraged to display/mimic ‘inappropriate’ adult behavior. I think in some instances, these parents (and participating relatives) forget that children are truely innocent, and that this innocence should be preserved. To do otherwise is both irresponsible and wreckless.
While at times it can be captivating and cute to see a child playfully mimic certain NEUTRAL adult behaviors
for instance?
***cut and pasted from a comment left above***
i bet if that diaper clad baby was an african-american female baby dancing to single ladies or an instrumental to rude boy she wouldn’t be looked at as funny, cute, and adorable. people would probably say that the parents need to be drawn and quartered, she probably doesn’t have a dad at home, and that she’s 15 years away from filling out a resume for strokers or magic city
i know i’m being the devil’s advocate here, but i think the most interesting thing here isn’t just the cultural differences in how we view sex, but the cultural expectations we have of each other. generally speaking, we think it’s cool and cute for kids in other cultures to do things we’d disapprove of here.
Really? I think that’d be par for the course with this crowd. Cultural relativism- especially with the thought “Culture and Context matters” which is heavily emphasized in HBCU’s, where a good portion of VSBs and VSSs matriculated.
Doesn’t surprise me at all.
“we think it’s cool and cute for kids in other cultures to do things we’d disapprove of here.”
Wrong! It’s not that we think it is cute for OTHER cultures to do it. It’s just not up to me to expect other cultures to act just like mine. If that is part of their culture, who am I to say that isn’t appropriate. It’s within the context of that culture and I’m cool with it.
When i was in Brazil, I met a three year old girl that would put that little girl doing the “Single lady dance” and most Sambistas to shame. I was shocked but all the little girls do it. They learn to dance at an early age.
“It’s just not up to me to expect other cultures to act just like mine. If that is part of their culture, who am I to say that isn’t appropriate. It’s within the context of that culture and I’m cool with it.”
*nods*
It’s only not okay for kids to dance (what we see as) provocative because WE see it that way. And whoever was in charge of those girls dancing that way knew we saw it that way as well. Another culture’s intent could be completely different and hell, we’d have to respect that…just as they’d be expected to respect ours. Think of it this way, a woman wearing shorts isn’t thought of as unpure here, but go to a more chaste culture wearing those and it would be deemed unacceptable. Doesn’t mean we’re wrong and they’re right, just different. Depends on how a particular culture views things, IMO.
Call me crazy but I don’t really see the call for unease. Yes there was a bit of pelvic thrusting but it in no way struck me as being sexual. The difference to me is clear, in the Single Ladies video the girls are dancing provocatively, in literal lingerie, dancing to a song about how a man lusting after the woman that he lost because he did not want to marry her.
On another note, I do appreciate the above comment:
“i know i’m being the devil’s advocate here, but i think the most interesting thing here isn’t just the cultural differences in how we view sex, but the cultural expectations we have of each other. generally speaking, we think it’s cool and cute for kids in other cultures to do things we’d disapprove of here.”
A fair observation that I think should be taken into consideration.
____What **Malia** said bears repeating.____
“We can’t live in denial of context. Chances are, for that baby, it IS just a cultural dance, nothing more. And chances are that, for the black baby, she is being hyper-sexualized by prematurely hyper-sexualized parent(s) who don’t see anything wrong with little Keisha popping it to Lil Wayne.
…
That’s why it’s easier for blacks to not get riled up about the white girls, because chances are they go home to two parents…and private school with extra curricular activities, but for the black girls, chances are they’d be trying to dance their way out of the hood…”
Those urban dance contestants are probably not being raised in households where music videos are played on BET/MTV/VH1 and where provocative R&B/hiphop/rap songs are pervasive. In the interview, the mom of one dancer said that her daughter has never seen the Beyonce music video — only the Alvin & the Chipmunk version of “Single Ladies”. So the kids might be very sheltered EXCEPT for this one precociously sexual dance activity. They will not likely end up like JonBenét Ramsey.
If all paired dancing is inherently sexual, then we can establish a spectrum with ballroom dancing at one extreme and a tip drill performance at the other extreme. In my estimation, that baby’s sumo diaper salsa is closer to the ballroom end. (He’s not grabbing his ankles or popping on a hand stand.) The girls’ “Single Ladies” rendition is nearing tip drill territory.
I am not really comfortable pointing to Caribbean dance or Nigerian dance to excuse the little girls. Premature sexual dance in other cultures doesn’t make it any more appropriate in America. Child rape is on the rise in Nigeria lately. Little black girls who lack the protection of sheltered, upper middle class, two-parent homes need not be portrayed as tantalizing targets for predators.
Off topic:
It’s kinda odd when people who are upper middle class have children who imitate the culture of the lower class. Even when I was in prep school, I’d notice the students with sagging pants who were throwing up gang signs like in those movies “Havoc” or “Alpha Dog.” The parents assume that it’s a temporary persona that their children will try out and shed later.
We’re conditioned to see female bodies as sexual. We’re conditioned to see exposed flesh as sexual. We’re conditioned to see certain movements as sexual. No different from missionaries going to Africa and freaking out because everything was so SEXUAL, when really it was neutral to them but the missionaries were viewing it with their own repressed sex-negative flesh hating lenses.
Damn, I aint no fun. LOL
I get tired of the whole ballroom street dance dichotomy. Ballroom is AS adult and sensual as any other dance, most of the dances intentionally mimic seduction- paso doble, tango. THe children wear sexualized adult clothing and give one another come-hither glances.
Race and class are what makes people see a child with her leg above her head wearing a skin tight show-all leotard as less sexual than a child wearing a pair of black biker shorts and a tank top doing a pelvic thrust.Or Candi whassername doing that move in CB4. Russian men dancing around in tights with padded groins lifting women by the crotch, swooning over their bodies which are covered only in a ruff of a skirt that doesnt cover their ass- thats culture.Cameo wearing codpieces with hot chicks in spandex- thats nassy. Cmon now.
And ANY thing done to black music is considered more vulgar and sexual than the same thing if done to classical music.
A signifier, or sign has little meaning in itself. It depends on what the one viewing the signal takes it to mean. Our society is so oversexualized people arrest women for taking photosof their children breastfeeding because we cannot imagine that people can see a breast or the human body and it be anything BUT sexual.
Let that baby dance, I aint mad at him.
Now this is how a (IMO) a little boy should be dancing (to ‘single ladies’) LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikTxfIDYx6Q
DGP (diaper game proper)
Um…I see no difference at all.
I thought I’d make it a short comment today, it’s close to my naptime.
lol, this cracked me up.
his little leg did me in LOL
You think it’s a game? *in my dmx voice* It’s not a effin’ game!!!!
nap game proper.
Skimmed through other’s thots and ideas on the ‘samba’ baby…lol.
1st off…this ain no samba! all music from Brazil is NOT samba. The song/type of music baby boy is jammin to is “Kuduro” which is a spin off of a genre of club music started in Angola [and danced through out clubs in portguese speaking Africa, Portugal, and now Brazil] literal translation for “kuduru” is “HARD ASS.” Liken it to Jit, B’more house, Miami Bass – its all some freaky booty ish.
Even back home (I’m luso-african) go to any club …and this is the stuff the kids (highschool and early 20′s are jammin to). ALL This to say, this is NOT your foot and hip culturally neutral samba dancing that even the adults are doing! AND the lyrics to kuduro -even the song baby boy is jammin to – are ALL ABOUT SEX!! And contrary to what some of the comments above suggest….Folks from across the seas are not hypo sexualized or sex neutral – kudoro is some freaky ish…period.
NOW am I offended by baby Luis’s moves. Not really……maybe cuz i dig the music and thot the kid looked creepily cool. Creepy cuz….at some point, i thot to myself, “what is bebe Luis thinking right now? does he understand the words? but wait…look at how he’s moving, and seemingly not even thinking about it. like…the beat is in the kids blood. amazing *gasp* BUT he’s in diapers after all, he’s just immitating what he sees around him. it doesn’t ‘mean’ something to him…yet.”
As I thought through it…i had to admit to self, bebe Luis is disturbing!! Especailly since I know the music, gone to the clubs back home w/ my cousins and gasped at the teenie bopper in the corner gettin her kudoro on, and thot, “aaaw hell naw!!” AND I actually understand the lyrics! conclusion.. shame on bebe Luis’s parents [although..he sho knows how to move damn it!]
Now compare that to the whole deal w/ the lil vanilla chicas dancing to B…its the same thing. It’s the visual and emotional gut reaction – tied to what most U.S. based viewers are familiar with. Fredricks of hollywood freaky gear…Beyonce type girations, rapper video-ho moves. THAT ish has us westernized conditioned folks flinching!
I think the only reason why Most of y’all see this baby and think nothing is cuz you’re thinking [and i say this based on some of what i read above] – oh he’s doin the samba…all brazilians dance crazily in the streets and get freaky with no after thot. its their culture.
I could go on. but i have to go back to work. it boils down to -in my opinion-what we associate the visuals with. which is then closely tied to our reference points….
damn, 300 words and i agree with each of them. welcome and sh*t
wordy…i know. sigh. its a curse!!
Interesting observation, which I can’t fully participate in b/c I watched the samba baby (cute!) but purposely did not watch the girls video… Maybe it’s something about the awareness of the participants involved, & what’s more deliberate (considering their ages). I dunno…
I find it interesting how people are like ” oh its just apart of his culture, so it is ok for the baby..” Am I the only one that thinks the way the girls are dancing is also apart of our culture?
And here is the thing about the song choice. When I hear the song or watch the Beyonce video, I don’t think about sex, nor do I think it is super sexualized. The dancing in the Beyonce video had the feel of something new and cutting edge in terms of dancing, I mean it was a “cultural” phenomenon. So, why wouldn’t girls who probably have aspirations of being dancers not want to take part in that? What would have been a better song for them to dance to in the same genre of music as single ladies?
I seriously doubt the girls are trying to be sexy or are thinking about sex. We are projecting our own issues about sex onto them. I think our reaction to the video of the girls dancing says more about us than it does about them.
@ Heather B
1) There was nothing ‘new’ or ‘cutting edge’ about the Beyonce “Single Ladies” video, since the concept & choreography was heavily
copiedborrowed from the 1960′s Bob Fosse choregraphed “Mexican Breakfast”.Cleverly set to the song “Walk it Out”, it was popular on youtube about 3-4 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87FSK6Dfnt4
2) I can agree that the dance aspirations fueling these young girls is purely innocent. Gifted they are. However, Stevie Wonder can see that this routine is a bit risque’, without even going as far as addressing their costumes. Perhaps if the outfits were a bit more age appropriate, and there were less hip thrusts and gyrations including in the routine(both of which are the product of the ADULT choreographer), it wouldn’t be a subject of debate. Or perhaps if the girls were 17 and not 7…
Either way, I do not believe that in this instance, we as viewers are projecting our own issues of sexuallity, but instead, we are simply recognizing the choreographer’s infused sexuallity within the routine.
Its 7:35pm, no one is reading this anymore, so why am I even wasting my time.
One is spontaneous the other is contrived. Sorta like your posts… Get a clue, homeboy. Enough with the faux insight…
The primary difference between the samba boy and the single lady girls are the sex of the children. It’s ok in this society for boys to be hypersexualized…but when it’s a little girl everyone wants to poo-pah. Even with the advent of feminism the double standard is still highly prevalent.
don’t care what no one says, that damn baby ain’t have nothing on the baby doing the stanky leg. In fact its quite the swagger jack to put this baby on a table as well. the stanky leg baby is an OG. if you haven’t seen it Champ its highly recommended. Right after Scarlett takes a tumble the best video on you tube hands down.
i think it is very much a cultural thing. in America, we can look at the little girls and get outraged. but in other countries around the world, kids are dressed up like little sex puppets and put on TV to entertain the masses. it’s no big deal. i live in Korea and have traveled across Asia, in places like Korea, kids are revered. they are everybody’s precious little creatures and God save the man who dares violate a them. who cares if they are dressed up like grown little women, they are still a child. in places like Thailand and the Philippines, the sex industry is a garaunteed money maker, so if there is demand for it, they will give it. even if she, or he, is only 4 or 5 years old. the younger the better. the harsh reality of poverty and husslin.
I know this is post old, but in the last few days, I’ve come across a few related incidents. The first is an attorney for a white female teacher accused of fleeing to Mexico in order to live with her 13 y/o male student. In this clip of Star Jones’ show, the lawyer says that he “resents” the boy being referred to as a child because he is a “Latino machismo teenager” (yeah…. he actually said this out loud). There are many more shocking and offensive comments that the lawyer makes in defending this white woman who was defenseless against the advances of this 13 y/o latino machismo teenager, but that was the one that made me gag the most.
The second is this post about Jaden Smithon a talk show where he was asked to lift his shirt and show his abs. He’s . It is unlikely that a young girl would have been asked to do the same, or if she had, that everyone would have been okay with that.