Twerk Fever: Very Much Real

This was my super informal definition essay from my AP Rhet class last week. Enjoy!
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            What do Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop” music video and the Harlem Shake video have in common? There is a lot of twerking. What is “twerking”, you may ask. It is the latest obsession of teenagers, adults, men, and women alike that has been causing warm cheeks and headaches all across the nation.

            The first signs of “twerking” appeared over two decades ago when bounce music started to emerge as an actual genre of music in New Orleans. The hard beats and bass caused people to be overcome by the desire to “shake their booties” and hips to the rhythm. Ever since the first reference of it in the song “Do the Jubilee All,” which came out in 1993, twerking has become increasing famous. So much so, that it is now in the dictionary, but the definition does not include “odd obsession that seems to have no cure.”

            Twerking has become a sort of fever epidemic that spreads by the internet and social media. After Miley Cyrus’ duet with Robin Thicke at the VMAs in August of 2013, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram exploded with pictures and posts about twerking. Videos and posts about people trying to twerk have also increased substantially and at an alarming rate. Songs and referencing to this “dance move” are helping in the spread of this epidemic.

            Twerking has become such an obsession, that some people cannot continue with every day activities. People twerk as they walk, people twerk as they do the dishes, people twerk all the time. It has been known to be hazardous to health; preventing an individual from being social and causing uncomfortable situations when the act of twerking is inappropriate. Variations of twerking, such as “wall twerking,” is even more dangerous because it has been known to lead to falling over and the spread of fires. An increase of hip cramps and strains has occurred in the United States and is slowly spreading to Great Britain, to Canada, to the rest of the world.

            This epidemic must be stopped. People across the globe must be educated about this obsession and must be taught to never try it, because it is addictive and those who start can’t stop. It causes friendships to fail, video qualities to decrease, and the health of the world to worsen. Spread the word and prevent the Twerk Fever from spreading.