Three snaps in the air are in order for the Florida high school dance team that went viral for the way they snatch edges in the dancing game!
Last month, the Golden Girls dance squad of the Miami Northwestern Senior High School had the Internet shook with the blue and black costumes the young ladies adorned while on the sidelines of a football game.
While I saw young black women strutting with pride, heads thrown back, and invisible crowns held high as they made their entrance, others saw the need to offer their critique of what they deemed “inappropriate” and viewed as young girls wearing lingerie. The dance team quickly went viral with everyone offering an opinion, with comments that ranged from "These girls look like strippers," to "This is disgusting, I'm done." A father also offered his take saying, "Women don't see a problem with this but men with daughters do. Guaranteed none of these girls have a father in their lives."
This week, the principal of the high school, Wallace Arisitde, issued a statement to the public, explaining that the parents of every girl on the dance team gave approval for the costumes the young ladies wear:
“Miami Northwestern Senior High School has always been a source of pride for students, parents, alumni and the community. We will continue that tradition. While all the parents of the dancers who participated in the event approved of the attire, we understand the concerns that have been raised and sincerely apologize for any offense this may have caused. Looking ahead, we will implement a more comprehensive and stringent uniform approval process to ensure an appropriate representation of our school.”
Unfortunately, the sexualization of black women has always been a cause for concern in the black community.
At the age of 8, little girls are told to stop being so “fast” when they walk into a room with their nightgown on while a male guest over the age of 30 is in the house. At 14, the shorts she is wearing because of the hips she is beginning to develop make her look easy, despite the fact that her peers might wear the same attire with no qualms at all. At 28, she could be fully clothed and still cat-called and called out of her name, just because.
The double standard runs deep.
Meanwhile, the dance team’s director and former Miami Heat dancer Traci Young-Byron, became privy to the heat and fired back at disparagements, shedding light on the fact that sexualization of women tends to be something only black young ladies are subjected to. The former dancer even noted the importance of wearing costumes that allow dancers to move without restriction.
Although the principal mentioned a more comprehensive uniform approval process in his statement, Young-Byron brought even more sass to their outfits this week. The Golden Girls were spotted entering the stadium entrance in shoulder wings, cage skirts, and neon pink ponytails, which had heads turning once again during Game 4.
YAS!
Yasss!
Yasssssssss!
There’s no better way to make a statement about how you won’t succumb to patriarchy and misogynoir than to make an entrance that screams busy and unbothered. Real Queens move in silence and allow their success to be their noise.
Keep slaying young Queens!
RELATED
