The Science of Twerking: the Booty and the Brain
Why write about twerking?
translation: wtf is this?
Well, the word sort of went viral at one point and has now become well-integrated into our language and culture. However, it is heavily stigmatized as a form of self expression and has been made the scapegoat for much of the harm endured by those who embrace it — specifically Black womxn and young girls.
As someone who is 1,000% Pro-Twerk and 10-billion percent Anti-Misogynoir, I believe twerking is much more than making that thang clap. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but the anger and disgust it evokes within some people needs to be redirected toward things that truly threaten the safety of Black womxn and girls.
So I shall explain my perspective while making reference to neuroscience, physics, and psychology.
Neuroscience
If you have ever twerked, you understand why it’s often referred to as “putting in work.” Twerking is cardio that engages multiple muscle groups.
Studies have found that acute exercise (a single bout of physical activity) increases level of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine (Basso, 2017). These neurotransmitters and their effects are very likely involved in one’s experience of a good twerk session.
Dopamine: involved in controlling movement and posture as well as mood modulation and positive reinforcement (Dubuc, n.d.)
Epinephrine AKA adrenaline: modulates heart activity and blood pressure and relaxes bronchial and intestinal muscle (APA Dictionary, n.d.)
Norepinephrine AKA noradrenaline: involved in attentiveness, emotions, and learning (Dubuc, n.d.)
Physics
Psychology
“Flow” is a psychological state in which a person feels cognitively efficient, thoroughly invested, and completely enraptured by an endeavor. To be “in flow” is colloquially known as “in the zone” or “in my bag.”
There are 9 components of flow (Kawabata & Mallett, 2011, p. 393–394).
Challenge-Skill Balance: a sense that one is engaged in challenge commensurate with one’s current ability
Action-Awareness merging: involvement is so deep that action feels spontaneous and almost automatic
Clear Goals: a feeling of certainty about what one is going to do
Unambiguous Feedback: immediate and clear feedback about one’s action
Concentration on the Task at Hand: a feeling of being intensively focused on what one is doing in the present moment
Sense of Control: a sense that one can deal with the situation because one knows how to respond to whatever happens next
Loss of Self-Consciousness: lack of concern or worry about the self reflectively
Transformation of Time: a sense that the way time passes is distorted
Autotelic Experience: experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding
I don’t know about you, but twerking checks all these boxes for me.
So why does twerking deserve a place in society?
Maybe twerking provides an emotional and physical experience that is rewarding enough to motivate us to engage in it frequently, which makes it a legitimate form of exercise and a meaningful form of play.
And maybe we deserve to experience feelings of freedom and enjoyment in this way regardless of whether it’s grounded in science.
And anyone who disagrees is free to focus on their own body and their own business.
Dassit!
References
American Psychological Association. APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. https://dictionary.apa.org/epinephrine.
Basso, J. C., & Suzuki, W. A. (2017). The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain plasticity (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2(2), 127–152. https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-160040
Dubuc, B. The Brain from Top to Bottom. THE BRAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. https://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_01/i_01_m/i_01_m_ana/i_01_m_ana.html.
Kawabata, Masato & Mallett, Cliff. (2011). Flow experience in physical activity: Examination of the internal structure of flow from a process-related perspective. Motivation and Emotion. 35. 393–402. 10.1007/s11031–011–9221–1.
