The “Freakin'” Dance is the New Lambada

-Anyi Howell

When I was in middle school it was freaking. Before that it was humping. It was always inappropriate. It was always a simulation of sex. It was never called the “Rape Dance,” that is until some kids were caught on tape doing the forbidden dance with some onlookers saying “Rape that ho”. Now “Freakin'” or Humpin'” is being misinterpreted as “Rape Dancing”. Changing the name of this dance style yet again won’t do anything to stop the dance itself from happening. It will only change young people’s attitudes and associations with the word rape, which is much more serious than two willing partners dry humping to the high hats and the bass of the beat.

On youtube.com there are two videos that accurately portray what would be called a rape dance. The first is a young, sweaty Caucasian high school student walking up to people and grinding on them. The subjects, who are repulsed, push him off of them. This is a real rape dance because there is an unwanted advance. The other “Rape Dance” is a bunch of annoying geeks shouting in cheerleader fashion “Stop! Don’t touch me there! This is my private square! R-A-P-E! Get your hands away from me!”.

There was a Brazilian song and dance called the Lambada in the 80’s that was deemed scandalous because it was a dance where partners grind bellies together. Some men killed their wives in Brazil for doing the dance with other men. While no one is killing over young people freaking on the dance floor, the outrage is still there. But youngstas have always been dirty dancing. Bobby Brown got arrested in the 80’s for gyrating with women on stage. Elvis was censored on the Ed Sullivan show in the 60’s for gyrating his pelvis by himself; they refused to include any part of him below the waist in the frame. I have a solution for people worried that “humping” will lead to rape, just as the Lambada led to murder: start teaching the Waltz and the Polka in schools again, or maybe the “Barefootin'”.