Reader Concerned About Willow Smith: Your Thoughts?
Monday, October 4, 2010 at 9:25AM The Blogmother Sorry, the Blogmother had an incredibly busy weekend. Strike that, I'm not sorry. I got to travel to hang out with family, finished a draft chapter. Knocked down some major work for BWB 2011 in Los Angeles, which is on track to be massive larger than BWB2010 and though I have some posts in the que, they aren't polished enough for the seriousness of the content. So you can continue the discussion from last week regarding the 68 year old woman being bullied by the 12 year old boy in Chicago. No reader has indicated that they made any progress on speaking with a window replacement place in Chicago. So that's still a "TO DO" item that is hanging out there.
In the meantime, a "concerned reader" (who I suspect is a publicist or friend of the choreographers) sent me this YouTube video of little girls performing a routine choreographed to Willow Smiths "Whip My Hair". The reader said that they wanted to know what I thought. I suspect they wanted me to go on a rant about Willow Smith hooking up with Beyonce's drug dealing husband, but the truth is I'm almost too busy to care right about now. Maybe in a week, I'll care.
Are some of the dance moves reminiscent of movie scenes involving strippers? Yes. Am I concerned about little Black girls flinging weave around and the fact that its kinda hard to whip most Black girl's hair in its natural state? Perhaps. Is there a problem with little girls running around with their mid drift hanging out, probably, but the "concerned" reader didn't need me to tell you what any soul with two eyes can see. If you need me to say little girls should NOT be looking as if they are auditioning for a role in Show Girls then all is lost. I do have to commend their commitment to physical fitness however. More little girls should be dancing, I'm about to sign up for Salsa classes, but I'm grown.
I did hear Willow's song on 97.9 as I was driving out of Houston so she's officially arrived. She also sounds just like Rihanna BTW. And yes I did whip my two strand twists back and forth a couple of times. Couldn't decipher a word the girl was saying because that nasally delivery makes enunciation hard, she could have been singing about worshiping the Devil and sacrificing kittens for all I know, but the hook is catchy. And yes, I am a "car dancer."
So this concerned reader lucked out today because I didn't have another post ready to go and I'm swamped:
I've been following your blog for some time now and I find it to be very inspirational and thought-provoking. I have a video clip that I want to share, just to get feedback from you and others on it.
I'm concerned about the lil' girls of this generation and the influence that mainstream media has on the mind of our young girls.
Please feel free to share what you think about this. Has the parent's of lil' Willow taken this thing too far? Is it cute or should would be concerned?
She'd like your feedback. Feel free to give it to her.Have a great Monday.
P.S. I am concerned that a number of y'all are going to end up with cervical and thoracic strains and sprains from whipping you head and neck all over the place to this song. Safety First!
30 Comments | Share Article Whip My Hair, Willow Smith
Reader Comments (30)
I think alot of little girls are going to get whiplash because of this song...
I'm bald. The only thing I'll be whipping is my radio dial to turn from any station giving this crap airplay. What about the children with alopecia? Think about the CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIILDREN!!!
*Ending fake concern*
You mentioned many of the problems I have with the song. It's pretty difficult to whip an afro (unless of course one has GOOD hair), but what 9 year old romps around the world to attend fashion week with Anna Wintour and Naomi Campbell, all while decked out in an Alexander McQueen (R.I.P) garaminals couture ensemble?
Since she ain't MY CHILD and I have no idea what it's like to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, I'll limit my judments to the ones I've stated AND the one's listed in your post.
I really wish a 9 year old black child would make a song about liking math or not wanting to eat brussel sprouts, but I suppose what I understand kid behavior to be has drastically changed.
Oh, and kudos on the BWB and book progress.
I haven't heard the song here in Atlanta played regularly. They played it once and people laughed it off as Will and Jada trying to make their children famous through good all nepotism. The music business is filled with this type of stuff. I really don't care for it. It sounds like any other pop song out there.
Well, what do you folks think about Lil P-Nutt? This seven year old has manners, says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and has age appropriate rap lyrics. This link shows him on The Ellen Degeneres Show "yes ma'am"ing the heck out of her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKaoSmzSIc
Yeesh, if she sounds like Rihanna I hope I never hear it. Rihanna's "singing" makes me want to shove a #2 pencil in my ear.
Will and Jada, ARE THEY SERIOUS???
And she's only, what, 9 years old? I'm with Bro. BlkSeaGoat, what about a song about liking math, computer technology, chemistry, nuclear physics, The Creator, post-colonial African Literature, i.e., Buchi Emecheta, Ama Ata Aidoo, Bessie Head, etc.?
After the Smiths produced or executive co-produced (or some kind of producer role) the wonderful Broadway play, "FELA!", I'm a bit disappointed. I only recently saw a pix of Willow.
Little girls can no longer just be little girls, huh?
:( :(
"what about a song about liking math, computer technology, chemistry, nuclear physics, The Creator, post-colonial African Literature, i.e., Buchi Emecheta, Ama Ata Aidoo, Bessie Head, etc.?"
Ashanti already covered each one of these topics like 4 or 5 years ago. I especially enjoyed her jam concerning the history of PASCAL - both the computer program *and* the French philospher/mathematician. It was postively delicious fare!
eh Willow is just living out Jada's dream. The only problem I have with this is that she did mention she was falling behind in her math lessons and tutoring sessions on Ryan Seacrest's morning show.
As long as she doesn't pull a Montana Fishburne at 18 years, I guess I'm not that concerned. Drew Barrymore did alright as a Hollywood Pod Child. (The white people do it too argument.) :)
I thought it was a Beyonce / Rhianna song since I don't listen to "urban radio." I'm not familiar with the dance moves either.
The clothes for little girls have been "adult" orientated for a quite a few years (or decades). It makes the kiddie porn collectors happy, as will the video.
I"m sorry but I looooove this video. Thanks for sharing. I think those girls are sooo cute. Yes, the dancing is appropriate the costumes are cute with the exception of the blond tryin' to be Britney. I just truly loved this. Look, this ain't the 50s. These girls are not dancing like sluts or anything like that. Yes, this was awesome.
MOnica
Hmmm. The song is cute and pop. The lyrics, she clearly got a little help with these. I look at both of the kids - cause her brother has been acting for a while, and I think about my nephew who loved instruments and magic and how we encouraged both in him since he was about 7 yrs old. The magic shows have stopped but the music plays on. He is still playing music and enjoying himself while he makes a living working on comptuers. I think the kids are just creative and their parents have the money and the influence to help them along. I wish I had it to offer me nephew, honestly. It is not that unnatural for children to emulate their parents or other folks they admire. Her brother has been acting for years so to me this is something the Smith's allow their children to do as long as it is positive and part of their (the kids) interest. As long as she is enjoying herself and the song is not demeaning I do not see an issue. In a world where children are hearing and repeating songs about Sex Rooms and other nonsense, to hear what she is talking about is a relief. Of COURSE it is over done, but she does kind of (except for the driving part!) lives the life she is "rapping" about.
I would personally encourage parents to help their kids embrace the gifts they have and to express them. It builds confidence in the children and sparks creativity. You may not be Will and Jada, but letting your kids be themselves in a positve way is a gift to them and who knows, maybe the world.
The chorus was too irritating, I couldn't make it through the video.
On the video :uuuuuuhhhhhhh,some of the clothes & the booty poppin & shimmy shakin in that video, smh,especially for the thicker little girls made them look a little too grown.unfortunately there are men that don't care about age they just see bodies with little boobs and behinds.i say no!Plus God forbid anything "bad" happens to these little girls I think the same people saying it's not a problem for them to dress and dance that way will be calling them all kinds of too hot to trot loose little girls that got what was coming to them.There are some sadistic people among us that will approve of our dysfunction and then sit back and watch the fall out and will enjoy seeing us suffer.
There used to be dances back in the day that anyone could do without "gyratin" what happened?
This is Christina Milians video Am to pm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCRwjtz4g9k The little girls could have did similar dances.I think it's crazy that in this video Christina may have been in her late teens to maybe 20 and her video was less booty poppin than this.At the end Christina has on an outfit that shows her body off but considering how old she is compared to these little girls their video makes Am to PM look somewhat saintly.JMO
I know I'm older than dirt, but a whip-lash kind of dance move is not cute on a 9 year old.
Reminds me of those sisters in the step show earlier this year that got beat (IMO) by our White sisters. The sisters were too busy whipping their hair all around, while our White sisters focused on what's really important in a step show -- timing, execution, creativity, fun, edgy-ness, attitude, sexy-while-still-classy, hard work and practice, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! They had their hair pulled back, smiled, and focused on their routine.
Yep, I said it! The White girls beat the sisters, fair and square! :)
(and yeah, I'm a AKA and an Alpha Angel!) LOL!
These girls are very talented, and showcasing their skills builds confidence--on the whole, definitely positive. I don't care for the song--and the shallowness--but it's a reflection of what's celebrated in our culture. As for the Smiths--I saw a clip on Oprah where they mentioned wanting their children to explore how they could contribute to the family business. Helping your family should be encouraged, and it's important to be realistic about money with kids from an early age, but it sounds to me like they're putting unnecessary pressure on them at this stage. That being said, we all love to point at celebrities, because it takes the attention off our own shortcomings. When it comes to children, if it makes them happy and helps them feel good (within the bounds of discretion and reason--and I don't see any lines being crossed in either the song, or the video above), I'm all for it.
I may be an old fogey, but sorry, I do not believe that the way these young girls are expressing themselves in the video is healthy for them. Their dancing is not age-appropriate.
I'm sorry, but when you start judging what's "age appropriate" for physical movement, you expose the limits of your value system. Dance is creative. It's supposed to be fun. These kids would have a hard time being this enthusiastic about ballet.
And I'd rather watch this than a ballet recital any day of the week, month, or year. Imposing adult value systems on children is stifling and limiting. Some religions outlaw public dancing of any kind--
what people sometimes fail to grasp is that repression of the physical (which is invariably linked to the sexual) often invites deviance more than tolerance would, much in the same way that prohibition can popularize unhealthy activities.
This song grates on my nerves! They play it regularly on Detroit stations and every time I hear it I break my neck to change the station. Anyhoo, I don't see anything out the ordinary in the video. Some of their moves and clothing seem a bit too grown. But, hey that's what kids do these days and many parents are fine with it. They're not my daughters.
I'm going to sort of piggyback on revmamaafrika's post and mention that the routine could use some tightening up though if they wish to really go anywhere. Earlier this year a video was circulating with bunch of mostly little White girls dancing to "Single Ladies." It was way too much for me to watch the entire thing, but from what little I did see the dancing was ON POINT. The girls clearly put in a lot of practice and the choreography was tight. Since it seems like these days our Black kids are only interested in rappin' and shaking their behinds, at least parents should make sure it looks somewhat professional before they put a video out there. Make sure they at least have a chance to compete in the race.
I'm not mad at the Smiths for putting their kids out there like that. If the child has talent (real or manufactured), then I say go for it. As a parent of a Black child, I would love to see more Black youngsters (and other kids of color) in the media to balance out all the Hannah Montanas and Justin Biebers. I also wish the Smiths, with their money and influence, would produce some science fiction, fantasy, & adventure movies for kids/families with a cast featuring kids of color. I got so tired of dragging my child and nephews to see Harry Potter, Narnia, Lemony Snicket to watch White kids having fun and adventures.
I love the tone of this entry -- you're very funny. I stumbled across this site while surfing for information about raising black girls. I'll definitely be back.
@ Sheryl, "veggie back", please. :)
@ Outlaw, huh, ok, so I'm all for being sex positive, content with my body, secure in my sexuality, etc, etc., BUT THESE ARE YOUNG GIRLS, IF THEY ARE EVEN 13 YEARS OLD. Why must we do this? To prove what to who? Why is "whipping hair" so important? Why all the skin showing for some of the girls? Why must some of us over-sexualize, over thugerize our children? And yes, I do know kids their age that are that excited about ballet, jazz and tap dance, etc. As a matter of fact, I just saw some pre-teen and teen girls do an awe-inspiring tap dance routine to my girl Janelle Monae's new video, "Tightrope." Sadly, our children are merely victims of misguided parents/adults.
And don't get me started about parents/"responsible" adults, some of them church folks, letting their children wear strapless dresses, minis and jeans hanging off their behinds in the House of the Lord. :(
I"m a little torn. in a way I like that girls learn to move like that. I don't ever want that 20 years later all the white girls are moving with agile bodies and we (blacks) are unable to sway, etc. At least not until its been proven that these kinds of movements have no use (there was once this religious white woman who was pretty reserved, conservative, shy etc. But when the time came and she had to give birth, she just instinctively bent down swayed her body like you wouldn't believe! stories I get from my labor coach sister).
Lately I've been really curious about war dances, why tribes would dance before a war, why Ethiopians dance mostly with their shoulders, why Masai warriors jump so high (that seems to be their whole dance routine).What do these things bring? What do they induce? What power do they hold if any??? I'm so curious about the whole thing. ...
(I still remember my favorite phrase from the movie, The Cotton Club: "I'm gonna kill 'em with my tapping shoes!")
But when it comes to guys oogling these videos, then I get nervous. Should little girls be exposed in such a way to the world? idk. Doesn't feel right especially in light of the situation in the BC.
And then I worry about them all wearing weaves. It feels like a missed chance everytime a really fun video is out and the kids are not promoting their natural selves. By promoting weaves they are establishing a hierarchy (I think) and the only ones who can ever "beat" the weaves is white folks hair. Not so fun.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I think there is something in dancing and unless we understand or appreciate its value and then with open eyes reject it, I worry. I don't want that we throw things away out of fear or ignorance or any negative reason. But at the same time there is the reality of perverts to think about. Not to mention self esteem in the long run (re: weaves).
and yet another reason NOT to listen to commercial radio...
The problem that I had with this post and comment section is the desire to pick apart young girls. Specifically, young black girls. It's like most people were looking to find anything wrong in this video and then write a rant about it. These girls aren't in make-up. Their moves are not sexual. Their clothes are fine and appropriate with the exception of the Britney wanna be. They're not grinding up against young boys. It's a beautiful example of little girl power. This video did not age these girls. They started off as little girls and it ended on that note. Even the song is age appropriate. And yet, people MUST find what is wrong. The fact of the matter is part of youth is the ability to dance and sing. Parents back in the day, were video-taping their kids and their theatrics. It's just now-adays it goes on Youtube and the internet. I don't know if I'd do that but you never know the good that can come of it. Let's think positively for one moment.
@ Miriam, I hear you talking. Men lusting after little girls is the fault of the men; the little girls are CHILDREN and the men are suppose to be ADULTS. That some men do this is not the fault of the little girls. Men's violence towards women and girls is their responsibility.
I realize that we all are exposed to the negative, unhealthy, dangerous messages of sexism/patriarchy towards women and girls; some act that out, some don't.
But this is why so many of us protest on blogs, emails, sidewalks, streets, rallies, city, state, county and national governments, etc., against such portrayals of women and girls; psychological warfare against us is insistent, consistent, constant, sometimes subtle, somestimes not, etc. The insane, the dangerous, the harmful, etc., over a period of time soon becomes the sane, the safe, the "norm", "mainstream."
That we accept such violent imagery against us, sometimes our own "sisters" justify it, is to me really sad. All to make money and get attention. Sad indeed. :(
@revmama yes, children do reflect the environment they grow up in--and when they are young, the values of the adults around them (to a small or large extent). a parent who makes sure their child attends church is to be praised. god doesn't love you any less, or more, based on how you dress. respect and reverence for God is one of the most important values a parent can teach a child--being uptight, uncomfortable, and worried about how you/your child look is less important. if only folks with nice clothes went to church, there might be fewer people there.
@miriam dance is historically and culturally significant and fascinating. i'm curious as to what you're learning. as far as posting videos of young girls dancing on the internet goes--i probably wouldn't do this unless my child specifically asked and wanted me to, and truly understood that releasing something to the internet means that it is there FOREVER. even when she is as old as me, and no matter what has happened in her life.
expecting excellence from kids helps them to achieve. but i don't think excellence should be valued over forging one's own identity, and being true to oneself and others. and every now and then, we should be able to turn the expectations off and have a good time. we're here to enjoy each other and the planet for whatever time we have.
@ Outlaw,
I would be delighted in sharing with u what I've been learning about dancing. (I have more questions than answers though) I don't know -I don't think- this is the forum for it, so if there's a different forum to do this, I would be fine.
re: turning the expectation off and have a good time every now and then.
I agree. Sometimes I feel nothing should be wasted (no time, etc) but these are kids afterall.
I have a 12 year old daughter and I as I reflect on the world she is growing up in, I am concerned. I am even more concern that we give rap moguls like JaZ, LudiCris and Puff Daddy a pass because their philanthropic work in communities of color. They have done more harm than good. I wonder how many young women have been turned out as a result of aspiring to become "the one" waiting to be cast in a video. I am impartial to this video, because the message is suppose to be about girl power. Yes, it do see some value in the message, but the bigger issue is that our girls are going up with too fast. The idea for our girls black or white to parade in front of a video camera in mid drifts and or any form of mature clothing is inappropriate and wrong. For that reason, I am weighing on the side of caution. I read a few comments stating the appropriateness of the video, "with the exception" of . . . the white girl. We have to see pass color. An adult choreographed this dance routine and we need to begin to hold adults accountable for allowing our girl's innocence to be compromised as such an early age.
i've seen this video, and although i think ts inappropriate for little black girls to be wearing weaves below the age of 14, and dancing innapropriately, there is another video which is just HORRIBLE; it shows little girls around the AGE OF SEVEN in whore lke bras and garter belts all black and red; THE PARENTS THOUGHT IT WAS CUTE AND COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO W ERE MAD!! it was to Beyonces song 'all the single ladies'; the men 'fathers' of the girls liked it!! I wonder if the little girls are being molested and the mothers of them were afraid of being alone and not complain--one of the little girls in the group was black, so this isse effects us too.
I guess the point I was trying to make is that when you make things fun for them, rather than being concerned with appropriateness, excellence/perfection--you often get a better performance from kids, and everyone enjoys it more. Sister Act 2 does a great job of showing how this works in terms of performance. There's a fine line between what's relevant to kids and popular culturally, and what an older audience would like modeled as "good" behavior. This video does an ok job of balancing those concerns (and was produced by amateurs), Sister Act 2 did a very good job with this (and was produced by professionals).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M&feature=related
I can still imagine some in the audience being shocked and disapproving of the totally awesome final scene in Sister Act 2--but in my opinion, those people just don't get it, perhaps never will, and will die nonetheless.
@Outlaw -I wrote for you a post at this blog to Outlaw