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Sjoe, twerking hasn’t been a buzzword on Twitter for a while now.

Failed events in Australia, however…

If we combine twerking with a failed Australian event, we have ourselves what happened this past Saturday.

An Australian dance troupe called 101 Doll Squadron, hired by the Royal Australian Navy, have blown up on Twitter for dancing at a commissioning ceremony for a new ship, the HMAS Supply.

It wasn’t their fault, and they were just doing their jobs.

The dancers are usually hired for parties, hen nights, and workshops, but this time they found themselves at a navy event, doing their thing, only to have to deal with a massive backlash that isn’t of their own doing.

The navy can’t explain why the dancers were hired for their event in the first place, which mainly consisted of the usual pomp customary at a ceremonial event; a brass band performance, formal speeches, ranks of sailors saluting and marching in lockstep.

This video was widely shared on Twitter, and shows off some of the interesting dance moves:

NEW: The Royal Australian Navy commissioned HMAS Supply in Sydney today, and uh….. organised this dance to celebrate pic.twitter.com/OvCYlhhGZG

— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) April 10, 2021

As the footage circulated, conservative lawmakers called the dancing “inappropriate”, tabloids began to criticise military standards, and others shamed and sexualised the dancers.

There were also numerous complaints about the media coverage of it all; the girls and their bodies shouldn’t be policed, nor should big media platforms manipulate footage to add to the chaos.

The event gained traction online after an ABC News reporter shared a separate video on Twitter – “which spliced shots of the women’s energetic gyrations with stone-faced reactions of attending military leaders”.

The BBC reports:

His tweet – later deleted – quoted a government MP bemoaning a fall in defence force standards. This framing set off a viral firestorm.

The footage, it turns out, had been manipulated, which led to the criticism of the ABC, Australia’s national broadcaster, which later apologised.

Here’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison expressing his “disappointment that this event was so misreported”:

The Daily Telegraph, a Murdoch-owned tabloid headquartered in Sydney, was also criticised for its coverage after it blew up pictures of the dancers on their front page and in a double spread:

Not cool, @dailytelegraph. pic.twitter.com/NfaIluWqXe

— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) April 14, 2021

If you ask the members of 101 Doll Squadron, they say it was the media’s amplification of the story in the first place that has been most harmful:

“We found this very creepy and reflects more on the ABC’s camera operator and their need to sexualise these women and their dance piece for their own gratification,” their statement read.

Just keep twerkin’, girls.

[source:bbc]