Parents, and at least a few conservative groups, were not happy to see this video of a young boy twerking and grinding at a gay pride parade. The video was taken at São Paulo Pride in Brazil on June 6 and has since gone viral — for all the wrong reasons.
The young boy, possibly no older than 12 according to Opposing Views, can be seen dancing without a shirt in short denim shorts within a circle of people. Festival attendees cheer the boy on as he twerks and grinds to “Sissy That Walk” by RuPaul.
When posted by Ovenworthy, the young boy was called an inspiration and hailed for “fighting homophobia.” The Ovenworthy post went on to say, “Progressives need to work together to create a whole generation of kids like this.”
Gay Star News reports that responses to the video took a dark turn when it was posted to a white supremacy website. Commenters accused those with a “homosexual agenda” of converting children to homosexuality. Other vile commenters went on to make ignorant statements like, “Kill the f******.”
Perhaps on Reddit, we can find a voice of reason. When the video was posted to Reddit, one of the top commenters pointed out, “If this were a 12-year-old girl, everybody would be sh***ing all over the parents and the festivalgoers encouraging them. The fact that it’s a boy doesn’t make it somehow acceptable.”
At first view of this video, I was almost inclined to agree with Ovenworthy’s take. It’s refreshing to see a child being encouraged to celebrate so freely at a gay pride festival. It’s the opposite of the way I was raised in a you’re-going-to-hell Christian household, and it embodies the same acceptance I hope to pass on to my sons.
But, white supremacists aside, the real issue most rational parents have with this video is the boy’s age. The Reddit commenter is spot on: This boy was being celebrated for dancing suggestively because he was at a gay pride festival, an event I support completely. But if it was a 12-year-old girl wearing a halter top and short shorts, twerking at a festival, her parents would probably have CPS called on them.
The heart of this video is in the right place. It’s exciting and uplifting to see kids participate in pride events that spur on progressive change. But the main problem that we can’t overlook here is this boy’s age. Parents are bothered because this boy is way too young to be twerking in a crowd of people, no matter the event, and they would be right.
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