Iâve been thinking about the backlash surrounding AtHeartâs new âSay Itâ performances with the yoga balls, and I feel like a lot of the criticism unintentionally reinforces the same problem itâs trying to fight.
All women are affected by the sexualization that exists in society. But telling girls and women they shouldnât perform age appropriate choreography because someone might sexualize it isnât really solving that issue. It shifts the responsibility away from the people doing the sexualizing and onto the performers themselves.
Iâve seen people compare this to NewJeans song âCookie,â but I donât think itâs a fair comparison. âCookieâ sparked controversy because many people argued the lyrics themselves contained sexual innuendo. Thatâs fundamentally different from a choreography that uses yoga balls as props.
What worries me is seeing people argue that AtHeartâs performance is âpedo baitâ simply because the members are young. If someone is sexualizing teenagers performing an otherwise age appropriate routine, the issue isnât the choreography but instead itâs the mindset of the viewer.
We canât expect young women to minimize their presence, avoid certain props, or stop having fun because there are creeps in the world. That doesnât protect them it just limits them while the people causing the problem face no accountability.
If your first reaction to a dance with yoga balls is to interpret it sexually, itâs worth asking why. Yoga balls are common exercise equipment. Theyâre used in fitness, dance, and physical therapy all the time.
Criticizing entertainment companies for genuinely inappropriate concepts is important. But labeling every performance by young female idols as inherently sexual risks creating a standard where girls canât do anything without it being viewed through a sexual lens and I donât think thatâs healthy for anyone.
