By Kat Bein
As a self-respecting female with professional aspirations and a desire to be taken seriously as an individual, it's become increasingly difficult to identify with American electronic dance music culture without feeling kind of irresponsible.
See Also: Guys, Predatory Dance Floor Boners are Not OK
Six or seven years ago, the playing field was pretty even. We went out to parties, we dressed as if David Bowie and Karen O had a baby, we got drunk on whiskey, we danced and we were never embarrassed by our surroundings.
But things have changed. What started out as fun, rowdy party tricks have been fully incorporated into the scene as sexist expectations. That which was once ironic parody has become a parody of itself. We no longer look around the dance floor and see a utopia of acceptance.
Yes, this party is sexist. Here's why.
Bodies as Billboards Sticker wars are one of the most enjoyable parts of the EDM game. It's exciting to be out in the world and find a sticker of a DJ/producer you enjoy, or a blog you read regularly, or even the sticker of a personal friend stuck onto a garbage can or a light pole or the side of a bar. It's like walking into an inside joke. But somewhere along the way, someone put a sticker on a woman's bare ass and had a million-dollar idea. Suddenly, stickers as pasties became the latest thing every DJ needed on their FB profile. Now it's sadly more an expectation than a shocking sign of good times. We shouldn't have to remind every asshole we meet with a sticker not to put it on our tits without asking, but we do.
Face Down, Ass Up Listen, Diplo. I'm glad you helped introduce the world to NOLA bounce, twerking, daggering and the like. You and Eric Wareheim definitely killed it with that "Pon De Floor" video. Shit is classic. But now that Miley has completely murdered the neo-swing art form and turned it into modern, misunderstood exploitative garbage, we need to make it stop. News flash: Strippers aren't role models. The idea that a woman has nothing but her sexuality to rely on as a moneymaker is disgusting, outdated and depressing. When executed properly, twerking and daggering are impressive, but when you're submitting pictures of yourself half-naked upside down on things just because everyone else is doing it, you're officially an attention-deprived moron.
