However, as Hill mentioned, it’s not just Travis Kelce who is pushing this trend. Explainer articles about “Swag Surfin” have popped up after Swift was seen pulling the dance move at the AFC Championship Game. In this case, an article from The Sporting News called it “the Chiefs’ viral dance celebration”. Swag Surfin dates back to 2009 and the F.L.Y. song of the same name. But the co-opting of Black-created dance moves is not a new thing. The Wikipedia page for “The Griddy” features two images of white people doing the dance, despite the creator being Black and a Black NFL player have been the one to further popularize it.
Furthermore, it’s not the first time that Swift specifically has been involved in discussions of cultural appropriation. Swift received a great deal of backlash for the music video of her 2014 hit “Shake If Off”. The “joke” of the video is that Swift is trying and failing to replicate dance moves such as twerking. However, it’s much more again to lampshading – simply pointing out that the self-awareness of an action does not excuse the action itself.
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