Happy Feet

I’m sure most, if not all of you have at least heard of the movie Happy Feet. While I adore the character of Mumble and his fellow penguin friends, I am quite disturbed that his walking style has been adopted by so many young men in society. You know what I am referring to, teenage and young adult males, in some cases females as well, purposely placing their pants under their bottoms and calling that fashion. Underwear should now be renamed shorts, as their visibility to all no longer makes the style and color a secret only the owner knows.

Worse than the visible underwear however, is the new style of walking that these low-riding pants have created. Legs permanently spread in order to prevent the pants from falling, creating a shuffling movement by the owner, similar to those of a penguin. Their posture has also changed to a slouching position, as standing erect would cause the pants to fall.

While this style is not limited to any one racial group (see picture above), media coverage does portray its prominence in minority communities. Because of this, it is important that we teach our young men to break the mold and be different. It’s not about “selling out” or “acting white,” it’s about presenting ourselves in a manner than is respectable and demands respect. We can’t change the color of our skin, but how we dress and act can help to change a person’s viewpoint of us.

In Happy Feet, Mumble was different from the other penguins because he couldn’t sing to attract a mate. Instead he was gifted with the talent of tap dancing. Others made fun of him and were afraid that he wouldn’t get a mate, but in the end he found someone who loved him for who he us. As we interact with teens, let us remind them that there is nothing wrong with being different and standing out from the crowd. Like Mumble, that may be the way they discover their true talent.