Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think Rachel 'Raygun' gun has broken the phrase 'Oh for the confidence of a mediocre man'?

258 replies

Raygunstun · 14/08/2024 13:25

( Ok, yes I know I am late to the party on this one).

I'm talking about the Australian women's entry into the breakdancing at the Olympics.

She went out there with absolute confidence, and complete lack of self awareness, and did really terrible breakdancing. It wasn't even really breakdancing. It was like some sort of interpretative dance. Her moves were clunky and slow. they did not flow, the connections between moves were awkward. She was like a competitor in a very, very local competition. And she appeared to have no awareness of this. I know there is a lot of creativity and expression in breaking, but it surely has to be combined with technical skill.

She also appears to have no awareness that the Olympics is about showcasing outstanding physical prowess and technical expertise. Both of which she clearly lacked.

In a way, I admire her confidence, but I don't admire her lack of awareness. I also do not believe she was the best female breaker in Australia.

Part of me feels a bit sorry for her as the break dancing world is clearly her world, but I can't help feeling she got so lost in the theory of the ' expressive' side of breaking she kinda lost sight of the technical skill side. A bit like Rachel Dolezol got so lost in the theory of race being a social construct that she lost sight of the fact you actually need to be black to be black.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
20
Raygunstun · 14/08/2024 13:40

40andlovelife · 14/08/2024 13:37

I'm dying to know if she was actually being serious. Surely she was just taking the piss??? On the other hand, if she was taking the piss then what a shame for others who could have competed in her place.

I don't think she was if you hear her speak. She recognised she does not have the power or dynamic moves of her competitors but seems to have genuinely thought her individual 'expression' made up for that. And it doesn't.

I actually had more sympathy for her when I had only seen snippets of her moves as I thought they were quirky and fun and people were being a bit mean taking them out of context of her whole routine. But when I actually finally saw a whole routine of hers I realised, no, she is just really, really bad and quite delusional. Her confidence is a mountain height about her ability.

OP posts:
Reugny · 14/08/2024 13:40

She clearly wasn't the best female breaker in Australia. They simply could have gone where some dancers hang out, found the first woman or girl, entered her and got her to train.

SummerBarbecues · 14/08/2024 13:40

She won the qualifying competition. There are something only like 15 competitors who wanted to go. Breaking has a terrible scoring system you get points for votes. It's not like figure skating where you get points for personal performance. She probably won't get a zero if it's scored like figure skating.

You can find videos of her in the Oceana qualifiers. She's not good there either. But neither were the others.

Impasse · 14/08/2024 13:39

I didn't see the performance in question, but this is one woman. One woman who danced badly once.

Whereas the self-confidence of the mediocre man is endlessly apparent in vast numbers of instances, untrammelled by context, geography, culture, social class etc.

Raygunstun · 14/08/2024 13:37

AlisonDonut · 14/08/2024 13:32

Didn't she and her husband/partner run the committee that was allowed to recruit for the olympics? It could be a rumour, who knows?

But by heck love. That's worthy of a Catherine Tate sketch. 'I can do that'...

Yes that is what I have heard. And her husband was her coach. And he is a terrible dancer too. Also rumours that only about 15 people tried out for the Olympic entry competition and that she connived to keep out genuinely good women breakers from marginalised communities. All rumours. But there is no way she was the best female breaker in Australia. So something happened.

OP posts:
40andlovelife · 14/08/2024 13:37

I'm dying to know if she was actually being serious. Surely she was just taking the piss??? On the other hand, if she was taking the piss then what a shame for others who could have competed in her place.

AlisonDonut · 14/08/2024 13:32

Didn't she and her husband/partner run the committee that was allowed to recruit for the olympics? It could be a rumour, who knows?

But by heck love. That's worthy of a Catherine Tate sketch. 'I can do that'...

Berlinlover · 14/08/2024 13:27

I just can’t understand how she qualified for the Olympics.

Swipe left for the next trending thread