Rethinking seductive dance, media responsibility and cultural sensitivity in Botswana

Thomas Nkhoma | Thursday June 12, 2025 12:32

'They deeply regret the video and have decided to take it down. They acknowledge the mistake and take the concerns seriously.' It is also fitting to commend Mascom Wireless for responding swiftly, showing the kind of corporate responsibility that the media and communications landscape so desperately needs in these times of viral content and information disorders.

The video in question showed a grown man dancing seductively in front of a little girl at a Mascom-sponsored event, drawing public outrage and sparking a wave of questions about media ethics, child protection and cultural expression.

One social media commentator asked: should the person taking the video be blamed? Or are we shooting the messenger instead of the message?

This incident offers a valuable moment of reflection - on how we, as a society, understand our cultural dances, their meaning and the appropriateness of their performance particularly in the presence or participation of children.

Seductive or sensual African dances are often deeply rooted in African traditions. They are not merely for entertainment. They speak to stories of womanhood, fertility, courtship and spiritual expression.

Dances involving rhythmic hip movements and sensual expressions are often part of coming-of-age ceremonies.

They are meant to usher girls into adulthood, not as objects of performance but as participants in a sacred tradition. However, performance out of context is performance stripped of meaning.

When these dances are showcased in public, filmed, shared online and divorced from their cultural foundations, they are at risk of being misinterpreted and worse, used to sexualise minors in ways that are unethical and deeply harmful.

This is why today’s child protection laws and ethical standards in media and communications insist on sensitivity, appropriateness and context.

The Social Responsibility Theory of the media reminds us that the press and all communicators have a duty not just to inform but to uplift society.

This theory expects media platforms to operate with moral obligation and to be aware of the potential consequences of what they amplify.

Whoever captured and shared that video may not have considered the wider implications beyond capturing a moment. But the moment was not innocent. It spoke volumes about what we condone and normalise.

Framing Theory suggests that how an issue is presented to the public shapes how people perceive it. The viral spread of the video, without proper framing or context, risks normalising a highly problematic scene.

But when a respected voice like Mmeso’s steps in, it re-frames the narrative and prompts a moral awakening.

Similarly, Agenda Setting Theory tells us that the media may not tell us what to think but it does tell us what to think about. In this instance, the video has catalysed a national conversation about children's roles in cultural performances, media ethics and adult responsibility.

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye gives us a deeper layer of understanding. In the opening lines, Morrison speaks of exposing things that were once secret, of silences being broken. The video in question, disturbing as it was, has broken a silence.

As Morrison noted, some secrets are withheld from us by ourselves and by the world outside the community. The act of sharing that video was, perhaps unintentionally, a disclosure - a chance to confront uncomfortable truths about what we consider entertainment, tradition or innocence.

We must also call for clarity around the cultural framing of our dances. Seductive dances have their place and meaning in our culture. They are not new.

They emerge from African musical traditions such as Rhumba or Kwasa Kwasa which are themselves rich with symbolic gesture. But these are not dances meant for children. A grown man simulating sexual movement in front of a little girl is not culture. It is abuse parading as celebration.

As communicators, media practitioners, parents, artists and citizens, we must embrace the responsibility to protect children, not just physically but symbolically and culturally.

We must teach culture with dignity, not distort it for performance. We must draw lines between heritage and harm, between celebration and exploitation.

Let this incident be a turning point. Let it be the moment we said: 'enough.' Not just for this video but for every whispered discomfort, every unspoken wrong. In the spirit of Morrison, let us keep breaking the silence. *Thomas T. Nkhoma is MISA-Botswana national governing council chairperson