101 Doll Squadron hype highlights Australia’s humour deficit crisis

What do twerking dancers, Bluey the Dog, and Jenny Morrison have in common? Our self-appointed betters can’t stand them, writes Louise Roberts.

THE enthusiastic members of 101 Doll Squadron dance troupe deserve a medal for Services to Commonsense.

And that’s because their twerking and choreography has delivered a much needed circuit breaker to an excruciatingly woke and hypocritical week in Australia.

Everything from cartoon blue heeler dogs to the loving, no-fanfare and reassuring support Jenny Morrison gives her prime ministerial husband Scott, have been savaged by a self-appointed social elite this week, determined to seek out manufactured affronts and crimes against diversity with the ferocity of a cruise missile.

Sydney dance hall group 101 Doll Squadron at the commissioning ceremony for HMAS Supply.

We have a new crisis on our hands in our traditionally tolerant society – a humour deficit crisis.

And so instead of seeing these Dolls for what they are – light entertainment hired for the Royal Australian Navy’s newly commissioned HMAS Supply last weekend – we are back on that merry-go-round where everything is aligned with offence.

You are no longer allowed to look at this dancing performance and merely think it was an absurd component to add to a military event.

Instead, you must process it through the lens of body shaming and the so-called entrenched sexism of the military.

An ABC video of the routine shows the performance was in front of an audience of military top brass, but that has been questioned. Picture: ABC

“Inappropriate on so many levels”, the critics are blustering in unison.

“Why aren’t we promoting the rights of women to not be objectified?” accuse others.

I’d like to see any of the keyboard critics get up there and do a better job. The women gave it their all. No one should be shaming them for that.

Except the self-righteous mob, with others attacking the women on social media for being “dismally under-rehearsed” and a “s***show”.

And isn’t that just typical hypocrisy at play. Surely the very definition of modern feminism is women making their own choices, having agency in what they do.

In other words, saying yes to paid employment knowing full well what the dance routine would be and what costumes would be required.

bluey the cartoon dog again

Sure, there are more traditional performances for a military event – a brass or marching band for example.

Perhaps Cher was busy washing her hair.

And any Navy personnel watching did not know where to look but, really, where could they direct their gaze with impunity without being accused of butt or cleavage leering or looking bored into the middle distance?

They don’t have the civilian privilege of hastily whipping out a mobile phone to “check an urgent email”.

Interestingly it was Our ABC, self-appointed gatekeeper of our national morality, which broke the story.

HMAS Supply had “engaged with the local community of Woolloomooloo” – one of her home ports – to build positive relationships, we’re told.

And really, aren’t there better things to get worked up about than some amateur dancing?