Whew, chile! Folks are big bad at Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion’s new song WAP. The title in and of itself has caused an uproar (listen to the song once and you can figure out what WAP stands for). The song and video are full of lyrics and imagery that express both artists’ sensuality and, shall we say, sexual mastery.
The problem is that other artists (of the male persuasion) have said far more outrageous things, using salacious lyrics and imagery. Jay-Z, 2Pac, Biggie Smalls, Ludacris, Nas, 2 Live Crew, Too Short, and countless others have talked about performing acts in relation to almost every part of the female and male anatomy.
Why is celebration of the penis praised but celebration of the pussy is shamed and condemned? Why is one perceived as more problematic than the other? Why should women be held to a higher standard while men do and say whatever they want? Why is it simply labeled as “boys will be boys” or “locker room” talk? We doubt and shame victims when they say that a man has sexually assaulted a woman (or ten). Yet, we judged the hell out of Jada Pinkett Smith about her consensual “entanglement” with August Alsina. We even have a president who literally talked about grabbing women by the pussy. So why are we condemning two empowered women who express their sexuality through art?
It’s the same reason women were not allowed to vote or own property until decades after men. It’s also the same reason why there is a blaring wage gap in the United States between men and women. It’s the reason that old white men try to dictate whether women can or cannot choose to have abortions. It’s the same reason that crime against women is less likely to get justice than crime against men. It is the reason we are satiated with the potential for justice of George Floyd but we STILL (over 150 days later) don’t have justice for Breonna Taylor. The reason is because of the double standards and utter hypocrisy of patriarchy.
At the end of the day, the song and the video are art. They are vehicles of expression meant to be consumed (or not) and not used as a way to shame, criticize, and disparage the sexuality of the artists.
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