Jessica Bozek<\/h6>\n
\nFrom the Writer<\/h4>\n
Whether you\u2019re a hip hop super-fan or you\u2019re still yet to download Spotify, you\u2019ve likely heard the discourse on Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion\u2019s hit single \u201cWAP.\u201d Many listeners celebrated the song for its \u201csex positive\u201d message, yet high-profile conservative figures also accused the song of being a threat to American society. \u201cMisogynoir in Media: How the Public\u2019s Reaction to \u2018WAP\u2019 Impacts Black Women\u201d explores how public opinion reinforces the intersection between racism and misogyny, and how black women are reclaiming the power that they have been robbed of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you were scrolling through Twitter on August 7, 2020, then you know that everyone was talking about \u201cWAP.\u201d \u201cWAP\u201d–an acronym for \u201cWet-Ass Pussy\u201d–is a hip hop song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion, released as the lead single of Cardi B\u2019s second studio album. In the song, the two women rap about how they want men to pleasure them, with many explicit sexual references. After its initial release, many people hailed the song for its \u201csex positive\u201d message. \u201cWAP\u201d remained on the US <\/span>Billboard<\/span><\/i> Hot 100 for multiple weeks\u2013it was the first female rap collaboration to do so\u2013and it was certified 7x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. However, the song was not without its critics. Many prominent conservative figures denounced \u201cWAP\u201d for its explicit lyrics, claiming that the song\u2019s message would bring permanent damage to American society. According to them, Cardi and Meg are godless and fatherless; Republican politician DeAnna Lorraine even stated that \u201cWAP\u201d put \u201cthe entire female gender back by 100 years\u201d (Brown).<\/span><\/p>\n In contemporary American society, Black women are constantly criticized, discriminated against, and abused on the basis of their race and their gender. \u201cMisogynoir” is a term coined by Black feminist Moya Bailey to describe this intersection and how particular biases influence people in our society. The extreme criticism, hatred, and blame that Cardi and Meg received is a clear example of misogynoir in action. \u201cWAP\u201d in of itself is not a detriment to society. It is the language with which we discuss the work that has a greater impact. The public\u2019s unfair response to \u201cWAP\u201d heavily contributes to an already established unhealthy relationship with sexuality and gender roles that is forced upon Black girls and women.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Characterized by its strong beat, rhythmic vocal style (rapping), and breaks, early hip hop formed in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York City with Black, Latinx, and Caribbean DJs collaborating on soul and funk music. As the genre continued to evolve, hip hop became mainstream in the late 1980s and early 1990s with its golden age, as many artists gained major success while pushing the boundaries of the genre (MasterClass). Nowadays, hip hop remains popular in the public eye, with artists such as Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion continuing to innovate and redefine what \u201chip hop\u201d means.<\/span><\/p>\n Throughout hip hop\u2019s presence in the American music scene, male artists have been celebrated for music about sexuality and overpowering women; however, when Black female artists make music about the same topic, they are berated. Tear da Club Up Thugs and Three 6 Mafia\u2019s \u201cSlob on My Knob\u201d is a popular hip hop song featuring many sexual references that frame women as sexual objects, manipulative, money hungry, and irrational. Thirteen years after its release, the song remains a classic at kickbacks and parties. Even self-identified \u201cprogressive\u201d people will excitedly dance and sing along when the song is blasting on speakers on a crowded dance floor. Yet, hip hop listeners refuse to be as forgiving with Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion as they are with male rappers. According to Aria S. Halliday, assistant professor of gender studies at the University of Kentucky, listeners have a hard time receiving this content in Black female rapper\u2019s music because Black women are \u201c<\/span>supposed to be the dancers . . but [they\u2019re] not supposed to be the ones who are navigating and telling people what [they] want\u201d (Ajohnston). American culture affirms gender roles. Men are the ones with the ideas, the money, the power, and women are meant to remain submissive. For Black women, this is amplified in that stereotypes of them as sexual objects, \u201chood-rats,\u201d and \u201cwelfare queens\u201d (Cooper 116) contribute to the misogynoir that is evident in the music industry as well. For example, in \u201cSlob on My Knob,\u201d Three 6 Mafia asserts that a woman will have sex with him because her \u201cparents all schummy,\u201d and treats her like a transaction in that he \u201cbounced out and never came back\u201d after being intimate with her (Beauregard and Houston). Conservative speakers, however, choose to condemn \u201cWAP\u201d because they find it acceptable for men to treat women like objects, yet horrendous for women to own their sexuality. Their aim is to preserve their patriarchal conception of American society.<\/span><\/p>\n What makes <\/span>\u201cWAP” unique from other female hip hop music is that it isn\u2019t just about women taking the mic to make music about their sexuality, but it also features them talking about men in the same domineering way that men typically talk about women. In the song, Cardi B demands that a man will \u201cmake it cream, make [her] scream,\u201d and Meg Thee Stallion later raps that she is so excellent that a man will \u201cpay her tuition just to” be with her intimately. Men in the music industry have a long history of abuse of women. For example, in hip hop specifically, singer R. Kelly sexually abused multiple women over the course of almost 30 years before being sentenced. When rumors arose about his abuse and during his trial, a lot of people continued to support R. Kelly with the defense that the \u201callegations against him [were] \u2018a sure way to bring a good Black man down\u2019\u201d (Hinton). Speaking from the point of view of the UK music industry, rapper Ray BLK says that she was initially deterred from speaking about her assault \u201cat the hands of a fellow musician\u201d because a friend told her \u201cthat it wouldn\u2019t be fair to ruin a Black man\u2019s career\u201d (Hinton). Black women are constantly targeted as victims of sexual abuse because abusers are concious of the fact that law enforcement and the public are less likely to be invested in their cases. That, in combination with the fact that \u201ctalented men\u201d (Hinton) can get away with almost anything, leads to an extreme problem with sexual assault in the music industry. So, if the public is willing to push assaults by men under the rug, then why is the public so afraid to hear women talk about sex in a dominant and aggressive manner? The actions of men have caused actual, physical harm, yet women like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are just voicing their autonomy. Society still sees this as worse, somehow. Knowing that people believe reclaiming your autonomy causes major harm to others influences Black women to succumb to society\u2019s expectations of them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Black girls are stereotyped to be more sexual and mature as children, yet grown Black women are judged for being sexual beings. According to a study by the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, African American girls are seen as \u201cmore \u2018adult-like\u2019 than their white peers\u201d (Morris) starting as early as 5 years old. This means that they are \u201cperceived to need less nurturing. . . and to know more about sex than their white peers\u201d (Morris). This problematic ideology promotes sexual misconduct, victim blaming, and pedophilia towards Black girls. Society does not allow these children to be children, yet, when they are adults, society does not allow them to be adults either. The \u201cWAP\u201d music video features many sensual visuals, such as Cardi B seductively addressing the viewer from within an entirely cheetah print room (Fig. 1), and Cardi B, Meg Thee Stallion, and their backup dancers dressed in leather and fishnets dancing in the water (Fig. 2). Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion got a lot of hate for their video because the visuals are \u201ctoo sexual\u201d and their costumes are \u201ctoo revealing.\u201d When the \u201cWAP\u201d music video was released, Cardi B was 27 years old, and Meg Thee Stallion was 25 years old. They were adult women. Adult women have sex, and there is no shame in talking about that. Yet, the public wanted Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion to be more conservative, more pure, more childlike. The public seldom accepts Black women as they are. When they are kids, they must be adults. When they are adults, they must be kids. This gives Black women and girls a really warped sense of identity, where they feel like they can never do anything right. Society pushes figures such as Michele Obama and Kamala Harris as role models for Black women\u2013Cardi B and Meg Thee Stallion are instead seen as cautionary tales. But, Aria S. Halliday notes that you cannot have \u201can Obama\u201d without \u201ca Cardi\u201d or \u201ca Harris\u201d without \u201ca Meg\u201d: \u201c<\/span>if you have a positive, you have to have a negative, that\u2019s the way science works, right?\u201d (Ajohnston). In reality, Black women are not monoliths. No one fits perfectly into a stereotype, not even those who are viewed as the pinnacle of the stereotype. In a segment of \u201cCarpool Karaoke\u201d with <\/span>Late Late Show<\/span><\/i> host James Corden, Michelle Obama sang along to Missy Elliot\u2019s \u201cGet Ur Freak On\u201d (Kelly). Cardi B regularly discusses politics on her Instagram, even interviewing now President Joe Biden just before the 2020 election (Ajohnston). Black women are capable of being multifaceted, yet instances like the public\u2019s reaction to \u201cWAP\u201d makes women feel like they have to choose to be one stereotype or another.<\/span><\/p>\n In the two years since its release, \u201cWAP\u201d has become an anthem for Black women\u2019s empowerment, autonomy, and independence. Despite the pushback, women throughout the country have been motivated to take ownership over their sexuality. Yet, clearly, the work is not quite finished. Black women are still persecuted and exploited on the daily. After Rihanna\u2019s halftime performance at the 2023 Super Bowl, some people criticized her for being a \u201cpark and bark,\u201d despite the fact that many white singers such as Celine Dion and Adele are constantly praised for their stand alone vocal abilities. <\/span>\u201cWAP\u201d is a vehicle of change\u2013if Black women can reclaim the way in which their bodies are discussed, then they can also change the way in which their bodies are received in society. Words are power, and that power is being balanced out\u2013shifted away from the white men who have held it for so long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n Ajohnston. \u201c’WAP’ and the Politics of Black Women’s Bodies.\u201d <\/span>The 19th<\/span><\/i>, 21 Mar. 2021, https:\/\/19thnews.org\/2021\/03\/wap-and-the-politics-of-black-womens-bodies\/.<\/span><\/p>\n Beauregard and Houston. \u201cTear Da Club up Thugs \u2013 Slob on My Knob.\u201d <\/span>Genius<\/span><\/i>, https:\/\/genius.com\/Tear-da-club-up-thugs-slob-on-my-knob-lyrics.<\/span><\/p>\n Brown, August. \u201cCalifornia Congressional Candidate Slams Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’.\u201d <\/span>Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/i>, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2020, https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/music\/story\/2020-08-07\/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-congressional-candidate-james-bradley.<\/span><\/p>\n Cardi B. \u201cCardi B (Ft. Megan Thee Stallion) \u2013 WAP.\u201d <\/span>Genius<\/span><\/i>, https:\/\/genius.com\/Cardi-b-wap-lyrics.<\/span><\/p>\n —. \u201cCardi B – WAP feat. Megan Thee Stallion [Official Music Video].\u201d Youtube, uploaded by Cardi B, 7 August 2020, https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hsm4poTWjMs.<\/span><\/p>\n Cooper, Brittney. \u201cBag Lady.\u201d <\/span>Eloquent Rage a Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower<\/span><\/i>, Picador, New York City, New York, 2019, pp. 100\u2013124.<\/span><\/p>\n Hinton, Patrick. \u201cHow Misogynoir in the Music Industry Has Created a Dangerous Environment for Black Women.\u201d <\/span>Mixmag<\/span><\/i>, 14 July 2022, https:\/\/mixmag.net\/feature\/misogynoir-music-industry-black-women-dangerous-environment-r-kelly-blackout.<\/span><\/p>\n Kelly, Amita. \u201cWatch: Michelle Obama Sings Stevie, Raps with Missy, on ‘Carpool Karaoke’.\u201d <\/span>NPR<\/span><\/i>, NPR, 21 July 2016, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2016\/07\/21\/486874847\/watch-michelle-obama-sings-stevie-raps-with-missy-on-carpool-karaoke.<\/span><\/p>\n Masterclass. \u201cHip-Hop Music Guide: History of Hip-Hop and Notable Artists – 2022.\u201d <\/span>MasterClass<\/span><\/i>, 16 June 2021, https:\/\/www.masterclass.com\/articles\/hip-hop-guide.<\/span><\/p>\n Morris, Monique W. \u201cCountering the Adultification of Black Girls.\u201d <\/span>ASCD<\/span><\/i>, Apr. 2019, https:\/\/www.ascd.org\/el\/articles\/countering-the-adultification-of-black-girls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Taylor Needleman<\/strong> is a freshman from southern California majoring in Costume Design in the College of Fine Arts. She would like to thank WR120 professor Jessica Bozek and her classmates for cultivating a classroom environment of constructive feedback and encouragement. She would also like to thank her family and friends for their continued support.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taylor Needleman Instructor’s Introduction In WR120: Black Female Lives Matter students are invited to use a topic or problem located in an assigned text, a conversation they\u2019ve participated in, or popular culture as the motivation for their Academic Essay. Taylor\u2019s essay uses the concepts of misogynoir and adultification to frame her analysis of the media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":568,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMisogynoir in Media: How the Public\u2019s Reaction to \u201cWAP\u201d Impacts Black Women<\/span><\/h3>\n
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