Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s new song has sparked major controversy across the internet. On August 7, 2020, the rappers collaborated on a new song, “WAP.” In the song, they graphically describe sex as well as their own bodies. The lyrics as well as the music video, have been seen as overly sexual by many.
Even prominent political commentator, Ben Shapiro, had something to say. Shapiro is known to be conservative as well as antifeminist. He does not support the WAP song music video. In his reaction video to the song, Shapiro sarcastically states, “This is what the feminists fought for. This is what the feminist movement was all about.”
I don’t know why his opinion matters when it comes to feminism. As a man, he does not get to dictate what women did or did not fight for. While his opinion may be valid, it should not be the deciding factor on what women can or cannot do with or say about their own bodies.
An argument frequently brought up against “WAP” is that it is anti-feminist because it showcases women pushing towards the standard put in place by men. This standard is an overly sexualized woman. Something many do not think about before bringing this up is the fact that this song has nothing to do with men. Women do not exist to reach or avoid male desires. Many women dress or act provocatively simply because they feel confident in doing so.
Now let’s look at the reaction to WAP in comparison to how the internet reacted to another popular rapper’s song. In Eminem’s song “Criminal”, Eminem raps about his own genitalia as well as sex.
Seeing as this song came out 20 years ago, one would expect the reaction to be even more negative than WAP’s. However, not much was said in the media about the sexuality of the lyrics.
In The Rolling Stone review of Eminem’s album “The Marshall Mathers LP” by Touré, Eminem is described as, “the most quotable MC alive, both consistently funny and ridiculously far over the top.” The author mentions nothing critical about Eminem being overly sexual. This is much different than the response to “WAP”.
By comparing the media’s reaction to both of the songs, one can come to the conclusion that people only have a problem when female rappers rap about sex. Instead of trying to bring down two female rappers singing about their own bodies, we should be focusing on the different ways we choose to judge people based on their gender expression.
Looking at the lyrics, “WAP” should be seen as a feminist song because it shows women that they can be powerful and provocative while still maintaining self-respect and confidence. This song has nothing to do with men, and everything to do with how women can see themselves.