Why WAP’s got the White-Ass Patriarchy all f*cked up.
It’s not hard to break the internet these days, and from Kim K to Salt Bae we are very rarely without some new cultural phenomenon causing controversy and providing us with the meme material we so desperately crave. However, not all cultural phenomena are created equal, and none have caused the controversy or physical bodily reaction quite like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallions “WAP.” Yep, we’re talking wet ass pussy.
Whether you’re to the left or hard right, man, woman or enby, if you’ve seen WAP I bet you have an opinion. But in 2020 where people and women are reclaiming ownership over their bodies and talking openly about menstruation and self-pleasure why has WAP caused such a stir? Why is female sexualization an issue when women are the ones doing it?
Running for three minutes and seven seconds both the lyrics and the accompanying video are very sexually explicit and, apparently, not to everyone’s taste. Personally I think that WAP is the pushback against a patriarchy that, for too long, has sexualised women for the purposes of entertainment (including music and porn) with no consideration of actual female pleasure. The film clip is also masterful by itself; from the hot AF reimagining of singing in the rain to the endless vagina motifs, both the WAP lyrics and video depict women, and more importantly Black women, owning their bodies and their sexualities without a man in sight. So where’s the issue?
If you ask men like Ben Shapiro and James P. Bradley the issue is in the vulgarity of the lyrics. Cis white men to the right have spent weeks tweeting about how WAP is a vulgar stain on the pop culture timeline that can only be removed with the aid of holy water. To them I say “gentlemen, what’s the real problem?”.
The problem can’t be the outfits because you’ve been ogling Cardi and artists like her since the dawn of time. So that can’t be it. It can’t be the lyrics because we’ve been listening to rappers like Lil’ Wayne describe sexually explicit acts on women for years and taking issue with WAP’s lyrics would further highlight the prevalence of misogyny in society and the gender gap (which many right wing men deny or refuse to acknowledge). Surely it’s not the sexual nature of the choreography that doesn’t even come close to replicating certain sexual acts that are societally accepted in porn every single day. Maybe it’s because they’re Black?
Created by two strong and powerful women of colour, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are reclaiming the narrative. Throughout history people of colour have been scrutinized and fetishized in pop culture more than any other minority by the very men that take issue with WAP. So when two women of colour stand to reclaim their sexualities and centre themselves as powerful protagonists of course it’s going to cause a stir. Isn’t that the point? WAP is revolutionary. It’s pushing back against the very patriarchy that has tried to mute their voices and control their bodies/sexuality for so long.
What about the lyrics? Maybe the issue with female sexualization lies there? This song is filled with enough euphemisms to fill the Mack truck in Cardi’s ‘little garage’. There’s references to penis sizes (I had to Google a garter snake) and the video compliments the lyrics perfectly with the presence of an Albino Burmese Python, the girth of which would leave any penis haver feeling a little inadequate. Megan’s interpretation of bottom-feeders has us all rethinking our elementary school education. And then, of course, there’s the mac and cheese reference that unless you’re a Vine fan, you might have no idea about… Maybe don’t do your Googles on this one, it might turn you off this carb and cheese loaded delicacy for life (or not).
Basically Cardi and Megan are talking about men in a way that is usually reserved for male rappers spitting lyrics about women. It doesn’t feel so great to be objectified so blatantly, does it?
Perhaps the issues is that much of song discusses sexual acts with men quite explicitly but yet, there is no man in sight. If men saw themselves represented in WAP and were therefore centred in female pleasure (thereby reclaiming their dominance) would men feel so threatened and lash out in such public ways? Probably not, ironic given that women and particularly women of colour have been fighting for representation for generations.
So if Cardi and Megan were dancing with the male gaze in mind, rather than for themselves and their own pleasure, would there have been such an outcry? If there was a man standing between the two performers while they twerked and dropped would people still be shouting from their keyboards?
I think not. Because film clips like these have existed for decades (Robin Thicke anyone?). And let us remind ourselves that when Robin and Miley Cyrus performed at 2013 MTV VMAs, it wasn’t Thicke that was called out for dancing provocatively with a young woman, it was Miley who was slut shamed.
We should be leaving the male gaze in 2013 where it belongs. Which is exactly what’s happening and, as usual, women of colour are leading the way.
So while Shapiro and those like him express their concerns about vaginal excretions and give the world the insight into their sex lives that we really never needed, the rest of us can sit back and lap up the endless dance moves and the clear shift in discussion around female pleasure that we have needed for far too long. It’s time to acknowledge that women deserve the right to autonomy over their bodies — and in all forms of self-expression.
WAP is a celebration of female empowerment. Celebrating women, Black women and orgasmic sex, WAP is the feminist anthem we needed in 2020. While, post-WAP, most people with pussies won’t be the same — my advice to those who disagree is to hit next and wait for the next cultural phenomenon to whip them into a flurry. — LJC
Originally posted on Pop Culture Positive
Originally published at http://laceyjadechristie.com on September 25, 2020.
