Written by Sydney Otoki, Edited by Naomi Decker and Charlie Gagnon
As the genre of female rap has boomed in the last five years, so have discussions surrounding Black women’s sexuality. Since the Colonial period, Black women in America have been depicted as deviant sexual beings. This phenomenon has worked as both a blessing and a curse for white women in America, in that the depiction of Black women as such both increases the pressure for them to adhere to Victorian values of purity and submissiveness, but they have also often mobilised the image of Black women in their favour. Many white pop culture figures have deliberately embodied traits that are perceived as Black, in order to appeal to a different audience, or emphasise their sexuality. This is particularly true for artists who shift from child acting to an older audience, such as Ariana Grande or Miley Cyrus, in the earlier days of her musical career. However, it must be said that for all women, regardless of race, performance of one’s sexuality does not go over well; although men may enjoy it, they often do not respect it. Indeed sexual heterosexual intercourse has often been regarded as something that a man ‘takes’ from a woman: an act of violent conquest, thus losing its appeal when women appeal to their sexuality.
This phenomenon is unfortunately exacerbated when it comes to Black women, because of their historical lack of sexual agency in American society. In the era of slavery, Black women were not able to exercise sexual agency, because they were subjected to sexual assault at the hands of white men and women, not only this, but they were then accused of being ‘impure’ sexual beings, less desirable than white women, on account of their alleged lack of virtue and of course the fact that white men could not ‘conquer’ those that were already legally their property: because Black bodies were considered the legal property of white masters, the concept of consent was rendered irrelevant to men. Legally, the sexual assault of Black women was impossible. It is incredibly important to pay attention to this history in order to understand how deeply rooted the pathologization of Black women’s sexuality is in American society. White men’s desire to have sex with Black women is grounded in domination and violation, it loses its appeal as soon as Black women mobilise their sexuality. Although this social myth is rooted in the relationship between Black women and white men, today, the stereotypes surrounding Black women’s hypersexuality are also promulgated by Black men, most pervasively in the hip hop and rap music industries. To me, this is a powerful demonstration of how insidious Black women’s liberation struggle is: riddled with racism, misogyny, classism, and a battle for domination from** their Black male counterparts, whose ticket to social mobility has often been to create the illusion of separation between themselves and Black women in order to appeal to the dominant majority.
Hopefully by now, it should come as no surprise that Black female rappers have made it a point to perform their sexuality to its fullest extent without shame. The song ‘WAP’ by Meghan Thee Stallion and Cardi B is often seen as the epitome of this movement toward flaunting one’s sexuality. The song explicitly boasts the sexual appetite and skill of the two artists and received one of the worst waves of backlash I have witnessed in my time on social media. The song was so viral that James P. Bradley, a Republican running for Congress in California, gave a scathing account of the song on his twitter. I urge readers to pay attention to the irony here: hip hop and rap songs incessantly discuss women, particularly Black women in sexual contexts, the only difference here being that women are the ones presenting themselves as sexual beings.
It is women’s enthusiasm for sexual intercourse that is being punished, not the quality of the song, nor the violence, because there is none, which cannot be said with regards to an array of rap songs that discuss women sexually in physically violent and degrading ways. By this standard, it is only enjoyable to discuss or engage in sexual activities when women don’t express that explicitly, that it is something they want… so when they are not consenting.
Whilst I contend that women being able to express themselves as sexual beings without social punishment is essential, I am sceptical of the claims of how ‘empowering for women’ this really is- let me explain:
First and foremost, let us distinguish feeling empowered, from the reality of wielding power. There is a tendency, especially on social media, to make sweeping statements about the perceived changing state of affairs between men and women as a result of women performing certain behaviours. Engaging in certain behaviours can be harmless and fun, and even empowering, but does not chip at the power that men wield over women and that’s okay, not everything women do has to.
However, as I discussed earlier, what is harmful is when one grasps at social power by creating the illusion of strata between oneself and others. Brilliant social commentators such as Tee Noir have pointed to the fact that although Black female rappers have tapped into their sexuality in a bold defiance of social norms and expectations, in their lyrics, there is a tendency for these women to separate themselves from poorer women and sex workers: lyrics like “you the type that’s f*****n’ for the rent” contribute to the existing hierarchy of women that has tangible consequences on how they are perceived and treated by the outside world. I would argue that this ensures a sort of safety net: while they are defying social norms, they point the finger at someone who is ‘worse’ and not worthy of respect. Indeed although a lot of emphasis is placed on their sexual skills and performance, a similar amount is placed on their non-promiscuity and financial status, so with that in mind, one might question whom hypersexual performances seek to empower?
Works cited:
https://uproxx.com/music/wap-cardi-b-megan-the-stallion-congressman/
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