Lot's Wife - MSA Women’s & POC Edition Five

Lot’s Wife • Edition Five
WAP: Is Sexual Pleasure
Still Reserved for Men?
Words by Juliette Capomolla
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ is arguably the most
controversial song of 2020. In case you missed it, WAP stands for Wet Ass
Pussy, an acronym which has caused quite a stir amongst conservatives
and archaic individuals.
Aside from the prudish shock-horror surrounding the lyrics of the
song, fans and supporters of the song have criticised YouTube for their
censorship of the music video. According to a video Cardi posted to
Instagram, YouTube reportedly felt the song was, in Cardi’s words, “too
goddamn nasty”. In the music video, the rappers can be heard saying “wet
and gushy” instead of wet ass pussy.
Despite the controversy, the song has continued to break records since
its release at the start of August. The music video has almost surpassed
130 million views on YouTube. It marked the biggest opening week of
sales by a female rapper and the biggest streaming week by a female artist
this year. It managed to sell over 500,000 units in the US in its first week,
nearly becoming a gold record. WAP is the first female collaboration to
spend multiple days at #1 on the US Spotify Charts, and it is the first
female rap song to top the Australian charts ever – and those are just some
of the records.
It is undeniable that WAP is a ground-breaking song for women and music
in general. So why has it caused so much controversy?
Indisputably, the song is filthy. With lyrics like “bring a bucket and a mop
for this wet ass pussy”, “I want you to park that big Mack truck right in this
little garage” and “gobble me, swallow me, drip down the side of me”, it’s
not hard to see why it has caused a riot amongst conservatives.
Remarkably (but not surprisingly), the song managed to make its way
into American politics. James Bradley, a Republican running for a
Congressional seat in California, tweeted the following in response to the
song:
“Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when
children are raised without God and without a strong
father figure. Their new “song” The #WAP (which I heard
accidentally) made me want to pour holy water in my ears
and I feel sorry for future girls if this is their role model!”
DeAnna Lorraine, another Republican and former congressional
candidate from California, tweeted a similar sentiment, saying:
“Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion just set the entire female
gender back by 100 years with their disgusting & vile “WAP”
song.”
She followed up a discussion on the topic saying the song should be
banned.
Unsurprisingly, not only did people take issue with two women claiming
their sexuality, but also Cardi and Meghan’s race.
Errol Webber, yet another republican running for California, tweeted:
“That new #WAP song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion
is exactly everything that is wrong with mainstream hiphop
culture. It’s like one big advertisement for promiscuity.
Encourages wild & unsafe sex. Then you wonder why
Planned Parenthood targets Black communities? Sick!”
Evidently, it appears people are taking issue with the fact that two black
women are empowered by their sexuality and are reclaiming it from men
who have used it to their advantage for decades. Since when do politicians
comment on the lyrics and music videos of rap artists? This composition
of two black women discussing their vaginas and sex is surprisingly still too
outlandish and un-ladylike in 2020.
Looking at the landscape of American politics demonstrates that female
sexuality, and perhaps women in general, are still expected to be ‘ladies’
and subdued. We only need to look at the retraction of abortion rights in
2019 across many US states, and the treatment of significant females in
the government such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to understand how far
we still have to go with women’s rights. I think it’s important to grasp that
the outrage that WAP generated represents a much larger issue than what
some may contend is an insignificant music video.
Like me, Cardi was also surprised by the reaction. In an interview with
i-D, Cardi said:
“I’ve been really surprised by the reaction, honestly. I
knew it was gonna have a big impact, I guess, because of
me and Megan. But I didn’t know it was going to be so
controversial. I never expected that, you know, conservatives
and Republicans were going to be talking about the song. I
didn’t think the song was as vulgar as they said it was, you
know? Like, I’m so used to it. I’m such a freak that I didn’t
think it would be a big deal. I didn’t think people would think
it was so out of this world…”
Truly, this song really isn’t starkly different to what we’ve heard from male
rappers for decades. Lil Wayne literally has a song called Pussy Monster
where he says pussy 27 times - yes, I counted. In Jason Derulo and 2
Chainz’ 2013 hit “Talk Dirty”, the line “her pussy’s so good I bought her a
pet” is not censored in the official music video on YouTube.
Men have been talking about their dicks for decades uncriticised and
praised. Even more, they have been using the word pussy in their songs
without a stir. Why is it that men can use and profit off of female sexuality,
and often the abuse of female sexuality, but two empowered women
cannot do the same? Not only are we much more comfortable with a man
talking about his sex, but they are given the right to talk about female sex
much more readily than women themselves.
Perhaps this idea stems back from what we learn in school – sex is for
male pleasure, and women are simply ‘baby-carriers’. After all, how can
a woman enjoy sex if she’s never been taught that sex is equally for her
enjoyment, too? Thankfully, we haven’t heard much outrage from fellow
artists – in fact, there’s been a lot of support for the two rappers. Yet,
perhaps what this demonstrates is that those in power are still not prepared
for women to take ownership of themselves, their bodies and their agency.
And what about Cardi’s child: what will she think when she grows up to see
this? My response is this – who cares? No one is asking Lil Wayne or Jason
Derulo what their hypothetical children will think of their music. Cardi B
is well entitled to raise her child as she sees fit, especially if she wants to
raise a sexually empowered female. This sort of criticism only perpetuates
the narrative that women should spend their whole lives preparing for
marriage and motherhood, an archetype that is well beyond its due date.
Evidently, the shamelessness and confidence that WAP oozes is still
reserved for men in the music industry, and perhaps in broader society.
Nonetheless, perhaps the surge of female artists embracing their sexuality
like Cardi B and Meghan Thee Stallion, amongst other big names like
Nicki Minaj and Beyonce, represents the beginning of a cultural shift. One
can only hope.
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