“WAP” and “Anaconda”: Feminist Anthems and Black Women’s Sexuality
Female rap has gained a lot of traction in the last decade. From artists like Rico Nasty to Flo Milli, women have become the face of a new subgenre of hip-hop and rap. Specifically, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B have made significant strides in the music industry in recent years. In 2020, these three artists, along with Doja Cat, marked a monumental milestone for female rappers, with their respective singles “Say So” and “WAP” becoming the first two singles by two female rappers to reach number one on the Billboard charts (“2020,” 2020). Known for their dominant role in the female rap movement, these women have become feminists icons, calling women to embrace their sexuality in their singles “WAP” and “Anaconda.” Not only have these songs become fan favorites in their assertion of confidence, but their music videos have prompted discussion surrounding Black women’s sexuality in the media.
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” was one of the most anticipated collaborations of 2020. When the music video released August 7th, it received over 26 million views within 24 hours, becoming the biggest debut for an all-female collaboration on Youtube (Holt, 2020, para. 6). The video takes place in a funhouse filled with psychedelic colors and animal prints, capturing the playful yet fierce nature of female sexuality. The highlight of the music video was perhaps Cardi and Megan peeping into the rooms of artists like Normani and Latto. It was a guilty pleasure (almost taboo!) to see celebrities express their sexuality in their private lairs. Praised for its sex-positive message, as stated by Brianna Holt (2020) of Complex, “WAP” is the “epitome of female empowerment” (para. 2).
Before “WAP,” there was Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.” In 2014, Nicki Minaj shook the world with her music video for the single. Not only did it become the first solo female rap video to hit 1 billion views, but Billboard (2019) also placed the video as the 12th greatest music video of the 2010 decade (para. 88). Similar to “WAP, “Anaconda” embraces the untamed—almost animalistic—sexuality of women primarily through its setting in the jungle. Minaj makes sexual expression fun, playing with fruits that have sexual connotations and engaging in a twerk choreography with other women. The most shocking part of the video was Minaj’s lap dance on Canadian rapper and frequent collaborator Drake (it may even be the reason why “Anaconda” broke records!). “Anaconda” calls for women to love their bodies and find enjoyment in their sexuality: it is a feminist anthem at its heart.
Songs like “WAP” and “Anaconda” have not always been the poster children for feminism; in fact, this is a fairly new devleopment within recent decades. After the First and Second waves of feminism, characterized by women’s suffrage and equal pay respectively, we have entered a new era of Third Wave Feminism, which calls for the embrace of sexuality. As artists in a male-dominated genre, Nicki, Cardi, and Megan play an important role in creating a space for women in hip-hop. Both works sample 90s hits “Wh***s in This House,” and “Baby Got Back” which speak on Black women’s sexuality through a male perspective. In their singles, the female rappers reclaim their voices and take agency in a genre that generally takes part in misogynistic wordplay.
Though “WAP” and “Anaconda” are powerful anthems, their impact could be viewed as either detrimental or beneficial. As works created by celebrities, the songs promote feminism in a trendy manner, straying from radical ideas of at the heart of feminist movements. As described by Sarah Banet-Weiser (2015), popular feminism allows “feminism to circulate” (para. 3), but is not sufficient to “structurally challenge the patriarchy—nor does it claim to be” (para. 3). In this context, the two singles may be considered to have a trivial impact; however, considering the intersection of race and gender, the songs are quite radical. The two music videos heavily align with depictions of Black women as the hypersexual Jezebel—a stereotype that Black women have historically fought against. Catering to respectability politics, the culture of dissemblance has been a strategy employed by Black women to protect themselves from sexual rhetoric. Both “WAP” and “Anaconda” deviate from this standard, which Melissa Brown (2018) explains could pose a “threat to the race as a whole” (para. 7). The culture of dissemblance, though intended to help Black women, has also been used as a tool in controlling Black women’s sexuality. Nicki, Cardi, and Megan successfully challenge the notion that Black women must be unsexual to demand respect and instead assert that Black women can be sexual and still be worthy of respect.
The line between progressive and regressive is shown through the responses of both videos. In the current “feminist zeitgeist” (Weiser, 2015, para. 8), “WAP” recieved an overwhelmingly positive response despite its overtly explicit lyrics and images. On the other hand, even with its euphemisms and covert wordplay, “Anaconda” became a target for popular misogyny. As Weisler (2015) explains, “popular misogyny manifests itself as a normative reaction” (para. 11). With popular misogyny, it is permissible for commentators, such as Al Rocker, to use demeaning language such as “vile” and “desperate” to describe Minaj’s work (a great example normalization of violence against women’s agency) (Today, 2014, para. 1). Though “Anaconda” remained her top charting single for years, it is remiss of the public to reduce Minaj to a one-dimensional artist who hyperfocuses on sexuality when her discography is quite diverse.
Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion promote the embrace of sexuality, which is extremely important in this Third Wave Feminism; however, what does it mean when these anthems become the awarded songs for the artists despite their more unsexual content? Furthermore, to what extent are Black women permitted to express their sexuality without being reduced to an essence?
References
Banet-Weiser, S. (2015, January 21). Popular misogyny: A zeitgeist. Culture Digitally. https://culturedigitally.org/2015/01/popular-misogyny-a-zeitgeist/
Billboard Staff. (2019, November 26). The 100 greatest music videos of the 2010s: Staff picks. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/media/lists/best-music-videos-2010s-top-100-8544596/
Brown, M. (2018). Beyonce's boudoir and the culture of dissemblance. Black Feminisms. https://blackfeminisms.com/boudoir-beyonce/
Holt, B. (2020, August 9). Why Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's empowering anthem "WAP" is so important. Complex. https://www.complex.com/music/2020/08/cardi-b-megan-thee-stallion-wap-essay
Today. (2014, August 21). Al on Nicki Minaj's racy 'Anaconda' video: 'It's just vile'. Today. https://www.today.com/allday/al-nicki-minajs-racy-anaconda-video-its-just-vile-1D80097191
2020 was the year female rappers dominated. (2020, December 10). NPR Music. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/10/944625003/2020-was-the-year-female-rappers-dominated
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