From the Archives: Ya honor I’m a FREAK bitch: WAP, Pussy Manifesto, and More.
previously published in 2021 via mediumThe WAP video had just been released, and the commentary on what Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion were conveying was insufferable. I have a genuine burning dislike for most think pieces or, as Dustin Ross, cohost of The Friendzone Podcast calls them “stink pieces.” They are usually rooted in some respectability politics, and WAP had become the new moment in pop culture to cause an uproar. I hesitated to write about it myself, because “think piece”, but as a Black media scholar, a person with a pussy, and a lover of all things Cardi B and Megan, I had to speak truth to power into the digital world I frequent daily, Black Twitter.
Twitter’s hot takes were misinformed and misguided. The negative commentary surrounding a song that talks about having a “Wet Ass Pussy” stems from a long history of how Black bodies, specifically bodies with pussies, are portrayed as deviant. In “Selling Hot Pussy”, bell hooks talks about how the sexual dissociation from white people has made Black bodies othered and seen as objects. Our bodies have been a spectacle, and many conversations I saw online were rooted in that ideology. Furthermore, Black folks’ bodies are consumed and commodified, which began with slavery. That hasn’t changed; think of Sarah “Saartjie” Baartman, Serena Williams, and Leslie Jones; these women have experienced objectification on large scales throughout history in different ways. WAP made it very clear to many that the dissociation from the Black pussies that birthed most of them and Black pussies’ talk creates violence, and that violence is now evident in online spaces. Violence in digital spaces can look like harassing comments or posts using sexually charged or violent language/slurs, doxing, revenge porn, and virtual stalking. In WAP, the violence was in the form of violent thoughts and ideas surrounding Black women talking about their pussy. It put their worth and autonomy at the hands of Twitter fingers.
The song WAP may be vulgar to some, but to others, it is a breakdown of understanding not only the power but the purpose of pussy. WAP promotes the idea that having autonomy over your body is real power. Existing as a Black woman is an act of resistance. The sheer audacity of speaking about their bodies with such vigor caused some people to put their motherhood, educational backgrounds, and moral compass into question.
Rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have vast followings of women who identify with their music, and they are capable of deciding, as listeners, which messages resonate, and which do not. All artists are up for scrutiny, but when the scrutiny is rooted in misogynoir and created to mute a group, it becomes an act of violence. Being a freak, enjoying sex, feeling good about your pussy, that belongs to you should be celebrated even if the delivery doesn’t fit your respectability politics. The song has powerful lyrics about making sure you are putting your pussy first, and folk do not like a pussy that wants to be pleased.
Both women created a lane of feminism, and I like to call it Freak Feminism, feminism that promotes sexual sovereignty, a feminism that gets real nasty and real gritty (in the best way possible of course), which did not fit a mold or embody the semantics of a white woman’s idea of feminism. In “When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost: A Hip Hop Feminist Breaks it Down,” Joan Morgan proclaimed, “I needed a feminism brave enough to fuck with the grays. And this was not my foremothers’ feminism.”
This faction of freak feminism encourages advocacy for pussies. The sexual liberation, power, and positioning of the lyrics make it clear that they are in control.
Cardi opens the song with:
Put this pussy right in your face
Swipe your nose like a credit card
Hop on top, I wanna ride
I do a kegel while it’s inside
Spit in my mouth, look in my eyes
This pussy is wet, come take a dive
Tie me up like I’m surprised
Let’s role play, I wear a disguise
I want you to park that big Mack truck
Right in this little garage
And Megan follows up with:
Megan says in the song:
“I tell him where to put it, never tell him where I’m ‘bout to be
I run down on him ‘fore I have a nigga running me
Talk your shit, bite your lip
Ask for a car while you ride that dick (while you ride that dick)
You really ain’t never gotta fuck him for a thang
He already made his mind up ‘fore he came”
These examples show that their freakiness is an extension of their version of feminism.
Watching the WAP video or listening to the song should not have caused a visceral reaction, but it did. It ignited something in some people that was vile and judgmental. The comments were un-surprising but more so confusing because one would think by now that, after years of hearing women rap about their pussies and sex, word to Lil’Kim, would be as normal as hearing male rappers rapping about fucking bitches.
Kyesha Jennings discusses Black Feminist Theory and its evolution into the digital space, using Black women rappers like Megan Thee Stallion as examples. In her article “City Girls, hot girls and the re-imagining of Black women in hip hop and digital spaces,” Jennings contends that digital hip hop feminist sensibility (DHHFS) “allow(s) individuals the agency to subvert and redefine hegemonic views of particular identities.” The WAP song and video reinforced this thinking that we can use our voices, primarily digitally, to form new ideas that redefine things rooted in silencing and shaming women. Jennings goes on to discuss how spaces like Twitter and Instagram are tools used to express these ideas loudly; because of this, it is crucial to use these digital spaces to archive moments of advocacy through DHHFS. The praise, TikTok challenges, YouTube reactions, and scholarship will all show WAP’s power for years to come. It will reinforce the impact and the power that pussy truly has.
When I was listening to’ for the 50th time last week, five things came to mind. It inspired a manifesto that needs to be considered when experiencing freak feminism.
My pussy isn’t for consumption unless I offer it up consensually, and even then, you should read the fucking room and ask questions. People struggle with understanding that consent is the only way you can do anything with anyone. When a woman gives permission, this does not mean that she is giving away her power. She can decide when the consent starts and when it can stop.
Pussy brings joy to many but is only seen as disgusting or vile when attached to a voice and motives of one’s own. No one likes a pussy that knows its rights. Feminism has always been about equal rights, but those rights sometimes exclude marginalized groups. Black Feminism attempts to include those who are not prioritized in the first waves of feminism. The right to speak about what your body deserves upsets people who do not believe in equality.
Posturing your pussy as a tool to be seen as a “good woman” by people who thrive in misogynoir is a recipe for disaster. “Pick me” culture, a phrase coined by Black Twitter that refers to a woman who uses internalized misogyny as a way to be attractive to men, has made it easy to reinforce misogyny and violence against women who refuse to fit into a mold of what a “good woman” is.
Rapping about pussy is an act of resistance, and it is a form of activism. When a rapper, femme-identifying or not, speak about Pussies, their pussies, and the like in a way that gives the pussy power, it is a form of advocacy. As stated above by Jennings and Williams, feminism is evolving in the media. The girls are talking about their pussies, equality, and upward mobility in ways that make sense to them and their fans. They connect, advocate, and organize just by speaking truthfully through their music and social media presence about topics that matter.
You are responsible for being a role model for your kids, not pussy. Celebrities are not role models for your children. Your children may love their work, but your job is to provide clarity as a parent figure. There are plenty of songs that children hear that are inappropriate. If they are curious, have those hard conversations. Demystify sex and the fear of talking about it with people, especially your children.
Pussy is the portal that brought us all here. To understand why WAP is essential, we have to take off our misogynoiristic hat, pull away from racist ways of thinking, and lean into the facts. Pussy can get wet. Sex is an act that many people do. Make sure it’s consensual, and even consent doesn’t give license to disparage women who outrightly value their and all pussies, and please continue to mind your pussy, drink water and mind your business.
References:
City Girls, hot girls and the re-imagining of Black women in hip …: Ingenta Connect. (2020). https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/intellect/ghhs/2020/00000001/00000001/art00004;jsessionid=ascrdia744057.x-ic-live-03
Cardi B: Love & Hip Hop’s unlikely feminist hero. (2020). Feminist Media Studies. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/14680777.2017.1380431?scroll=top&needAccess=true
When chickenheads come home to roost : a hip-hop feminist breaks it down (Book, 1999) [WorldCat.org]. (2020). Retrieved 11 September 2020, from https://www.worldcat.org/title/when-chickenheads-come-home-to-roost-a-hip-hop-feminist-breaks-it-down/oclc/71204075