WAP: sexual freedom an self respect in the music industry

On Friday, August 7th, 2020 the world as we know it completely changed. Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar and Megan Jovon Ruth Pete released “WAP” to the dismay of conservatives everywhere. The world went wild but for different reasons than intended. While some people enjoyed the song others were completely disgusted at its content. But why?

Dictionary

Sexual Freedom- Sexual freedom is the license to lawfully live with and love whom you want when you want, and how you want without social, political, medical, or cultural persecution. Sexual freedom flows from the belief that human sexuality cannot be prescribed or legislated, and is a natural, fundamental, and precious aspect of life.

Self-respect- Pride and confidence in oneself: a feeling that one is behaving with honor and dignity.

Influence- The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.

Now that I’ve addressed some key terms, I can begin to truly break them down and explain their significance. Sexual freedom seems to be at the core of many arguments against the song, so what is sexual freedom? and how far does it extend? It’s 2020, people are doing what they want, and we’re beginning to normalize having unorthodox jobs including sex work. One of the jobs at the center of this topic is creating an OnlyFans. The argument being presented here is that those with an OnlyFans have no self-respect. The problem with this statement is the statistics about sites like this. OnlyFans boasts over 30 million users with the majority of them being men and over 450,000 creators with the majority of them being women. Most of the people bothered by WAP are men and yet the majority of consumers on the platform are men. Men are paying money to see sexually explicit content and yet when two women release a sexually explicit song there’s an issue. Think about what happens when a female celebrity’s nude leaks. Men go crazy. Note that these are still sexually explicit photos, but when it’s leaked nudes it suddenly becomes okay? So is a woman’s sexual content only acceptable when you weren’t supposed to have access to it? 

OnlyFans are pointless to creators if there isn't an audience.  “Monica Huldt, aka "Miss_Swedish_Bella," is said to be one of the top-earning creators on OnlyFans, charging $6.50 for a monthly subscription and larger fees for commissioned work sent through private messages. According to Business Insider, Huldt garnered more than 1,100 subscribers and was making more than $100,000 a year on OnlyFans as of March. Though she already had a large Instagram following prior to joining OnlyFans, she told the publication she works on the platform seven days a week to earn a six-figure income.”- Complex

This woman makes six figures off of the male gaze. How can you doubt that she respects herself? Think about how confident in yourself you have to be to post private and sexual photos of yourself online and then make it a lucrative career. That takes some serious self-respect. 

Being confident in your body and sexuality≠ lack of self-respect. 

Women’s self-respect is one thing but her public image and influence is another. Some may argue that lyrics like the ones in WAP are damaging to young girls because she’s promoting using your body as your main asset instead of your mind. There are a few things wrong with this sentiment.

1. It isn't the job of the artist to influence and raise your children. I understand wanting your children to have positive musical influences, but artists such as Cardi and Megan obviously don't make music with children in mind. There are plenty of artists that don’t promote those ideas and if you’re uncomfortable with your children listening to music that contains that material then don't allow them to listen to it. You’re the parent, not the artist.

2. In the song u.o.e.n.o by Rocko ft. Rick Ross and Future, Rick Ross says “Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain't even know it. I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it.” He literally just suggested drugging and raping a woman. Lyrics like these are quite common among male artists. They promote the idea of a woman's consent being unnecessary and being able to do whatever you want with no consequences simply because you want to. “Lol, dudes will scream “slob on my knob word for word and crying abt WAP by Lil boy”-Megan Thee Stallion via twitter @theestallion. Messages like these are just as harmful if not more harmful to young men as any Cardi or Megan lyric.

3. Women have been releasing sexual songs for a minute, none of this is new. Has no one ever heard a Lil Kim song? Take a listen to “Big Momma Thang”. (Actually please don’t) but I can assure you that WAP is pretty mild compared to the majority of her discography.

A woman’s profession shouldn’t determine the amount of respect she should receive. The first lady of the United States had posed nude and participated in porn. Assuming that a woman who works a 9-5 in a corporate office is more intelligent and therefore more respectable than a woman who does sex work (legal sex work) is incredibly presumptuous and misogynistic. Being promiscuous and intelligent aren’t mutually exclusive. Women can be both and should be respected either way.

While WAP may not be suitable for children it shouldn't be used as a tool to shame women who are confident in their bodies and their sexuality. We’re battling a global pandemic,  a crazy election, and an ongoing fight for social justice. We have bigger issues to worry about than a music video with some sexual lyrics.

Thanks for reading

As always,

Stay funky, spunky, spicy, and hydrated⭐️

-Elliott☆