7 minute read
Don’t Fear
This article is in response to The Felid Temptress published in the last issue, written by Oliver Pike. Cardi B’s W.A.P is not an “unofficial anthem” for 2020, in fact it was ranked 24 on the top 100 Billboard songs and its presence in the top is due to the censored version played on the radio, like most explicit songs by Cardi B. It is certain that Cardi B does not bother with metaphors and similes to talk about sex like the rock groups of another idealised time, but we have to compare what is comparable. Cardi B is not a rock star but an emerging singer from the rap industry which has always been upfront with topics such as sex. Rap has always used strong sexual references, nothing is new here. Rap is more mainstream now than in the 80s and 90s, and there are more female rappers now in what was a predominantly masculine circle.
Being uncomfortable with such explicit content is only fair but so much outrage was not provoked when male rappers were doing the same thing. The constant attack against female rappers like Cardi B and Nicki Minaj seems more like a problem with them breaking the taboos around their sexuality and owning the societal sexualisation of their female bodies. The difference between Cardi B and Bond Girls, supermodels or “Batman’s Jewel Thief nemesis” is that the latter refers to the concept of the male gaze. The way the bond girls or supermodels are portrayed in the media is made to fit what is stereotypically considered male sexualized ideals of attractive femininity. Cardi B is an instance of the emerging claims against the male gaze: in her song and video she is re-appropriating the sexualisation usually projected by the male gaze in the media. She is taking ownership of her sexuality, she is finding something out of society’s oppressive sexualisation of women. She is not doing so in name of all women or for a male audience, but for herself, she appears the way she wants to. If not all women would find ownership the way Cardi B does, all women can find Cardi B’s control over her body and image inspiring. It is true that sexuality in the media is more explicit and available but this is not the symptom of a depraved and decaying society.
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What becomes available and breaks out of taboos is not necessarily influencing the population. Having sexuality represented on mainstream media reveals that people have been free from the shame around the subject. No one is forced to “join” the consequences of that freedom. The fact that such things as dating apps are available with the possibility of a non-committed relationship should not come as a threat and it does not mean that love is dead and that most people only look for sex. What is being criticized in Oliver Pike’s article is due to media and its accessibility to everyone, therefore it is not that society is shifting but rather that things that always existed have been made visible.
The Felid Temptress displays a problem that does not exist, sex is not predominant. It has only been liberated and with the multiplication of media, it is more easily visible. The article continues to talking about how problematic shows like Love Island are: “It is no wonder some young women are seeing OnlyFans (a subscription service for nudes) as a viable career path and that relationships have become “uncool” amongst the younger generations.”, “Why have they become the role models of young women everywhere? I say young women because men seldom watch this show and certainly refrain from respecting any of the men who if not on Love Island would be in a nightclub on ketamine or an STD clinic”. This type of discourse is extremely problematic. No one says that Love Island is particularly an intellectual television program or that it has a proper plot, it is made for its pure entertainment quality. The fact that shows like this exist is not the reason why women start making OnlyFans or why younger people do not want to be in a relationship. People do not have to be married by age 16 anymore, and there is nothing wrong in wanting to date around before you settle with someone you want to stay with. There is a maturity in recognizing that you are not ready for a serious committed relationship. When talking about Love Island and how women see the people as role models but men can only be disgusted by these people, it is extremely misogynistic and hurtful. It implies that women are stupid and follow anything they like without an objective output whereas men see that it is ridiculous.
Women are always judged for liking what they want: it is always considered as stupid no matter what it is and if a woman like things that are considered “masculine interests” like sports or video games, she is a ‘pick me girl’ and people say that ‘boys must love that’. Men are never judged for liking what they like even if it is a group of boys running after a ball and payed millions for that. Candidates on Love Island or Cadi B are not pretending to be ‘classy’ but they are owning who they are and do not want to be shamed for it, it is ownership and there is room for that in society too.As for women using OnlyFans, sex work exist and always existed, at least with OnlyFans women who chose to use this platform are being safe and have agency. People are appalled by a platform like OnlyFans but have no problem with a magazine like Playboy existing. Playboy has made money for years using women’s bodies but when women do it with their own bodies, on their own terms, it becomes problematic and a sign of a declining society. Moreover, OnlyFans resolves a lot of the problems encountered with pornographic images and videos. Sex workers who decide to use it are free of abuse that they could encounter in the porn industry and the explicit images or videos are more regulated and not accessible to children. Feminism does not support prostitution: they are not idealizing and promoting it. Feminism supports sex workers because they deserve to be protected by the law. Through protection there can be control and sex workers would have agency and avoid bad situations. This is visible in the Red Light District in Amsterdam that permitted to better the respect of Human Rights and reduce crime and nuisance in the city.
In the article The Felid Temptress, feminist’s “slut walks” are qualified as “strange”. They are meant to re-appropriate the term “slut”, usually designed as an insult, to counter-act “slut-shaming” and the judgement of women for having casual sex. The article does not seem to understand what is at stake: casual sex does not make anyone a slut. Casual sex is, indeed, something to be celebrated because as far as we are concerned if it is between two consenting adults there should be no shame in that. People have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies. A man having casual sex has been celebrated for centuries, we do not see why women should not have the same right. In a heterosexual relationship, it is only the women that are chastised and judged for something that included two people. The concept of “slut” is a misogynistic and patriarchal tool to judge women and qualify them as less desirable or honourable if they have casual intercourse. In “The Felid Temptress”, the term ‘taste’ is often used. Taste is incredibly subjective, it concerns an individual and only that individual. What is tasteful for someone might not be for somebody else.
Although the article has a problem with W.A.P and women owning their sexuality and sexual bodies for their own interest, it is only a very biased and judgemental opinion, based on little facts. It cannot be imposed, passed as factual and demonized. Things cannot be generalise, made a reality and universal truth about our society and its behaviours. Society is not shifting for a more decadent and hedonistic model, one could argue that it is the opposite. In Ancient Greece, the symposium is the occasion for Greek men to participate in complete indulgence, abusing of drinks, food, being entertained by prostitutes and taking part in orgies. A similar phenomenon takes place during the Bacchanalia, a Roman festival in honour of the god of wine, freedom, intoxication and ecstasy, Bacchus. These were cultural celebration and no such thing could ever exist nowadays. There is no such thing as a shift for the worse in sexual behaviour, the only thing that changed are the multiplicity of media that explains a more important presence of sexual images and the fact that sex is not the taboo subject it used to be. Finally, we will like to direct you to a song from Harry Roy and his Orchestra from 1931 entitled “My Girl’s Pussy” which in many ways is the ancestor of Cardi B’s W.A.P.
