More Feminist Confusion

The feminists are at it again.  These people are harder to understand than calculus.  Music producer Jermaine Dupri made a comment that most female rappers today make songs about the stripper life.  Social media feminists got upset for some reason and somehow Jermaine Dupri has become a prudish hypocrite in their minds even though their response is a bit prudish.  I thought feminists were in favor of “sexual liberation” and expression.

I don’t listen to much new rap music anymore.  I’ve gotten too old.  So if I have heard of you that means that you have become pretty darn popular.  Cardi B is a hip hop pop star that has become difficult to escape.  And I’ve gotten introduced to Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls.  I don’t care for Cardi B. at all but I think that Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls are quite talented.

I’m a Bible thumper that believes that there is more power for women in modesty than there is in raw sexuality.  I also believe that these talented young women would be better served by not flaunting their sexuality.  The public will only tolerate that without mocking it while a woman is young but no one is young forever or even very long.  You have to have something to sell and talk about other than sex.  But I’m not the target market for the music industry and I’m in my middle forties.  The City Girls and Megan didn’t ask for my opinion.

I like these girls because I can understand what they are saying.  They aren’t mumble rappers that sound like they are coming out of a cold medicine induced haze.  They are charismatic, energetic, young, brash and beautiful.  They are urban or perhaps ratchet is the better word and make no apologies for it.  Their music is fun.  And yes, they are sexy and put forth a stripper like image.  When I ran across their videos on You Tube they made me smile.  I don’t know City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion’s backgrounds but Cardi B. was an actual stripper.

Hip hop has been filthy, blunt and telling tales of urban counter culture since the late 80s. That’s the draw and the charm.  Hip hop has sold millions and probably billions because it sells a fantasy to those of us that are students, housewives and work cubicle jobs.  They say and do things before an audience that most of us would never do even after a couple of shots of tequila.  Feminism has done it’s job.

The City Girls parents probably hadn’t even met yet when tawdry rap music gained popularity and began to dominate the charts. Megan The Stallion and Cardi B. never really had a chance and most young women are never really given a different option to present themselves as something other than slutty.  But hey, we’re talking about grown, career women and I respect their choices.

Explicit lyrics, filth and racial slurs ahead.

I thought that feminists were in favor of women expressing themselves sexually and on their own terms.  That’s what the City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion are doing.  It’s what Nicki Minaj did before them.  And it’s what Lil Kim and Foxy Brown did before her these girls’ parents even met.  The young feminist response to Jermaine Dupri’s response should have been “So what if they rap about stripping.  What’s wrong with stripping?”  That would have made more sense to double down on their feminist values.

More trash ahead.

Instead they name off a bunch of other current female rappers that have a more wholesome or emo image.  In order to say that all young female rappers aren’t stripper like.  If feminists are truly supportive of these modest rappers why aren’t they more popular?  Capitalism is it’s own form of Democracy and feminists get a vote.

Jermaine Dupri is absolutely right.  Most popular young female rappers are selling sex.  It’s the way of the world and you need to be a real rebel to make a different choice.  There may be a Lauryn Hill or Missy Elliot equivalent for today but she doesn’t seem to be selling much music.  Or at least she’s not selling enough downloads and getting enough buzz to become mainstream like Cardi B.

Jermaine Dupri isn’t young anymore.  He’s forty six years old and it sounds like he’s gained some wisdom along the way.  He understands that there is more power for women in modesty and using talent and intelligence.  I hold the same opinion but I guess I’m enough of a feminist to respect an adult woman’s life choice.  He’s just trying to let young women with aspirations in the music business that their longevity is not in blatant sex appeal.

After all, Lauryn Hill still sells out concerts even though her fans know she might show up two hours late.  And we’ve never seen much of her body or heard much about her sexual experiences.  She did it all with talent and hard work.  Punctuality, not so much.

But feminists are interested in arguing and becoming outraged no matter what.  That seems to be the goal.  They aren’t even standing behind their cause of sexual liberation and expression.  A man got them to rally around modest rappers today which is what he was supporting.  Women stay losing.