The Feminine Musique: Cardi, Megan, and Black Feminism

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion continue their contributions to the ideals of Black feminism as they overcome stereotypes and the oppression that comes with them. 

The Feminine Musique is a series where writers analyze portrayals of women in music.

Written by Mahina Adams 

Photo courtesy of Elle Magazine 

Contemporary female rappers are often known for their risqué lyrics, big personalities, and body positivity anthems. Their lyrics, to many listeners, have become a source of empowerment and uplift, especially for Black women.  Aside from this, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have come under fire for perpetuating stereotypes of Black women, especially in the music industry. Despite these accusations, Black female rappers, with particular attention on Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, rather than perpetuating stereotypes to appease white audiences, instead reclaim the stereotypes that have been used to harm Black women. Through the platform of hip-hop, these artists are helping to create their own self-definitions and self-valuations of what Black female identity is. Influenced by Black feminist thought and the Black feminist movement, two aspects of burgeoning Black feminism, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are leading rap into a new future where women are not inhibited by double standards and the suppression of Black female sexuality. 

Black feminist thought is a social theory that at its core, includes the experiences of Black women as defined and explained by Black women. These shared experiences of Black women lie at the core of Black feminist thought, ultimately building up the idea that the only people working for the liberation of Black women are Black women themselves. This focus on one’s own oppression ties into the identity politics of being both a woman, Black, and the intersectional oppression that includes the stereotypes of both identities. Through the development of Black feminist thought, there is a discovery and reinterpretation of Black women’s works. From Black feminism, Black women are able to rearticulate a different view of themselves and the world often pushed onto them in American society. The stereotypes placed upon Black women aim to justify the social dominance created in American society and to counter this, Black feminism is about recognizing the needs and contexts of other Black women and addressing stereotypes upon them. 

Since its beginnings in the ‘70s, hip-hop has been a heavily male-dominated genre. Over time, however, it has slowly but surely grown to include more and more female representation. Sex-positive female rappers are not a new occurence, with rappers like Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot paving the way for new artists to take the scene, but as conversations and narratives change around these topics, the idea of talking about sex has become a celebration of the Black female body and its sexuality rather than a sensitive topic to be avoided in the public sphere. Hip-hop can be a vehicle for social change if artists choose to challenge its problematic principles related to misogny and heterosexism, and when considering their actions through the lens of Black feminism, Cardi and Megan are doing just that by providing mutual empowerment and solidarity for Black women. 

Cardi B and Megan thee Stallion have become exceptions in a male-dominated industry. Although overtly sexual, their actions are not one-dimensional as they bring awareness to Black womanhood through the celebration of Black bodies, both in their lyrics and music videos, and the self-made success of Black women. The space for Black women has narrowed and so the hip-hop industry has provided a new route for Black women. Black women, as told through Black feminism, have been victimized by racism and misogyny, and the actions of Cardi and Megan provide for new definitions of Black womanhood. Black feminist thought has helped to process this rearticulation to offer a different view of Black women themselves and the world. 

The “Myth of Promiscuity” is one of the biggest challenges for overtly sexual rappers such as Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. The myth of promiscuity stereotypes Black women as being promiscuous and sexually immoral. It began in southern slaveholding society by Victorian social codes that highlighted the purity of white women and made Black women out to be the exact moral opposite of them, creating the narrow definition of acceptable feminine behavior. These controlling images of Black women were fundamental to racial segregation and the gendered racial hierarchy as, oftentimes, womanhood is tied to sexuality. Many women had to seek refuge by donning a mask of asexuality, and currently, the purposeful promiscuity of female rappers like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are reclaiming their sexuality today. 

Amidst the popularization of the call to “Protect Black Women'' within the Black Lives Matter Movement, Megan Thee Stallion has spoken out on the harms that Black women face.  In a 2020 article Megan wrote for the New York Times, she states that, “When women choose to capitalize on our sexuality, to reclaim our own power, like I have, we are vilified and disrespected.” Megan rejects the notion of promiscuity being a bad thing and, instead, creates it as a positive way for Black women to control their own bodies and sexuality. She cuts into the pervasive myths that purposefully portray Black women in the negative light of sexual promiscuity. 

Through their lyricism, Cardi and Megan also reclaim the jezebel and sapphire stereotypes. The sapphire is directed at labeling Black women as loud, mean, and angry and is used as a way of delegitimizing black women’s expression of discontent. The jezebel stereotype labels Black women as overly sexual and predatory by nature. Cardi and Megan are reclaiming their sexuality by reinterpreting the world’s view of Black women. The same graphic and sexual lyrics male rappers rap about are taken in disgust when spoken about by female artists like Cardi and Megan. Along with challenging stereotypes, Megan Thee Stallion also provides affirmations of Black beauty, shown by her lyric from her song “Body,” “I’m a hit ebony, they gon’ click it if it’s me.” Through this process, female rappers claim their own sexuality and control the labels placed upon them.

In a 2018 interview with Billboard, Cardi states, “They think feminism is great and only a woman that can speak properly, that has a degree, who is a boss, a businessperson… they think only Michelle Obama can be a feminist." Black women’s activism can reverberate across many walks of life, and Black feminism isn’t solely associated with one type of woman. In her song, “Get Up 10,” Cardi raps, “Went from making tuna sandwiches to making the news / I started speaking my mind and tripled my views / Real b-tch, only thing fake is the boobs.” Through her lyrics, Cardi explains the endless opportunities for Black women and crushes the stereotypes by expanding the opportunities granted for those standing at the intersection of race, class, and sex. 

Black women live under constant, heightened scrutiny by society around them. There is diversity in the way Black women are oppressed, and Black feminism challenges the feminist movement to be more inclusive of diverse voices in order to create a more encompassing and empowering ideology and movement. Black feminism has become an important political statement used by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion as they merge hip-hop with the sociopolitical issues of race and gender by challenging stereotypes in a male-dominated industry and world. Through their music, conversations are initiated on sexism and racism not only in the hip-hop industry, but in American society as a whole.