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The WAP Effect
Even grandmothers were doing the dance.
“From the top, make it drop, that’s some wet ass pussy,” Cardi B raps on her number one single featuring Megan Thee Stallion, which they performed at the Grammys last week. The song brings to mind the Vine of a white mother screaming No No No! as she tries to turn off an iHome playing “Only” by Nicki Minaj. (“He’s gonna eat my ass like a piece of cake.”) Even as I listen to “WAP,” part of thinks That’s so crass, turn it off. I guess I have my own white mother inside me. I can’t help but watch the music video, hypnotized by the choreography, amazed by how openly Cardi and Megan rap about sex. It’s like listening to porn.
The “white mothers” of the world were quick to comment on “WAP.” Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said that anyone with a “wet ass pussy” should go to the gynecologist. However, doctors have responded saying it’s perfectly natural for vaginal lubrication to occur. That’s one of the great things about the song: it de-stigmatizes female expression of sexuality. We’ve come a long way from Katy Perry saying “I wanna see your peacock,” on Teenage Dream. For all her raunchiness, Perry still encouraged women to be coy about their sexuality- a patriarchal expression of sexual desire. On the other hand, “WAP” confidently asserts the sex drive of its performers. Yeah, I have sex. And what about it?
