WAP – Women Against Patriarchy: Agency and Objectification – Empowering Hypersexual Female Representation in Hip-hop

Abstract

What happens when women deliberately choose to represent themselves sexually in the music industry? The following thesis analyses the music video and song ‘WAP’ by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion from an intersectional perspective. ‘WAP’ is one of the most controversial music releases of 2020 as it brings forward new levels of explicitness regarding female sexuality through its lyrics and visuals. Throughout time hip-hop culture has been considered as a masculine domain. In these masculine spaces, women have been portrayed as hypersexual objects rather than sexual subjects who have power over their representation. Being one of the most streamed songs of the year ‘WAP’ reaches a new level of influence in the music industry in comparison to the previous portrayal of women in hip-hop that has been studied. This analysis addresses the research question of how do Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion as Black female artists assert their agency as empowering hip-hop feminists through strategies of self-representation. The question will be analysed through a discussion using the concepts of representation, agency, male gaze, objectification, the Other, and hip-hop feminism. The method to conduct this research will be textual analysis, as this analysis investigates the connection of the aesthetics and lyrical narrative of ‘WAP.’ The main focus will be on examining the portrayal of female figures in the video and lyrics through ideas of active and passive agency. This research argues that through this controversial release the artists have left their mark in history as empowering hip-hop feminists.