There is no question the new millennium brought with it a generational shift. The cult
ure has shifted and continues to transform. In light of the MeToo movement, perceptions on socially appropriate and inappropriate or even illegal behavior have changed. Cardi B addressed some of these changes indirectly through a social media exchange with conservative columnist and President Donald Trump supporter Stephanie Hamill.
The conversation and controversy took place when Hamill tweeted a response to City Girls and Cardi B’s “Twerk” video. Hamill didn’t see the video as female empowerment but rather female objectification. It may be that this is the very crux of the argument between all sides and where the female rights movement originally began.
Some view the sexual exploitation of women as always being the equivalent of objectification and a way of devaluing a woman’s worth. Typically, women are sexually exploited or objectified by someone in a place of authority. Even with Cardi B and other female singers (or male) who are sexually explicit or exploitative, there is usually a studio head at the top of the food chain reaping the benefits.
Unless you are performing a sexually suggestive or explicit song, dance, or striptease on your own terms and from your own company, you are typically making money for someone else. Even YouTube earns a profit from someone’s act. City Girls is signed to the Quality Control label.
While conservative adherents feel videos such as City Girls and Cardi B’s “Twerk” is sexually exploitive and borderline pornography, the other view is that it is female empowerment.
The new generation views women who are in control of their sexuality as being empowered, regardless of who ultimately makes the profit — even in situations when studio heads consist of men.
Stephanie Hamill kicked off the discussion by asking Cardi B directly on Twitter how “Twerk” was empowering to women.
