A week after giving a powerful performance on Saturday Night Live, Megan Thee Stallion shares an equally powerful Op-ed she penned for The New York Times. In this piece, she addresses being a victim of a violent assault, voting, being pitted against other female rappers, judged on her clothing, and other issues that women, especially Black women, all face. Below are some excerpts from the article…
On people blaming her for being shot:
My initial silence about what happened was out of fear for myself and my friends. Even as a victim, I have been met with skepticism and judgment. The way people have publicly questioned and debated whether I played a role in my own violent assault proves that my fears about discussing what happened were, unfortunately, warranted.
On criticism:
But you know what? I’m not afraid of criticism. We live in a country where we have the freedom to criticize elected officials. And it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase “Protect Black women” is controversial. We deserve to be protected as human beings. And we are entitled to our anger about a laundry list of mistreatment and neglect that we suffer.
On reclaiming her sexuality:
I value compliments from women far more than from men. But the remarks about how I choose to present myself have often been judgmental and cruel, with many assuming that I’m dressing and performing for the male gaze. When women choose to capitalize on our sexuality, to reclaim our own power, like I have, we are vilified and disrespected.
On being pitted against Nicki Minaj and Ole Girl:
In every industry, women are pitted against one another, but especially in hip-hop, where it seems as if the male-dominated ecosystem can handle only one female rapper at a time. Countless times, people have tried to pit me against Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, two incredible entertainers and strong women. I’m not “the new” anyone; we are all unique in our own ways.
On Black women only having ourselves:
Black women are not naïve. We know that after the last ballot is cast and the vote is tallied, we are likely to go back to fighting for ourselves. Because at least for now, that’s all we have.
I suggest y'all read the full op-ed. It's very powerful and I think it's special coming from a female rapper. As I have noted before, most female rappers suffer abuse in silence. They don't speak out. They allow their abuser to go on and have successful careers, and to repeat their patterns of abuse. Megan Thee Stallion was going to follow in their footsteps, but Tory's narcissism and continued attacks through the media are what cause Megan to speak out. Her speaking out is the best thing that could happen for the culture because it allows us to have discussions that should have been had years ago.
PROTECT BLACK WOMEN!
Via IG:
This piece really means a lot to me and I hope it touches everyone 🙏🏾
I will never bite my tongue, I will never allow anyone to silence me, I will never be scared to stand up for myself and others, and I DAMN SURE WILL NEVER BE SCARED TO BE MY TRUE AUTHENTIC STRONG BLACK SELF 💙 thank you @nytopinion for the platform and thank you to all the beautiful women involved ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾
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