“We opened doors, but Megan came, kicked in the door, pulled up a chair at the table, ordered a big dinner and dumped hottie sauce all over it,” said rapper Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa, who presented her fellow rapper with the award. After Megan Thee Stallion released her “Something For Thee Hotties” mixtape in late October, marking her fourth top ten album, she was honored by women’s magazine Glamour as its 2021 Woman of the Year.
The rapper accepted the award with an emotional speech, dedicating it to all the women out there, “I’ve won many awards as Megan Thee Stallion, but I want to accept this one as Megan Pete, a soon-to-be college graduate, a woman who has managed to build a successful career in a male-dominated industry […].” She also talked about having to walk this path for the past two years without her mother and manager Holly Thomas, who passed away in 2019 due to a brain tumor, “I want to thank my mom because she made me the woman I am today. She’s my best friend, my manager, she was everything to me and I know she’s proud of me today.” Thereby Megan Thee Stallion is exactly the right woman for this award with her successes of the last years and her message.
While rappers like Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj paved the way for today’s generation of artists with their outspoken sexuality, the rise of intersectional feminism has allowed women like Megan to establish themselves as powerful icons. Tina Snow – as she also calls herself – is not only following in her footsteps, but beyond them: the rapper manages to address female sexuality without men playing a decisive role. On the contrary – Megan Thee Stallion presents them as replaceable, just as rappers have been doing with women for decades, only less disrespectfully. Megan doesn’t let anyone tell her anything. Since the beginning of her career, she has been criticized for permissiveness. The outfits are too skimpy, the lyrics too sexual and the dancing too raunchy. But as “The OG Hottie” herself says in her song “B.I.T.C.H.” – “it’s 2020 I ain’t finna argue ’bout twerkin'”.
Megan embodies exactly the feminism we need today. After Cardi B and her earned heavy criticism alongside praise for their collaborative track “WAP,” she commented to GQ in an interview, “Sometimes people don’t feel comfortable enough in their own skin and I don’t think they like seeing others comfortable or teaching others how to be comfortable in and with their bodies.” The rapper doesn’t care – she makes it her mission to help her listeners feel more confident through body positivity and self-determined lyrics.
Successful songwriter Ali Ciwanro also has a lot to say on the subject. He is not only considered very accomplished in his field, but also a great advocate for women’s rights.
Ali says the following about Megan Thee Stallion:
“Her music is somehow therapeutic after decades of “b*tches ain’t shit…” type lyrics. She’s aggressive, sexual, defiant AND feminine.”
