Why I think Nicki Minaj is a feminist icon
I might add the word almost into that title. But Nicki Minaj has proved time and again that she can do everything that the men do. She's hardcore as a rapper and she's witty with her lyrics and timing. But here's truly why I see her as a feminist icon.
1. She reverses sexist songs.
If you ever hear Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby Got Back', you can immediately realise the song (like most hip hop music) objectifies women - women with big butts. Of course you can argue that the song pushes forward the acceptance of curves and different aesthetics of womanhood, however, what it essentially does is make it okay to talk about women as sexual objects.
And that's why Nicki Minaj's Anaconda (which literally sounds like a remake of Baby Got Back) reverses roles in a way not often heard of. She objectifies the men and their 'anacondas' - comparing them to the Eiffel Tower in order to get with a woman as sexy and curvy as Nicki.
Similarly, if you look at her recent song 'Barbie Dreams', she reverses The Notorious BIG's 'Just Playing Dreams' into something humorous and calls out all the men who might have objectified her. By not allowing men to objectify her, and reversing something which was popular for it's objectification of women (and minors), Nicki wins.
2. She calls herself Barbie while being curvy as hell
If you look into the history of Barbie Doll's, there's a trend of problematic body types as well as skin colour that plagues the sexual toy. Nicki Minaj, in calling herself a Barbie and embracing being in many ways opposite of what historically represents barbies, takes forward her narrative of curvy being sexy. And that all skin colours and all shapes are sexy.
3. She's in control of her sexuality
Look at her Paper Magazine Cover of Winter 2017. Or examine her various 'hypersexualised' performances. Watch the video of Anaconda - where she takes control and annihilates the male gaze (literally laughing at Drake) or her song 'Feeling Myself', where she talks about female masturbation. And most often she raps about how she'd like her partner to behave during sex, taking charge of not only her sexuality, but also her sexual encounters.
4. Being girly is something she celebrates
You think of Nicki Minaj, and you automatically have the colour pink in your head (of course, her first three albums also had the word 'pink' in their title). Stereotypical female portrayals are okay - as is being a monster or having multiple personalities and all put into one. Nicki draws on her personality (call it girly) to push her art.
5. She's not afraid of anyone
God. Men. Women. Celebrities. Politicians. Nicki has basically feuded with everyone and has defended her stance (as problematic as it might be sometimes).
6. Abortion
Nicki Minaj has had an abortion, she's stood up for the topic and believes in the right to choose. She's talked about the topic in interviews - Rolling Stone for example. She's rapped about her regret and her trauma related to the experience on several songs and she's dealing with it through her lyrics.
7. She's Ambitious
Listen to her mix tapes from her earlier days or her discography through the years and you hear her spitting over and over, how she wants to fight for 'the Crown'. Nicki has always put her eyes on the prize and gone for it.
I'm not saying that her hyper-sexual image or her path to success is something particularly run off the mill radical. I'm only saying, she's taking stereotypes head on, embracing them, reversing them, and doing exactly as she pleases while succeeding at something women struggle to succeed at.
Also Read:
https://mic.com/articles/114458/17-powerful-feminist-quotes-from-nicki-minaj#.MScCN5rCP
From theperspective.com:
1. She reverses sexist songs.
If you ever hear Sir Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby Got Back', you can immediately realise the song (like most hip hop music) objectifies women - women with big butts. Of course you can argue that the song pushes forward the acceptance of curves and different aesthetics of womanhood, however, what it essentially does is make it okay to talk about women as sexual objects.
And that's why Nicki Minaj's Anaconda (which literally sounds like a remake of Baby Got Back) reverses roles in a way not often heard of. She objectifies the men and their 'anacondas' - comparing them to the Eiffel Tower in order to get with a woman as sexy and curvy as Nicki.
Similarly, if you look at her recent song 'Barbie Dreams', she reverses The Notorious BIG's 'Just Playing Dreams' into something humorous and calls out all the men who might have objectified her. By not allowing men to objectify her, and reversing something which was popular for it's objectification of women (and minors), Nicki wins.
2. She calls herself Barbie while being curvy as hell
If you look into the history of Barbie Doll's, there's a trend of problematic body types as well as skin colour that plagues the sexual toy. Nicki Minaj, in calling herself a Barbie and embracing being in many ways opposite of what historically represents barbies, takes forward her narrative of curvy being sexy. And that all skin colours and all shapes are sexy.
Look at her Paper Magazine Cover of Winter 2017. Or examine her various 'hypersexualised' performances. Watch the video of Anaconda - where she takes control and annihilates the male gaze (literally laughing at Drake) or her song 'Feeling Myself', where she talks about female masturbation. And most often she raps about how she'd like her partner to behave during sex, taking charge of not only her sexuality, but also her sexual encounters.
4. Being girly is something she celebrates
You think of Nicki Minaj, and you automatically have the colour pink in your head (of course, her first three albums also had the word 'pink' in their title). Stereotypical female portrayals are okay - as is being a monster or having multiple personalities and all put into one. Nicki draws on her personality (call it girly) to push her art.
5. She's not afraid of anyone
God. Men. Women. Celebrities. Politicians. Nicki has basically feuded with everyone and has defended her stance (as problematic as it might be sometimes).
6. Abortion
Nicki Minaj has had an abortion, she's stood up for the topic and believes in the right to choose. She's talked about the topic in interviews - Rolling Stone for example. She's rapped about her regret and her trauma related to the experience on several songs and she's dealing with it through her lyrics.
7. She's Ambitious
Listen to her mix tapes from her earlier days or her discography through the years and you hear her spitting over and over, how she wants to fight for 'the Crown'. Nicki has always put her eyes on the prize and gone for it.
I'm not saying that her hyper-sexual image or her path to success is something particularly run off the mill radical. I'm only saying, she's taking stereotypes head on, embracing them, reversing them, and doing exactly as she pleases while succeeding at something women struggle to succeed at.Also Read:
https://mic.com/articles/114458/17-powerful-feminist-quotes-from-nicki-minaj#.MScCN5rCP
From theperspective.com:
The rapper Nicki Minaj has opened doors for other women to enter a male-dominated genre, while confidently embracing her sexuality and identity. On the other hand, her sexuality is heavily employed in her quest to success, which enforces sexist stereotypes, and, even if well meaning, serves to objectify women.
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