Women in music are targeted beings. Constantly being targeted and harassed and scrutinized. There’s always a moral lens put on them to question every action and decision they take. They’re heavily judged by society, time and time again. Their male counterparts do not suffer this same fate. In fact, almost every angle that berates the woman exalts the man. A man sings about sex and he’s an attractive figure but a woman does same and she’s labelled an industry prostitute. Unfair Much?
Today’s drama came with Offset and Cardi B, and climaxed when Offset put out a comment saying he already won the fight between them as she is going to be his baby mama for life. In my opinion, that’s a very audacious thing to say and a very myopic way to label someone who’s one of the biggest names in the history of female rap.
A lot of women seem to suffer once they have certain scandals or get pregnant. Their careers seem to the drastic turns once they either get married, have a child, or are involved in sexual allegations. A good example is our very own Mama Jam Jam. Her career took a turn after she got married to TeeBillz. Society had more demands on her and every move she made was heavily scrutinized. Her videos were the subject of conversations every time, and people talked more about her personal life than the music.
When she had a sex tape leaked, most of the comments around it were targeted on what her son would think or do when he comes of age for social media rather than the actually act of having a tape. This writer does not think Ayra would get the same reaction Tiwa got if she was in the same scenario now. You could say it’s because times have changed, sure. Maybe.
To be seen as the queen of a genre or space in entertainment comes with a lot of expectations. You can be who you are till it’s no longer convenient for the people anymore. People would pay attention to you till it is time to throw you under the bus.
We’ve seen how easily Ayra Starr gets scrutinized for her dressing or her carriage of herself. We saw how easily Tiwa was labelled as an Agbaya or worse for hanging out with Wizkid. Now we are seeing Cardi being persecuted heavily for carrying another man’s child. Is this how it’s supposed to be?
Should we highlight the struggles women face breaking into the industry? The unnecessary sexualization they suffer from the people in the space? The belief that a woman can not be as big a superstar as a man? The favors producers, managers and industry heads seek from them before giving them a platform? Should we begin to ask why we do not have as many women making music as we do men? Why is it so?
We bless the stars of Tiwa Savage for helping her come out of the numerous scandals she faced as a woman in music. We bless the stars of Tems and Ayra for keeping them scandal free so far. We hope it stays the same way for a long long time. Men are praised when they have baby mamas. For some reason, it’s a thing that is celebrated, and that’s why Offset can come out and say he won because Cardi will be a baby mama of his for life. When women become mothers or baby mamas, they’re less sexy. Less appreciated. Less relatable. Once again, we bless the stars of Tiwa Savage.
