Women havenโt caught a break since a 4-day-old Eve tried one of those red delicious, forbidden apples. If only she had listened to her 6-day-old man, Adam, instead of that pro-choice-talking snakeโwe might be roaming around naked and free in the Garden of Eden with mad mosquito bites right now. Since the year 1619 (pre-USA), Black women have not only had the nerve to fight for freedom alongside Black men but got greedy by also wanting equality; thatโs when Black and white men came together in unity and said,ย โNah, because all you chicks ruin sh*t like Eve.โย These tales of womenโs audacity being punished for the greater good created aย Macho Manย mindset and an anti-woman culture that presents as necessary and cool.
Hip Hop did not create misogyny. As a 90s kid, I often watched the nightly news showcase anti-rap protests from white suburbia and the Black church community alike. I remember doing a book report on Englandโs King Henry VIII and discovering that he was way more notorious than Brooklynโs Christopher Wallace. This guy Henry was married six times, stopped paying his tithes because the church wouldnโt let him divorce one wife to marry another, and had a couple of wives beheaded because they didnโt birth him sons. And yet, Henry VIII is not only historically admired as a king but glamorized as something of a rockstar in movies, TV shows, and traditional museum portraits that show him with hands on hips sporting a full, red, Rick Ross-BAWSE type beard.
Because of this century-long and celebrated behavior, Def Jam Records founderย Russell Simmons can pop up all smiles for a post-press conference photo-op with New York City mayor Eric Adams; only a few years prior Simmons convenientlyย ducked out of the country for a spell after facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, assault, and rape. The same goes for rapper/singer Tory Lanez whoย allegedly shot rapper Meg THEE Stallion in the foot.ย The culture shifted from Megan being a possible victim to blaming her for the incident.
Internet ignorance suggested, in defense of Tory, that a gun would be needed because of Megโsย stature.ย There were also assumptions about Megโs sex life; things likeย โOh, word is, she sleeps with everybodyโincluding her best friendโs man,”ย became the topic of podcast conversations.ย โShe twerks about herย WAP, therefore sheโs a liar’ became the promoted and prevailing attitude of many who became overnightย CSI agents,ย using alleged court document leaksย from social media as evidence. All these mentions are bogus historical branches from the same victim-blaming tree as Cosby and R. Kellyโs public opinion defense teams.
Patriarchy suggests that men are born and bred rulersโsolid, secure, all-knowingโunless there is an attractive woman present. Then itโs all her fault. Former United States President Bill Clinton made himself look like a locker-room legend and victim at the same time once he admitted to receiving oral sex from a White House intern in the oval office. Then, there are the Irv Gottis and Wyclef Jeans of the world. Jeanย alleged for years that he and bandmate Lauryn Hill were having an affair while he was married, and he even claimed to think he was the father of her firstborn. Irv, the music executive who introduced the world to rappers DMX, Jay-Z, and Ja-Rule, was bent on degrading his own legacy by publicly screaming for yearsโand most recently on an episode ofย Drink Champsโ about his alleged, rarely unchallenged, sexual activities with R&B singer and former Murder Inc. artist, Ashanti. Like Clinton, Gotti (who also was married) painted himself as a victim when Ashanti allegedly ended their relationship to be with rapper Nelly.
Irv and Wyclef volunteered information that nobody asked for with a smug shoulder shrug and an excuse, “Everybody knew anyways, so please feel sorry for me.” When we, in fact, did not feel bad, and we didn’t need to know. The possibility of jail time was Clintonโs motivation. Irv and Wyclef offered up their toxic tales for egoโs sake.
Understand, everyone has a right to proclaim their innocence. If accused of a crime one didn’t commit, itโs natural to defend oneโs livelihood to the grave. However, there needs to be a deeper application process to qualify for grace cardsโand charm alone just shouldnโt cut it.ย NFL QB Deshaun Watson, who faced sexual assault allegations, arrived at practice to the applause of adoring fans. While rapper Mystikal has served time for a rape charge once already, onlyย to be accused twice more in the same decade.
We do not have to live in a culture that ignores women victims and faults them for creating the circumstances. But since we do, at the very least we shouldnโt be so quick to run our mouths or grin our pearly whites in defiance.
