Culture

Megan Thee Stallion Writes Powerful Op-Ed For the New York Times


 

Megan Thee Stallion has made a powerful statement about her commitment to protecting Black women in a New York Times op-ed and accompanying video published Tuesday.

The op-ed, simply titled “Why I Speak Up For Black Women,” begins with Megan pointing out the hypocrisy of the expectation that Black women will save the election, while they are still “constantly disrespected and disregarded in so many areas of life.”

She recalled that earlier this summer, after she was shot in the foot by rapper Tory Lanez, she was forced to stay silent about the incident out of fear for herself and the pain of being subjected to public scrutiny. Additionally, she stated that the incident has brought a spotlight to the widespread issue of violence against women, especially Black women, whether intimate partner violence or seemingly random acts like her shooting.

“I’ve realized that violence against women is not always connected to being in a relationship,” said Megan. “Instead, it happens because too many men treat all women as objects, which helps them to justify inflicting abuse against us when we choose to exercise our own free will.”

Megan Thee Stallion recently broke ground on Saturday Night Live as the first musical guest of the live pandemic-era season of the show. She stole the stage with a stunning monochromatic outfit and backdrop, with the phrase “PROTECT BLACK WOMEN” projected behind herself and her dancers as she flawlessly rapped through her hit single “Savage” (Beyoncé verse included). A little more than halfway through the performance, the backdrop faded to black and seemed to be punctured by bloody bullet holes as audio of Malcolm X’s 1962 speech “Who Taught You To Hate Yourself?” played. There was also audio of activist Tamika Mallory voicing criticisms of Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky attorney general who did not press charges against the murderers of Breonna Taylor.

Megan wrote in her op-ed that she expected backlash for her performance, which she called “good trouble, necessary trouble,” after the words of the late civil rights leader John Lewis.

“I’m not afraid of criticism,” she writes. “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.”

She goes on to cite the heightened rates of maternal mortality for Black women in America, the high rates of violence that Black trans and gender non-conforming people face, and the sexist criticism she and other Black women have received for their outfit choices. She dismisses the idea that she’s dressing for the male gaze, saying instead that she “values compliments from women far more than from men.”

While Megan has previously faced controversy for old tweets that were criticized as homophobic, her op-ed and the accompanying video feature trans and gender-nonconforming subjects. She’s also hinted at her own queerness before, as in her song “Captain Hook,” where she raps about “trying shit” with a “bi chick.” She also recently expressed her desire for a girlfriend on an Instagram live, briefly sending the Internet into a frenzy.

Regardless of whether or not Megan is officially coming out of the closet anytime soon, her advocacy on behalf of Black trans women is much needed in a year that has already reached a grim record high for the number of trans people killed, with two months left still.

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