Have you ever noticed that the media is always dominated with news about men by men — and that’s rhetorical? It’s always been a thing that women just don’t get the coverage that they deserve. When they do, it’s about what hairstyles they’re rocking or guys they’re breaking up with, but rarely is it about their contributions, business moves, or societal impact.
Of course, there are exceptions, and we have to hail the business acumen of the Rihannas and Beyonces, who have given their male counterparts a run for their money across the board, and who are the go-to stories for the small benefactors of responsible media outlets and blogs that see this disparity and actually are the antithesis to the played out narrative that women are just pretty accessories.
So tired of that narrative honestly. The MouthSoap has fallen prey to this, at times, as we receive alerts, notifications, and dig in our research to find that once again Elon Musk, Kanye West, and the male athlete of the week are the top news stories.
Meanwhile, the only meaningful tea about women celebrities that won’t make us fall asleep at the wheel are stories of female rappers having a lethal verbal brawl over who knows what, further disturbing the very fans that would honestly pay a pretty penny to see their favorite rapper go on tour with their supposed rivals and frenemies. Yeah, I would pay to see an all-female Rolling Loud or Made In America lineup that represented women entertainers across generations, races, and even, geographies.
Imagine a stage where we could watch Nicki Minaj and Beyonce perform a melody of “Flawless” and “Feeling Myself,” followed by Rihanna having a rendezvous with SZA and Britney Spears for “Consideration” and “S&M.” This, only to be followed by a playful cypher where artists from the past pass the crown to the generation that followed.
For instance, a bloodline of rap artists could begin with MC Lyte, who gives the crown to Missy Elliott, which passes the crown to Rapsody, while another can pass the crown from Lil Kim to Nicki Minaj to Cardi B to The City Girls. Now would that require tamed egos? For sure, but the amount of fandoms showing up for that epic, once in a lifetime experience will parlay like a global summit for world peace. Trust.
This is the era of the boss b***h and the baddie — that’s it, “The Boss Chick (or B***h) & Baddie Festival.” Kind of funny when I say that out loud.
Covering male-dominated stories arising from male-dominated industries excludes an entire demographic of society, and if that’s not enough to reconsider, it also excludes an entire percentage of the bottomline, the blue faces.
We could hope and wait for change as women step into prominent roles and mainstream platforms that really matter in the scheme of changing the business landscape. We, the rising generation, could watch from the sidelines playing into the stereotypes created for us, waiting for major media outlets to give us permission to recognize women movers and shakers for more than their “shakers.”
Or, as we once were all told, we could and should be the change we wish to see. And since it seems like some people won’t give women that hand up knowing that the game wasn’t fair to begin with, perhaps only women can save themselves. Is it time to straighten our crowns (once again)?
