Cardi B shares the harsh truth on how women are treated in hip-hop

Cardi B has never been quiet about her past as a stripper, or the fact that being one lead to her feeling discriminated, looked down upon and disrespected by people in the past — even some of her current fan base.

In a Cosmopolitan interview, Cardi opened up on the subject of her fame and the scrutiny that comes with it. She mentioned that though she was grateful, she was much happier during her stripper days in the club, where she felt more empowered.

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One subject that she brought up during the talk was the #MeToo movement, which emerged throughout Hollywood last year, the start of a rapid-fire undertaking of sexual harassers and their victims.

Cardi, however, doesn’t believe it’s as effective as we think it is, especially not in the entertainment industry.

Women in entertainment who have professions that focus on their sexuality or adult-related work are still subjects of harassment, exploitation and victimization.

Speaking back on the days she was interested in becoming a video vixen, she shares hers and other’s experience as music vide girl. She said,

“A lot of video vixens have spoke about this and nobody gives a fuck. When I was trying to be a vixen, people were like, ‘You want to be on the cover of this magazine?’ Then they pull their dicks out. I bet if one of these women stands up and talks about it, people are going to say, ‘So what? You’re a ho. It don’t matter.'”

Women in the music industry haven’t been the subjects of fair treatment from the get. Female producers, directors, singers, rappers, and dancers have most likely felt, at some point, partiality for being a woman. She called out the supporters of the female movement as fake with their encouragement and activism.

“These producers and directors, they’re not woke, they’re scared.”

A few months ago we saw a rise of sex workers and exotic dancers in NYC take the stand to defend their roles in the industry.

“Sex work is work, and needs to be recognized and supported as such by all. This involves standing by the NYC Stripper Strike, the decriminalization of prostitution, and improved labor conditions across the industry.”

It seems that solidarity among the two professions is long from merging. When the divide is no longer apparent in professions that center around sexuality, that’s when we can move forward with awareness over this prejudice.

Cardi B’s fame is at a rapid incline. Luckily for everyone struggling with procuring respect in their professions, we have celebrities like her speaking the truth, direct and unfiltered.

Will we see equality in the sex industry anytime soon? Not going to lie, probably not.

It’s a slippery, steep slope which not many understand. Does that mean we should abandon the hope for a change one day? Absolutely not.

Standing together is all we can do to help our fellow sisters gain their well-deserved esteem.