Real Hot Girl Sh-t! The Feminist Rallying Cry of a Generation
Megan Thee Stallion Holding the Pride Flag. Image Credit: Ava de Courtivron
As I enter the Zénith Arena in Paris’ 19th arrondissement on July 7th where Houston born American rapper, Megan Thee Stallion, is preforming for her Hot Girl Summer Tour, I’m struck not only by the electricity in the air that proceeds any concert, but also by the enormous international crowd that has come out for the American artist. In the auditorium I hear and see an array of people of all colors, shapes, sizes, and aesthetics chatting excitedly in accents or different languages before the show begins. It’s a flurry of words in their different languages with sprinkles of anglicizations that are frequently said in her songs.
I hear a French girl in front of me say to her friend “J’ai trop hâte de voir Thee Stallion!!” As I look behind me I see a girl with a sign that says “From Sweden to Paris, Just For Thee Hot Girl.” I also see various flags, American, French, Palestinian, Moroccan, Algerian, the Pride flag, and probably others that I miss in the crowd. There are others that are practicing the viral dance to her song Mamushi, with Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba from her latest album Megan. The song is one of her typical hard hitting feminist anthems, with the addition of her love of the Japanese culture and language, not only putting a light on Yuki as he raps in Japanese, she further engages his culture by occasionally rapping her own lyrics in Japanese, which then trickles down to her fans, allowing them to also take part in the cultural exchange. Even though the album had only dropped 9 days before the concert, it seems that everyone, including myself, has learned the various multilingual phrases sprinkled throughout the song already.
Its also obvious by the various outfits and stylings of her fans, that it isn’t just “Rap Heads” or exclusively women that are showing up to her concerts and streaming her music. There are some who are wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt, others covered head to toe in leather and silver chains with dark eyeliner and lipstick. I also see a group of girls in short skirts, crop-tops, and tight fitting summer dresses, all of them rocking long nails and rhinestones on their eyelids. There's groups of men in cropped tank-tops or no top on at all, fanning themselves lightly in the packed space. There’s even other groups of people cosplaying their favorite anime characters.The atmosphere is welcoming and full of people interacting happily together, this is a safe space for people to come out as themselves; in short, inclusion and acceptance are an integral part of the Hot Girl brand.
It is clear from the diversity featured in her music and in the crowd that shows up for her: Hot Girl Summer is for everyone. But how did an American female, bisexual rapper, in a notoriously misogynistic, homophobic, and exclusive industry cultivate a career and international audience that stands for inclusivity, feminism, and self belief? And what exactly is Real Hot Girl Shit?
Megan Hyping Up Her Fans On Stage While Performing "Broke His Heart." Video taken by Ava de Courtivron
The phrase "Hot Girl," or "Real Hot Girl Shit" which Megan coined and used as a reference to herself and her lifestyle has become synonymous with not only the persona that she has created for herself but the belief that she -and therefore others- are worthy and capable of self love, confidence, and the respect that comes with owning oneself. The title of Hot Girl is, as she put it, "a gender neutral term" and is open for anyone to claim as part of their own sense of self. Megan also shows that people who identify as Hot Girls or Hotties are not one dimensional or entirely sexual beings. While she does talk about sex, money, and wild partying; she also explores topics of heartbreak and depression, insecurity, the double standards of the industry, her pride at going to college and graduating in 2021, and a variety of other topics that remind listeners and critics that she's no one trick pony and is capable of handling surface level and deeper themes.
“It’s just basically about women and men being unapologetically them, just having a good-ass time, hyping up your friends, doing you, not giving a damn about what nobody gotta say about it…you definitely have to be a person that could be, like, the life of the party, and…you know, just a bad bitch. ”
These ideas have been at the core of her music, brand, and public persona from the beginning of her career in 2013 when she was writing and recording cyphers and uploading them to YouTube. In these early cyphers and raps, her signature raunchy lyrics, don’t give a f- attitude, and high self-confidence that she would become known for, shines through as something unique and different than the other rap music being put out, even amongst other women in the industry. Even in choosing her stage-name, Megan Thee Stallion, (‘stallion’ being a slang term from the southern US for a tall, curvy woman) is an appropriation of a term meant to objectify her, turned into a celebration of her shape and height, which is then a celebration of all bodies that resemble hers. In displaying her own confidence and self love, it inspires other people to see their bodies as truly their own and worthy of feeling confident in their skin, whether they would be considered ’stallions’ or not.
As her career began to take off in 2018 and 2019, she released her EPs Tina Snow and Fever, she was noticed by and signed with 1500 Certified Entertainment, making her first woman on the label. With this new boost to her career, she began to take more creative risks, making more “Hot Girl anthems,” (such as Big Ole Freak, Cocky AF and Stalli Freestyle) as well as songs about women independence and the importance of never letting anyone -especially a man- tear down her confidence or slow her roll (songs like Tina Montana, Neva, and Hot Girl.) She was effectively creating a space in which she didn’t have to pick between her sexuality/femininity, being respected, or her financial and emotional independence, she would have her cake and eat it too, and invite others to join in the feast.
In March of 2020, she would release her EP Suga, which would solidify her in the industry as a mainstream artist, even getting a feature and cosign from Beyoncé on the remix of her massive hit Savage. Unfortunately, shortly after the EP's release, she was shot by fellow rap star Tory Lanez. With this event, not only was she traumatized by the experience, she would be further scrutinized and slut shamed by the internet, her peers in the industry, and media at large as he was arrested and the trial progressed.
In August of the same year, she and Cardi B broke the internet with their highly explicit, sex positive, hit song and music video for WAP, propelling her to even new heights in her career and creating an anthem of female sexual agency and freedom, as well as contributing to a new moral panic from conservative Americans. The song would go on to be named as the best single of 2020 by the BBC, Pitchfork, and other music publications, be certified 8x Platinum, and be used as a victory chant outside the White House as Joe Biden was announced the winner of the 2020 Presidential election. Throughout all the public scrutiny and conservative backlash, the trial that would eventually lead to Tory's conviction in 2023, and the emotional turmoil that she understandably went through; she was able to hold her head high and continue to practice what she preaches in her songs and interviews and show that being a "Hot Girl" is much deeper than being young, beautiful, and free. It is the strength to show up for yourself and stand tall in your skin and truth despite the opinions and doubts of others, the undying belief that you are valuable, worthy of respect, and capable of anything despite the odds and never letting that belief be taken from you.
Megan Performs "Gift and a Curse," Where she references the "My Body, My Choice" chant. Video taken by Ava de Courtivron
Luckily for everyone, she would heal, return to the public, and continue to make music, releasing her albums: Good News (2020), Something for Thee Hotties (2021), and Traumazine (2022); making her usual Hot Girl anthems, as well as tracks that explored and referenced deeper subjects such as the darker sides of fame (Cobra) , to the turnover of Roe V. Wade (Gift and a Curse), the superficiality and loneliness of the business (Anxiety and Moody Girl,) the stress of achieving high success in a competitive industry, (Rattle) and the media speculation into the shooting as well as her personal life (HISS.) The vast array of self exploration, growth, and confidence that Megan writes into her music is obviously very personal and defined by her own experience, but it is her ability to wholeheartedly share and allow us to partake in our own self discovery through her music and persona that makes her endeared by a diverse generation of young people.
With the release of her newest album Megan, (June 28th, 2024) she is now on tour as a fully independent artist, allowing her to take her career in a direction that she deems best for herself. We as an audience get to be further spoiled by Megan as she allows us to relive these high and lows of her life and career, as well as celebrate her success thus far. In her new era founded on her rebirth, which she has referenced in her numerous snake and butterfly themed tracks and videos; she has come to truly embody this metamorphosis that she has undertaken. While she is still the Megan we have listened to for years, she is, as she puts it "that bitch/been that bitch/will forever be that bitch;" it's obvious she's grown into a healthier and stronger person, shedding the doubts and fears that held her back before and showing off her new glow in all its glory. She lives in her renewed confidence while always inviting us to join her with a simple "If you know you're that girl, let me hear you say 'Real Hot Girl Shit!'"
Written by Ava de Courtivron
