vox--2020-08-14--How The Vanishing Half fits into our cultural fixation with racial passing stories

The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers .
In Brit Bennett ’ s The Vanishing Half , the character of Stella haunts the narrative like a ghost .
Stella is the half who vanished : half of her family , half of her sister ’ s heart .
And she vanished by excising half of her own identity .
Stella is a light-skinned Black woman , and when she is 16 , she decides to start passing for white .
Her identical twin sister Desiree , meanwhile , grows up to marry the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breaks away from her family , and we don ’ t get a chance to meet her on the pages of the novel until nearly halfway through the book when at last her niece , Desiree ’ s dark-skinned daughter , tracks her down .
It ’ s only in that last section that we finally learn exactly what happened to Stella .
Stella ’ s fate haunts the novel , and so does the genre her story belongs to .
There ’ s a long history of narratives of racial passing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Half plays with the genre in new and interesting ways .
So as the Vox Book Club spends the month talking about The Vanishing Half , I wanted to put it in the context of the passing novel more broadly .
To get an expert view , I called up Alisha Gaines , an English professor at Florida State University and the author of Black for a Day : White Fantasies of Race and Empathy .
Together , we talked through the history of the African American passing novel , what passing looks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ben Shapiro ) , and how passing novels can show us how race is produced and reproduced .
Below is a transcript of our conversation , lightly edited for length and clarity .
The first African American stories of racial passing are slave narratives Do we know when the first of these narratives emerged ?
How old are stories about racial passing ?
It ’ s an old story .
In literature and in life , America has a fascination with impersonation , which includes blackface minstrelsy .
And passing narratives , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in African American literature , they start with the slave narrative .
A good example of that would be William and Ellen Craft running a thousand miles for freedom .
This happened in 1848 .
Ellen was light enough to pass .
She dresses up as a land-owning white man , and she then escapes her slavery with her husband while she is dressed as a man .
She ’ s also performing various disabilities .
She pretends to be Deaf .
She has her arm in a sling so she doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because she can ’ t .
And then her husband is her personal valet-butler kind of person .
She basically gets on a train and goes up out of slavery based on the fact that she can pass .
It ’ s had a very long history .
I actually teach my Intro to African American literature course going through these narratives of passing .
Because I think it gets us from the very early moments of African American literature — even though African American literature predates the founding of this country — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ century all the way to now , with Brit Bennett ’ s book .
It ’ s a narrative that I think is particularly useful for thinking about African American literature , African American cultural production , because it doesn ’ t allow us to take Blackness for granted .
When you destabilize the category of Blackness through passing , you can ask different , more interesting questions .
This Ben Shapiro quote went around recently , I don ’ t know if you saw it .
He made the claim that Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jim Crow , and that now you only ever see white people passing for Black , as with Rachel Dolezal .
He makes the argument that this proves that Black people have more cultural power than white people now , which , there ’ s obviously a lot to unpack there .
I ’ m sorry , what ?
Okay .
No , I didn ’ t see the quote .
He said Black folks stopped passing during Jim Crow ?
That ’ s historically inaccurate .
He doesn ’ t know what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you tell me a little about what passing looks like after Jim Crow , for those like Ben Shapiro who do not know ?
Passing for white has never left .
There was a moment during the civil rights movement — and Gayle Wald discusses this in her book Crossing the Line — where there would be these bursts of people saying , “ I ’ m done with passing.
” Folks who had been passing , but then seeing the gains of the civil rights movement , there are these splashy spreads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where they would announce their triumphant return to Blackness .
The same Black periodicals would also run spreads with various light-skinned folks , and you would have to guess who was the actual Black person and who was a white person .
The thing about passing that folks need to understand is that we ’ ll never have “ accurate numbers , ” because the whole point is you ’ ll never have an audience for it .
If someone knows you ’ re passing , your passing has failed !
The point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you ’ re found out , you ’ re vulnerable to violence .
It ’ s not as if people are saying , “ Hello , I ’ m passing !
” That ’ s impossible .
We know that folks are still passing because in 1999 Lawrence Otis Graham releases this book Our Kind of People : Inside America ’ s Black Upper Class .
The whole thing is about the secret world of the Black upper class .
He ’ s got a chapter called “ Passing for White ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how to pass that he gained from having so many conversations with wealthy Black folks who had family members who could pass and who opted to pass .
That book was published in 1999 !
The idea that this has gone away and that now it ’ s white folks doing the opposite is laughable .
Early passing narratives depended on the archetype of the tragic mulatto Moving back to the idea of passing as a literary genre , is there a classic , recognizable structure to passing narratives ?
Yes , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It sounds like with The Vanishing Half , Brit is messing a little bit with it .
Danzy Senna ’ s book Caucasia does the same thing .
There ’ s this literary archetype of the tragic mulatto , which is not something you would call someone in real life .
Usually it ’ s a woman .
It ’ s very gendered , with a couple of exceptions , like The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson .
But it ’ s usually a woman , and she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not Black enough ; she ’ s not white enough .
She ’ s usually undone in some perilous way .
We see this in Nella Larsen ’ s Passing in 1929 .
We see this in Imitation of Life in 1933 .
There ’ s this tragedy .
Usually it ’ s a death , the murder or suicide of the mixed woman .
They often start out with a light-skinned person actually finding out they ’ re not white , which happens in Iola Leroy in 1892 or The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discover the racial truth about themselves , for whatever reason , and then endeavor to navigate choosing whiteness or choosing Blackness .
And then there ’ s a consequence where they ’ re punished for passing for white .
These generic conventions get played with by a number of different authors .
Danzy Senna did in Caucasia .
George Schuyler did even earlier than that in Black No More .
He ’ s playing with the idea of Black folks becoming white through a machine .
It ’ s a speculative science book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on what you already look like .
You can pay 50 bucks and be Black no more .
As these stories evolved over time , are there any specific tropes that really shifted ?
Has the attitude toward the person who is passing changed ?
What really changes is that tragic mulatto literary archetype .
People deliberately started messing with that character .
Imitation of Life — which is not by a Black person ; Fannie Hurst is white — it got remade twice into two different films .
In Imitation of Life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character who dies .
It ’ s her mother who dies of a broken heart .
The great tragedy is that her refusal to embrace her own Blackness kills her mom .
Then there ’ s Caucasia , which does some really interesting stuff and was published in 1998 .
It ’ s got a white mom , a black dad , and two daughters .
One can pass and one can not .
It sounds like a similar thing is operating in Brit ’ s book .
Yeah , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Half the whole family is Black and light-skinned .
The protagonists are identical twin sisters , and one chooses to pass and one chooses not to .
Yes , similar .
In Caucasia , they ’ re not twins .
One can pass and one , there ’ s no way .
She looks more mixed in the way that we think about it .
It ’ s set in the ’ 70s , during Black Power and all that kind of stuff .
And the parents have to go on the run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ takes the white-looking child , the Black dad takes the more Black-looking child , and they split .
So instead of this desperate desire to be white on the part of the character of Birdie , the white-looking protagonist , it ’ s placed on her and then ultimately rejected .
Birdie spends a lot of time in the novel desperately wanting to be seen as Blacker , and then has to go on the run with her white mom and therefore pass as Jewish .
There is no great tragedy .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Passing dies either getting pushed or throwing herself out of a window .
That doesn ’ t happen in Caucasia .
It ’ s much more complicated , and it ’ s about making sure the white-passing Black person can understand their place in the world without getting pushed out of a window .
And that deconstruction of the archetype also happens a bit in The Vanishing Half , although Stella chooses to pass .
But there ’ s no great tragedy that ends up punishing her for her deception .
And in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life , only now her daughter knows the truth and her sister knows where she lives .
You touched on this a bit earlier when you talked about the history of passing narratives being a way of understanding the history of African American literature , but I wanted to widen out a bit here at the end .
What do you think tends to draw people to stories about racial passing ?
What cultural ideas are embedded in these stories ?
It ’ s about thinking about race as a social construct , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Race is a social construct !
” Yes , it ’ s a social construct , but with real consequences .
How you are seen in this world , even as this category is a construct , comes with these vulnerabilities and consequences that we ’ re seeing in these various pandemics that we ’ re living in right now .
Folks are drawn to — and I ’ m particularly drawn to — passing narratives because they destabilize our sense of who we are .
They also help us think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race isn ’ t as stable as we want to think about it , maybe sexuality isn ’ t either , or gender .
They can also speak to an anxiety that Americans have around really defined and concrete racial categories that get animated at different moments for various different political reasons .
We know Black folks pass for white for survival , to be free from racial persecution .
That is in the literature as well .
And it ’ s also in the literature that we want to have some flirtation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white-passing folks , too .
Thinking about who we are at various historical moments , and thinking through what race means and how it is produced and reproduced , all of that is in the African American passing narrative .
There ’ s a lot to dig into here , so I ’ m going to turn it over to you , book clubbers .
Let us know what you think about The Vanishing Half and how it fits into the history of passing stories in the comments down below .
You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for another conversation , and on Thursday , August 27 , I ’ ll be talking with Bennett live on Zoom .
You can RSVP here , and make sure to sign up for the Vox Book Club newsletter to be sure you don ’ t miss a thing .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
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The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers.
In Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half, the character of Stella haunts the narrative like a ghost. Stella is the half who vanished: half of her family, half of her sister’s heart. And she vanished by excising half of her own identity.
Stella is a light-skinned Black woman, and when she is 16, she decides to start passing for white. Her identical twin sister Desiree, meanwhile, grows up to marry the darkest-skinned man she can find. Stella breaks away from her family, and we don’t get a chance to meet her on the pages of the novel until nearly halfway through the book when at last her niece, Desiree’s dark-skinned daughter, tracks her down. It’s only in that last section that we finally learn exactly what happened to Stella.
Stella’s fate haunts the novel, and so does the genre her story belongs to. There’s a long history of narratives of racial passing in the American novel, and The Vanishing Half plays with the genre in new and interesting ways. So as the Vox Book Club spends the month talking about The Vanishing Half, I wanted to put it in the context of the passing novel more broadly.
To get an expert view, I called up Alisha Gaines, an English professor at Florida State University and the author of Black for a Day: White Fantasies of Race and Empathy. Together, we talked through the history of the African American passing novel, what passing looks like after Jim Crow (sorry, Ben Shapiro), and how passing novels can show us how race is produced and reproduced. Below is a transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity.
The first African American stories of racial passing are slave narratives
Constance Grady
Do we know when the first of these narratives emerged? How old are stories about racial passing?
Alisha Gaines
It’s an old story. In literature and in life, America has a fascination with impersonation, which includes blackface minstrelsy. And passing narratives, if you want to be technical about it, in African American literature, they start with the slave narrative.
A good example of that would be William and Ellen Craft running a thousand miles for freedom. This happened in 1848. Ellen was light enough to pass. She dresses up as a land-owning white man, and she then escapes her slavery with her husband while she is dressed as a man. She’s also performing various disabilities. She pretends to be Deaf. She has her arm in a sling so she doesn’t have to sign anything, because she can’t. And then her husband is her personal valet-butler kind of person. She basically gets on a train and goes up out of slavery based on the fact that she can pass.
It’s had a very long history. I actually teach my Intro to African American literature course going through these narratives of passing. Because I think it gets us from the very early moments of African American literature — even though African American literature predates the founding of this country — but it gets us from the 19th century all the way to now, with Brit Bennett’s book.
It’s a narrative that I think is particularly useful for thinking about African American literature, African American cultural production, because it doesn’t allow us to take Blackness for granted. When you destabilize the category of Blackness through passing, you can ask different, more interesting questions.
Constance Grady
This Ben Shapiro quote went around recently, I don’t know if you saw it. He made the claim that Black people passing for white people ended with Jim Crow, and that now you only ever see white people passing for Black, as with Rachel Dolezal. He makes the argument that this proves that Black people have more cultural power than white people now, which, there’s obviously a lot to unpack there.
Alisha Gaines
I’m sorry, what? Okay. No, I didn’t see the quote.
He said Black folks stopped passing during Jim Crow? That’s historically inaccurate. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Constance Grady
Could you tell me a little about what passing looks like after Jim Crow, for those like Ben Shapiro who do not know?
Alisha Gaines
Passing for white has never left. There was a moment during the civil rights movement — and Gayle Wald discusses this in her book Crossing the Line — where there would be these bursts of people saying, “I’m done with passing.” Folks who had been passing, but then seeing the gains of the civil rights movement, there are these splashy spreads in Black periodicals like Ebony and Jet where they would announce their triumphant return to Blackness. The same Black periodicals would also run spreads with various light-skinned folks, and you would have to guess who was the actual Black person and who was a white person.
The thing about passing that folks need to understand is that we’ll never have “accurate numbers,” because the whole point is you’ll never have an audience for it. If someone knows you’re passing, your passing has failed! The point is to never be found out. If you’re found out, you’re vulnerable to violence. It’s not as if people are saying, “Hello, I’m passing!” That’s impossible.
We know that folks are still passing because in 1999 Lawrence Otis Graham releases this book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class. The whole thing is about the secret world of the Black upper class. He’s got a chapter called “Passing for White” in which he distills a list on how to pass that he gained from having so many conversations with wealthy Black folks who had family members who could pass and who opted to pass.
That book was published in 1999! The idea that this has gone away and that now it’s white folks doing the opposite is laughable.
Early passing narratives depended on the archetype of the tragic mulatto
Constance Grady
Moving back to the idea of passing as a literary genre, is there a classic, recognizable structure to passing narratives?
Alisha Gaines
Yes, and then that structure gets messed with. It sounds like with The Vanishing Half, Brit is messing a little bit with it. Danzy Senna’s book Caucasia does the same thing.
There’s this literary archetype of the tragic mulatto, which is not something you would call someone in real life. Usually it’s a woman. It’s very gendered, with a couple of exceptions, like The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson.
But it’s usually a woman, and she’s caught between two worlds. She’s not Black enough; she’s not white enough. She’s usually undone in some perilous way. We see this in Nella Larsen’s Passing in 1929. We see this in Imitation of Life in 1933. There’s this tragedy. Usually it’s a death, the murder or suicide of the mixed woman.
They often start out with a light-skinned person actually finding out they’re not white, which happens in Iola Leroy in 1892 or The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. They discover the racial truth about themselves, for whatever reason, and then endeavor to navigate choosing whiteness or choosing Blackness. And then there’s a consequence where they’re punished for passing for white.
These generic conventions get played with by a number of different authors. Danzy Senna did in Caucasia. George Schuyler did even earlier than that in Black No More. He’s playing with the idea of Black folks becoming white through a machine. It’s a speculative science book, so it’s not based on what you already look like. You can pay 50 bucks and be Black no more.
Constance Grady
As these stories evolved over time, are there any specific tropes that really shifted? Has the attitude toward the person who is passing changed?
Alisha Gaines
What really changes is that tragic mulatto literary archetype. People deliberately started messing with that character.
Imitation of Life — which is not by a Black person; Fannie Hurst is white — it got remade twice into two different films. In Imitation of Life, it’s not the passing character who dies. It’s her mother who dies of a broken heart. The great tragedy is that her refusal to embrace her own Blackness kills her mom. Then there’s Caucasia, which does some really interesting stuff and was published in 1998. It’s got a white mom, a black dad, and two daughters. One can pass and one cannot. It sounds like a similar thing is operating in Brit’s book.
Constance Grady
Yeah, it’s a similar idea. In The Vanishing Half the whole family is Black and light-skinned. The protagonists are identical twin sisters, and one chooses to pass and one chooses not to.
Alisha Gaines
Yes, similar. In Caucasia, they’re not twins. One can pass and one, there’s no way. She looks more mixed in the way that we think about it.
It’s set in the ’70s, during Black Power and all that kind of stuff. And the parents have to go on the run from the FBI. The white mom takes the white-looking child, the Black dad takes the more Black-looking child, and they split.
So instead of this desperate desire to be white on the part of the character of Birdie, the white-looking protagonist, it’s placed on her and then ultimately rejected. Birdie spends a lot of time in the novel desperately wanting to be seen as Blacker, and then has to go on the run with her white mom and therefore pass as Jewish.
There is no great tragedy. The white-passing character in Nella Larsen’s Passing dies either getting pushed or throwing herself out of a window. That doesn’t happen in Caucasia. It’s much more complicated, and it’s about making sure the white-passing Black person can understand their place in the world without getting pushed out of a window.
Constance Grady
And that deconstruction of the archetype also happens a bit in The Vanishing Half, although Stella chooses to pass. But there’s no great tragedy that ends up punishing her for her deception. And in the end she just keeps living her life, only now her daughter knows the truth and her sister knows where she lives.
You touched on this a bit earlier when you talked about the history of passing narratives being a way of understanding the history of African American literature, but I wanted to widen out a bit here at the end. What do you think tends to draw people to stories about racial passing? What cultural ideas are embedded in these stories?
Alisha Gaines
It’s about thinking about race as a social construct, that’s the real thing here. “Race is a social construct!” Yes, it’s a social construct, but with real consequences. How you are seen in this world, even as this category is a construct, comes with these vulnerabilities and consequences that we’re seeing in these various pandemics that we’re living in right now.
Folks are drawn to — and I’m particularly drawn to — passing narratives because they destabilize our sense of who we are. They also help us think through other categories of identity. If race isn’t as stable as we want to think about it, maybe sexuality isn’t either, or gender.
They can also speak to an anxiety that Americans have around really defined and concrete racial categories that get animated at different moments for various different political reasons. We know Black folks pass for white for survival, to be free from racial persecution. That is in the literature as well. And it’s also in the literature that we want to have some flirtation with the seduction of white privilege for white-passing folks, too.
Thinking about who we are at various historical moments, and thinking through what race means and how it is produced and reproduced, all of that is in the African American passing narrative.
Constance Grady
There’s a lot to dig into here, so I’m going to turn it over to you, book clubbers. Let us know what you think about The Vanishing Half and how it fits into the history of passing stories in the comments down below.
You can meet us back here again next week for another conversation, and on Thursday, August 27, I’ll be talking with Bennett live on Zoom. You can RSVP here, and make sure to sign up for the Vox Book Club newsletter to be sure you don’t miss a thing.


vox--2020-08-14--The Democratic National Convention has set its speaker lineup

The Democratic National Convention is going fully virtual this year .
Rather than days of full programming , the convention will be condensed into two hours of televised speeches spread out from Monday , August 17 , to Thursday , August 20 .
Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to accept his party ’ s nomination on Thursday night from his home in Delaware , rather than the original planned location of Milwaukee , Wisconsin .
Fears about the Covid-19 outbreak and the potential to spread the virus even with a severely reduced crowd caused the Democratic National Committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Starting at 9 pm ET each night , the Democratic convention will be broadcast on all major television networks , social media sites like Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube , and streaming services like Apple TV and Roku .
The convention will also be streamed live from the DNC ’ s website .
The DNC lineup features big Democratic names including former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama , Sen. Bernie Sanders , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , and Sens .
Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren .
The convention will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ohio Gov .
John Kasich , who will deliver an appeal to his fellow Republicans to support Biden for president .
The week will culminate with Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris accepting their nominations to be president and vice president .
The lineup has not been without controversy .
Ocasio-Cortez has been slotted just one minute to deliver remarks on Tuesday .
Many progressives have criticized the decision — she is one of the highest-profile members of the Democratic Party and among its brightest young stars , and she is a compelling speaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ giving her too high a profile would allow Republicans to paint Biden as a “ vessel ” of the left .
The New York Congress member responded by tweeting out a poem by Benjamin E. Mays , “ I have only just a minute , ” which the late Rep. Elijah Cummings recited in his first speech to Congress in 1996 .
There has also been outcry that former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro , the only Latino candidate in the 2020 primary field , won ’ t deliver an address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was left off the list of speakers , but the entrepreneur said he has since been added .
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been given a slot as well .
Some progressives have expressed dismay at the DNC ’ s apparent prioritization of figures like Bloomberg and Kasich over Castro and Ocasio-Cortez .
But the show goes on .
These bigger names will give speeches Monday through Thursday , alongside American business owners , teachers , factory workers , and front-line health care workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of speakers at this year ’ s Democratic National Convention .
There will be a slate of speakers each night , including former presidents and sitting US senators , governors , and US representatives .
The themes for each day include : Here ’ s the list of speakers , broken out by day .
• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto ( D-NV ) , chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee • Rep. Bennie Thompson ( D-MS ) , chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security • Former Secretary of State Hillary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president • Former Vice President Joe Biden accepts the Democratic nomination for president Why the DNC is virtual this year In previous years , the national party convention would be a moment for unity and celebration .
But amid a once-in-a-century pandemic that ’ s claimed more than 163,000 American lives and counting , Democrats are hoping their virtual convention sends a larger message about how their nominee plans to govern in a time of national crisis .
With an absence of federal leadership from President Donald Trump , the Biden campaign and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party of responsibility .
“ I ’ ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis , ” Biden said at a recent virtual fundraiser , speaking about the virtual convention .
“ From the start of the process , we ’ ve made it clear .
... Science matters.
” Democrats have known for months that the coronavirus meant the normal throng of thousands of cheering delegates was out of the question .
A recent public health order from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett would have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 250 people , but coronavirus cases in Wisconsin are also still on the rise , and interstate travel comes with risk .
Even with stringent safety measures like mandatory masks and daily temperature checks already in place , some Democrats feared even the sparsest indoors convention could still potentially spread Covid-19 .
After Trump ’ s June rally in Tulsa , Oklahoma , coronavirus cases in that city surged , and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Covid-19 .
Democrats didn ’ t want to risk any new cases emerging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the very beginning of this pandemic , we put the health and safety of the American people first , ” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement .
“ We followed the science , listened to doctors and public health experts , and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives .
That ’ s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves .
And that ’ s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.
” Democrats want one message to dominate their convention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will lead America out of its current crisis .
“ People care about one thing : They care about being safe , ” former Virginia Gov .
Terry McAuliffe told Vox .
“ It ’ s a totally different dynamic ; we have one message to come out of that convention.
” Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
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The Democratic National Convention has gone fully virtual this year.
Rather than days of full programming, the convention has been condensed into two hours of televised speeches a day spread out from Monday, August 17, to Thursday, August 20. Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to accept his party’s nomination on Thursday night from his home in Delaware, rather than the original planned location of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Fears about the Covid-19 outbreak and the potential to spread the virus even with a severely reduced crowd caused the Democratic National Committee to scrap its in-person Milwaukee convention.
Starting at 9 Eastern each night, the Democratic convention has been broadcast on all major television networks, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and streaming services such as Apple TV and Roku. The convention will also be streamed live from the DNC’s website.
In its first three nights, the DNC lineup featured big Democratic names including former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. Monday, the convention also featured former Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who delivered an appeal to his fellow Republicans to support Biden for president. The week will culminate with Biden accepting his nomination to be president on Thursday, one day after Sen. Kamala Harris accepted her vice presidential nomination.
The lineup has not been without controversy. Ocasio-Cortez was given just one minute of speaking time on Tuesday; she served as one of the officials symbolically nominating Sanders, who crossed the delegate threshold for nomination to the ticket.
Many progressives criticized the decision — Ocasio-Cortez is one of the highest-profile members of the Democratic Party and among its brightest young stars, and she is a compelling speaker. But Politico reported moderate Democrats worried giving her too high a profile would allow Republicans to paint Biden as a “vessel” of the left.
The New York Congress member responded by tweeting out a poem by Benjamin E. Mays, “I have only just a minute,” which the late Rep. Elijah Cummings recited in his first speech to Congress in 1996, and ultimately used her limited time to make a compact case for sweeping progressive reforms.
“I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.
Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.”
- Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
(and recited by Elijah Cummings) https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020
There has also been outcry that former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, the only Latino candidate in the 2020 primary field, was not invited to deliver an address during the event. Initially, former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang was left off the list of speakers, but the entrepreneur said he has since been added — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been given a slot as well. Both are expected to speak Thursday evening. Throughout the proceedings, some progressives have expressed dismay at the DNC’s apparent prioritization of figures like Bloomberg and Kasich over Castro and Ocasio-Cortez.
But the show goes on, with these bigger names giving speeches Monday through Thursday, alongside American business owners, teachers, factory workers, and front-line health care workers.
Here’s the lineup of speakers at this year’s Democratic National Convention (which is still subject to change).
The DNC speaker schedule and lineup
There will be a slate of speakers each night, including former presidents and sitting US senators, governors, and US representatives. The themes for each day (and links to our coverage):
Here’s the list of Thursday night’s speakers:
The fourth and final night of the 2020 convention has the theme of “America’s Promise,” and will feature former Vice President Joe Biden officially accepting the nomination for president. Full run-of-show is listed below, with descriptions from the Democratic National Convention’s media guidance.
“This Time Next Year:” A short presentation from a diverse group of Americans on how they imagine their lives one year into a Biden presidency
Remarks by Andrew Yang, American businessman
Introduction by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
Pledge of Allegiance, led by Rep. Cedric Richmond Jr. (D-LA)
National anthem, performed by the Chicks
Invocation by Sister Simone Campbell, American Roman Catholic religious sister
Remarks by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE)
Remarks by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
A tribute to John Lewis directed by Dawn Porter, director of the film John Lewis: Good Trouble
Performance by John Legend, American singer-songwriter, and Common, American rapper, actor, and writer
Remarks by Jon Meacham, American writer and author
Remarks by Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM)
Remarks by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson
Remarks by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
“You Built America”: A conversation between Biden and a panel of union workers from around the US
Remarks by former Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy
Remarks by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
A presentation on Biden’s plan for supporting military families
Remarks by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
A video tribute to Biden’s late son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden
Remarks by former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg
“United We Stand:” A presentation on Biden’s candidacy from his Democratic primary rivals, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and businessman Andrew Yang
Remarks by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
A short film on the Biden family, focused on Biden’s grandchildren
Remarks by Biden’s daughter and son, Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden
A brief video biography of Biden
Remarks and acceptance speech by Joe Biden
Why the DNC is virtual this year
In previous years, the national party convention would be a moment for unity and celebration. But amid a once-in-a-century pandemic that’s claimed more than 163,000 American lives and counting, Democrats are hoping their virtual convention sends a larger message about how their nominee plans to govern in a time of national crisis.
With an absence of federal leadership from President Donald Trump, the Biden campaign and national Democrats are portraying themselves as the party of responsibility.
“I’ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis,” Biden said at a recent virtual fundraiser, speaking about the virtual convention. “From the start of the process, we’ve made it clear. ... Science matters.”
Democrats have known for months that the coronavirus meant the normal throng of thousands of cheering delegates was out of the question. A recent public health order from Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett would have limited the convention’s in-person capacity to 250 people, but coronavirus cases in Wisconsin are also still on the rise, and interstate travel comes with risk.
Even with stringent safety measures like mandatory masks and daily temperature checks already in place, some Democrats feared even the sparsest indoors convention could still potentially spread Covid-19. After Trump’s June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, coronavirus cases in that city surged, and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Covid-19. Democrats didn’t want to risk any new cases emerging from their national convention.
“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement. “We followed the science, listened to doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves. And that’s the leadership Joe Biden will bring to the White House.”
Democrats wanted one message to dominate their convention: Where Trump has failed, Biden will lead America out of its current crisis.
“People care about one thing: They care about being safe,” former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe told Vox. “It’s a totally different dynamic; we have one message to come out of that convention.”
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-14--Why Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” is actually a public health triumph

At the beginning of the pandemic , we were told that being locked away from friends , family , and everyone else around us didn ’ t mean we couldn ’ t produce something special .
You see , back in the dark days of the bubonic plague , a man named William Shakespeare wrote the masterpiece King Lear .
Since Shakespeare was a mere human being just like us , the thinking goes , there ’ s nothing stopping us from creating our own legendary works of art .
But Shakespeare , while he had an unending pandemic to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to creating this rhythmic flow of genius from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion ’ s “ WAP ” : In four lines , Megan Thee Stallion exalts the privilege of performing cunnilingus on her , before issuing a taunt , a guarantee of endurance from her vagina .
Megan is a religious experience , a powerhouse , an apex predator , and a provider .
“ WAP ” is the acronym for Wet-Ass Pussy , a three-minute , seven-second paean to lubricated vaginas .
Cardi and Megan rap a brawny , brassy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ swerve humor ( “ punani Dasani ” ) into flashy nastiness ( “ I wan na gag , I wan na choke / I want you to touch that lil ’ dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat ” ) and smirking bravado ( “ Your honor , I ’ m a freak bitch , handcuffs , leashes / Switch my wig , make him feel like he cheatin ’ ” ) and have created the anthem for our pandemic summer .
Since premiering on Friday , the music video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Wet and Gushy ” — has accumulated more than 85 million views on YouTube .
“ WAP ” debuted at the top of Spotify ’ s US Streaming charts with 2.3 million plays , and made history as the first female collaboration to do so while breaking records for the highest first-day streams for a women-led rap song .
Music doesn ’ t often make much room for an anthem like “ WAP , ” sung unapologetically by two Black women .
For every song like “ WAP ” that gets mainstream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count about straight male escapades .
Critics , predominantly conservative ones , have sprouted up , saying that Cardi and Megan crossed the line .
One even dared to say something was physiologically wrong with Cardi ’ s and Megan ’ s genitalia .
The “ think of the children ” panic reared its head .
And songwriter Diane Warren seemed to shame the women while commemorating Whitney Houston ’ s birthday : “ People be lying , ” Cardi told Apple Music in an interview about the song and its reception .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t like hoes and they don ’ t like that p-ssy talk .
People love it.
” Gender is more complicated than biology , but in our reaction , the “ wet-ass pussy ” serves as a metonym for sexuality of all women and those assigned female at birth .
In its success and its backlash , the song exposes America ’ s scathing double standard .
Sex from women is meant to be desired .
We ’ re encouraged to ogle and obsess over their bodies .
But when a woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ’ s crossed a line — too bawdy , too raunchy , too nasty .
Suddenly , she needs to think about what she ’ s said and the example she ’ s setting .
Americans want wet-ass pussy — we just don ’ t want to hear from the people who have them .
Pussies are normal and healthy things .
Wet-ass pussies are also normal and healthy things .
In the same way Shakespeare used monarchy , kings , and two awful daughters in King Lear to talk about family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old age , Cardi and Megan use hyperbolic , fantastic imagery — even herpetology , the harmless garter snake versus the king cobra — to tell a story about the basic , absolutely human feelings of desire and arousal .
“ It ’ s pretty simple , ” Bianca Burke , a porn actress , told me .
“ When anything sexy is happening — like making out with a cute guy or when you replay last night ’ s hookup in your head during your 15-minute break at work , your pussy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to it getting wet.
” “ Vaginas exist , and sometimes they get wet .
Period.
” Burke compared vaginas to a self-cleaning oven , and gynecologists I spoke to echoed that sentiment .
Wetness is a normal part of how the vagina works .
Doctors explained that vaginal discharge is designed to protect the body from bacteria and fungi — a combination of good bacteria , pH , and a cell-coating mucus .
Scientifically speaking , a wet-ass pussy is the body preparing itself for sex .
“ The vagina normally [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fluid , but up to four milliliters per 24 hours can be normal , ” Jen Gunter , an OB-GYN and author of the upcoming book The Vagina Bible , told me .
“ During sex stimulation or the thought of sexual stimulation , there is increased blood flow to the vaginal and vulva tissues leading to engorgement — swelling , the good kind — and increased production of transudate , a thin liquid that is part of discharge .
During intercourse and sexual activity , the increased discharge prevents the friction from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Charlene Brown , a sexual health expert , public health physician , and former Baltimore City Health Department official , put it more directly : “ Vaginas exist , and sometimes they get wet .
Period.
” Cardi and Megan are using their brilliant words to get that very healthy feeling across .
But despite how ordinary arousal is — a vagina getting wet is as common and normal as a penis getting hard — their declaration was met with shock and horror .
The backlash to “ WAP ” is about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pundit , posited on Twitter and his podcast that something must be wrong with Cardi and Megan since he was unfamiliar with talk of a very saturated vagina .
And his wife is a doctor .
To illustrate his disapproval of and discomfort with the song to the audience of his eponymous Daily Wire podcast , Shapiro didn ’ t even say the words , using euphemisms like “ p-word ” to dance around Cardi and Megan ’ s raps .
Shapiro fixated on the idea of Cardi and Megan needing “ buckets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arousal , seemingly unable to grasp the idea of exaggeration .
He backed this up with his “ doctor wife ’ s ” diagnosis of a yeast infection , among other things : One could see Shapiro ’ s comments as genuine concern ; maybe he truly believes there ’ s a Sorcerer ’ s Apprentice situation going on with genitalia .
But the comments he made fit a pattern of shame and stigma surrounding vaginas and sexual health .
“ Women are shamed about their normal , healthy bodies all the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have difficulty naming their parts [ and ] feel ashamed to talk about the horrible and incorrect things men tell them.
” Health officials and medical experts echoed how important normalizing these conversations is .
While people like Shapiro may be attempting to make a facetious point about vulgarity , the way we talk or don ’ t talk about vaginas and sexual health has real-life health consequences .
The cumulative result is that people of all genders — Shapiro ’ s befuddlement at wet vaginas as an example — become shamed into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the burden falling on those who actually possess those bodies .
“ Women are shamed about their normal , healthy bodies all the time ” “ Ask your average 15-year-old what a Pap smear looks for , or how often they should get tested for HPV , or signs of a problem with their vaginal discharge .
Then ask a 21-year-old .
My guess is that neither will be able to answer all of those questions correctly , ” Brown told Vox .
“ According to data published by the CDC , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t had formal sex education before they have sex for the first time .
Shockingly , sex education is even less common in schools today than it used to be .
I spend a fair amount of time educating people about the fact that at-home tests for STIs even exist.
” Mary Jane Minkin , an OB-GYN at Yale University , echoed those sentiments , explaining that older people with vaginas have questions about their bodies , too , saying it affects people of “ all ages.
” “ Many are reluctant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — for example , at least half of all menopausal women suffer from vaginal dryness and many are reluctant to discuss it at all , ” Minkin told me .
“ We often describe the discussion on vaginal dryness as sort of a ‘ doorknob ’ moment — just as we gynecologists are ready to leave the exam room , after what we thought was a finished conversation , our patients will say , ‘ Well , doctor , there is one more thing … ’ and it is vaginal dryness and sexual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the song and its positive potential , saying , “ It doesn ’ t surprise me that two strong , sex-positive women , one of whom is in school for health administration , are forcing a conversation around celebrating sexuality.
” Minkin , Brown , and Gunter all were in agreement that “ WAP ” is actually a force of good .
Being uncomfortable with talk about vaginas begets shame , which spirals into health consequences .
“ WAP ” and pieces of sex-positive , women-positive pop culture like it can help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comfortable talking about topics they weren ’ t before .
“ Vaginas are such an important part of the human body , ” Brown told me .
“ They can experience pain , itchiness , bleeding , and other symptoms that provide clues about sexual , reproductive , and general health .
How can we not talk about it ?
That would be like not talking about our nostrils or our knees.
” She added : “ It ’ s important for each person with a vagina to have a basic understanding of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s easier to determine when something is wrong without shame or confusion.
” In pop culture , women are part of sexual fantasies , not in control of them As I was writing this story , two things kept popping into my head .
The first was a nonsensical reaction from a Republican hopeful , who tweeted on August 7 that he had “ accidentally ” heard “ WAP ” and that it made him want to pour holy water into his ear holes .
And the other is something that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ Making the vagina problematic — especially a sexually excited vagina — is an effective weapon of control.
” Gunter ’ s analysis helps explain Bradley ’ s pussy panic in a deeper way .
On the surface , it is performative pearl-clutching .
But it ’ s also his attempt to take away Cardi and Megan ’ s power , painting them and their desires as unnatural affronts to God .
“ Making the vagina problematic — especially a sexually excited vagina — is an effective weapon of control ” He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of control .
In “ WAP , ” Megan and Cardi aren ’ t just rapping about being aroused .
They also subvert preconceived ideas about acts of passivity , dominance , and ego .
That pops up in the “ bottom feeder ” verse , where Megan reverses the idea that her partner is doing something to pleasure her ; rather , she provides him deep satisfaction ; and again when she boasts that men will pay for college , outfits , and phone for just a taste .
And toward the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Asserting selfishness and possession flips the typical gender norms of heterosexual sex .
Megan and Cardi adopt traits we tend to issue to masculinity and men ( dominance , stoicism , athletic prowess ) in the bedroom and leave traits society tends to assign to femininity and women ( emotions , vulnerability , passivity ) to the men .
Megan and Cardi are rapping raunchy things that subvert the way women , especially Black women , are supposed to act in the bedroom with men .
They aren ’ t the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aren ’ t the first ones to get criticism for it .
Khia ’ s “ My Neck , My Back ” was a 2002 hit that doubles as a manual for performing satisfactory cunnilingus .
And as Khia told Vice in 2012 , she received backlash for the song and witnessed a double standard .
Layered into that is the thorny history of pop culture and society hypersexualizing Black women and their bodies .
This played out on America ’ s biggest musical stage , the Super Bowl halftime show , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breast almost ruined her career .
( Justin Timberlake , her co-performer , was asked back in 2018 . )
Not unlike how Timberlake walked away unscathed after what was touted as a bombastic affront , male rappers don ’ t often face this kind of scrutiny when rapping about sex .
Demetria Lucas wrote on Medium : “ Sexual women are seen as worthless trash , while virginal women are seen as respectable women of God who should be worshipped , ” Burke , the porn actress , told me , boiling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In “ WAP , ” Cardi and Megan created a sexual power fantasy for women , by women , from a woman ’ s point of view .
That fantasy is about a wet-ass pussy — not something outlandish , just a prerequisite for decent vaginal sex .
The song tells a lot about Megan and Cardi ’ s fantastic sex lives , but the scandalized reaction tells us even more about how we see sex in America .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

At the beginning of the pandemic, we were told that being locked away from friends, family, and everyone else around us didn’t mean we couldn’t produce something special. You see, back in the dark days of the bubonic plague, a man named William Shakespeare wrote the masterpiece King Lear. Since Shakespeare was a mere human being just like us, the thinking goes, there’s nothing stopping us from creating our own legendary works of art.
But Shakespeare, while he had an unending pandemic to create King Lear, never came close to creating this rhythmic flow of genius from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP”:
Put him on his knees, give him somethin’ to believe in
Never lost a fight, but I’m lookin’ for a beating
In the food chain, I’m the one that eat ya
If he ate my ass, he’s a bottom feeder
In four lines, Megan Thee Stallion exalts the privilege of performing cunnilingus on her, before issuing a taunt, a guarantee of endurance from her vagina. Megan is a religious experience, a powerhouse, an apex predator, and a provider.
“WAP” is the acronym for Wet-Ass Pussy, a three-minute, seven-second paean to lubricated vaginas. Cardi and Megan rap a brawny, brassy fantasy about female sexual prowess. They swerve humor (“punani Dasani”) into flashy nastiness (“I wanna gag, I wanna choke / I want you to touch that lil’ dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat”) and smirking bravado (“Your honor, I’m a freak bitch, handcuffs, leashes / Switch my wig, make him feel like he cheatin’”) and have created the anthem for our pandemic summer.
Since premiering on Friday, the music video — which censors the song title to “Wet and Gushy” — has accumulated more than 85 million views on YouTube. “WAP” debuted at the top of Spotify’s US Streaming charts with 2.3 million plays, and made history as the first female collaboration to do so while breaking records for the highest first-day streams for a women-led rap song.
Music doesn’t often make much room for an anthem like “WAP,” sung unapologetically by two Black women. For every song like “WAP” that gets mainstream play, there are too many to count about straight male escapades.
Critics, predominantly conservative ones, have sprouted up, saying that Cardi and Megan crossed the line. One even dared to say something was physiologically wrong with Cardi’s and Megan’s genitalia. The “think of the children” panic reared its head. And songwriter Diane Warren seemed to shame the women while commemorating Whitney Houston’s birthday:
Happy Birthday in Heaven Whitney . I miss real singers like U who didn"t have to be naked in videos to get our attention.❤ — Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) August 10, 2020
“People be lying,” Cardi told Apple Music in an interview about the song and its reception. “People will be saying they don’t like hoes and they don’t like that p-ssy talk. People love it.”
Gender is more complicated than biology, but in our reaction, the “wet-ass pussy” serves as a metonym for sexuality of all women and those assigned female at birth. In its success and its backlash, the song exposes America’s scathing double standard. Sex from women is meant to be desired. We’re encouraged to ogle and obsess over their bodies. But when a woman reciprocates that desire and flexes control, she’s crossed a line — too bawdy, too raunchy, too nasty. Suddenly, she needs to think about what she’s said and the example she’s setting.
Americans want wet-ass pussy — we just don’t want to hear from the people who have them.
Pussies are normal and healthy things. Wet-ass pussies are also normal and healthy things.
In the same way Shakespeare used monarchy, kings, and two awful daughters in King Lear to talk about family, mental illness, and fear of old age, Cardi and Megan use hyperbolic, fantastic imagery — even herpetology, the harmless garter snake versus the king cobra — to tell a story about the basic, absolutely human feelings of desire and arousal.
“It’s pretty simple,” Bianca Burke, a porn actress, told me. “When anything sexy is happening — like making out with a cute guy or when you replay last night’s hookup in your head during your 15-minute break at work, your pussy may get aroused, which can lead to it getting wet.”
“Vaginas exist, and sometimes they get wet. Period.”
Burke compared vaginas to a self-cleaning oven, and gynecologists I spoke to echoed that sentiment. Wetness is a normal part of how the vagina works. Doctors explained that vaginal discharge is designed to protect the body from bacteria and fungi — a combination of good bacteria, pH, and a cell-coating mucus. Scientifically speaking, a wet-ass pussy is the body preparing itself for sex.
“The vagina normally [secretes] one to three milliliters of fluid, but up to four milliliters per 24 hours can be normal,” Jen Gunter, an OB-GYN and author of the upcoming book The Vagina Bible, told me. “During sex stimulation or the thought of sexual stimulation, there is increased blood flow to the vaginal and vulva tissues leading to engorgement — swelling, the good kind — and increased production of transudate, a thin liquid that is part of discharge. During intercourse and sexual activity, the increased discharge prevents the friction from causing tissue damage and enhances pleasure.”
Dr. Charlene Brown, a sexual health expert, public health physician, and former Baltimore City Health Department official, put it more directly: “Vaginas exist, and sometimes they get wet. Period.”
Cardi and Megan are using their brilliant words to get that very healthy feeling across. But despite how ordinary arousal is — a vagina getting wet is as common and normal as a penis getting hard — their declaration was met with shock and horror.
The backlash to “WAP” is about shaming women
Ben Shapiro, a conservative pundit, posited on Twitter and his podcast that something must be wrong with Cardi and Megan since he was unfamiliar with talk of a very saturated vagina. And his wife is a doctor.
To illustrate his disapproval of and discomfort with the song to the audience of his eponymous Daily Wire podcast, Shapiro didn’t even say the words, using euphemisms like “p-word” to dance around Cardi and Megan’s raps.
Shapiro fixated on the idea of Cardi and Megan needing “buckets and mops” to deal with their arousal, seemingly unable to grasp the idea of exaggeration. He backed this up with his “doctor wife’s” diagnosis of a yeast infection, among other things:
As I also discussed on the show, my only real concern is that the women involved -- who apparently require a "bucket and a mop" -- get the medical care they require. My doctor wife's differential diagnosis: bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection, or trichomonis. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 10, 2020
One could see Shapiro’s comments as genuine concern; maybe he truly believes there’s a Sorcerer’s Apprentice situation going on with genitalia. But the comments he made fit a pattern of shame and stigma surrounding vaginas and sexual health.
“Women are shamed about their normal, healthy bodies all the time,” Gunter said. “Women have difficulty naming their parts [and] feel ashamed to talk about the horrible and incorrect things men tell them.”
Health officials and medical experts echoed how important normalizing these conversations is.
While people like Shapiro may be attempting to make a facetious point about vulgarity, the way we talk or don’t talk about vaginas and sexual health has real-life health consequences. The cumulative result is that people of all genders — Shapiro’s befuddlement at wet vaginas as an example — become shamed into ignorance of women’s bodies, with the burden falling on those who actually possess those bodies.
“Women are shamed about their normal, healthy bodies all the time”
“Ask your average 15-year-old what a Pap smear looks for, or how often they should get tested for HPV, or signs of a problem with their vaginal discharge. Then ask a 21-year-old. My guess is that neither will be able to answer all of those questions correctly,” Brown told Vox. “According to data published by the CDC, most sexually active girls say they haven’t had formal sex education before they have sex for the first time. Shockingly, sex education is even less common in schools today than it used to be. I spend a fair amount of time educating people about the fact that at-home tests for STIs even exist.”
Mary Jane Minkin, an OB-GYN at Yale University, echoed those sentiments, explaining that older people with vaginas have questions about their bodies, too, saying it affects people of “all ages.”
“Many are reluctant to talk about any female response issues — for example, at least half of all menopausal women suffer from vaginal dryness and many are reluctant to discuss it at all,” Minkin told me. “We often describe the discussion on vaginal dryness as sort of a ‘doorknob’ moment — just as we gynecologists are ready to leave the exam room, after what we thought was a finished conversation, our patients will say, ‘Well, doctor, there is one more thing … ’ and it is vaginal dryness and sexual issues.”
Brown lauds Megan and Cardi for the song and its positive potential, saying, “It doesn’t surprise me that two strong, sex-positive women, one of whom is in school for health administration, are forcing a conversation around celebrating sexuality.”
Minkin, Brown, and Gunter all were in agreement that “WAP” is actually a force of good. Being uncomfortable with talk about vaginas begets shame, which spirals into health consequences. “WAP” and pieces of sex-positive, women-positive pop culture like it can help make people, women especially, more comfortable talking about topics they weren’t before.
“Vaginas are such an important part of the human body,” Brown told me. “They can experience pain, itchiness, bleeding, and other symptoms that provide clues about sexual, reproductive, and general health. How can we not talk about it? That would be like not talking about our nostrils or our knees.”
She added: “It’s important for each person with a vagina to have a basic understanding of their own vagina at baseline so that it’s easier to determine when something is wrong without shame or confusion.”
In pop culture, women are part of sexual fantasies, not in control of them
As I was writing this story, two things kept popping into my head. The first was a nonsensical reaction from a Republican hopeful, who tweeted on August 7 that he had “accidentally” heard “WAP” and that it made him want to pour holy water into his ear holes.
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion are what happens when children are raised without God and without a strong father figure. Their new "song" The #WAP (which i heard accidentally) made me want to pour holy water in my ears and I feel sorry for future girls if this is their role model! — James P. Bradley (@BradleyCongress) August 7, 2020
And the other is something that Dr. Gunter told me. She said: “Making the vagina problematic — especially a sexually excited vagina — is an effective weapon of control.”
Gunter’s analysis helps explain Bradley’s pussy panic in a deeper way. On the surface, it is performative pearl-clutching. But it’s also his attempt to take away Cardi and Megan’s power, painting them and their desires as unnatural affronts to God.
“Making the vagina problematic — especially a sexually excited vagina — is an effective weapon of control”
He’s also worrying about a loss of control.
In “WAP,” Megan and Cardi aren’t just rapping about being aroused. They also subvert preconceived ideas about acts of passivity, dominance, and ego. That pops up in the “bottom feeder” verse, where Megan reverses the idea that her partner is doing something to pleasure her; rather, she provides him deep satisfaction; and again when she boasts that men will pay for college, outfits, and phone for just a taste. And toward the end of the song, Megan raps:
You can’t hurt my feelings, but I like pain.
If he fuck me and ask, “Whose is it?”
When I ride the dick, I’mma spell my name.
Asserting selfishness and possession flips the typical gender norms of heterosexual sex. Megan and Cardi adopt traits we tend to issue to masculinity and men (dominance, stoicism, athletic prowess) in the bedroom and leave traits society tends to assign to femininity and women (emotions, vulnerability, passivity) to the men.
in sex education at school we learned about wet dreams, male ejaculation and male masturbation, but absolutely nothing about female pleasure. A lot of men treat sex as something they do to women, not with women. So yep actually a song about female pleasure is good — saz (@sarahlostctrl) August 12, 2020
Megan and Cardi are rapping raunchy things that subvert the way women, especially Black women, are supposed to act in the bedroom with men. They aren’t the first ones to do so, and they aren’t the first ones to get criticism for it.
Khia’s “My Neck, My Back” was a 2002 hit that doubles as a manual for performing satisfactory cunnilingus. And as Khia told Vice in 2012, she received backlash for the song and witnessed a double standard.
Layered into that is the thorny history of pop culture and society hypersexualizing Black women and their bodies. This played out on America’s biggest musical stage, the Super Bowl halftime show, where in 2004 Janet Jackson’s exposed breast almost ruined her career. (Justin Timberlake, her co-performer, was asked back in 2018.)
Not unlike how Timberlake walked away unscathed after what was touted as a bombastic affront, male rappers don’t often face this kind of scrutiny when rapping about sex. Demetria Lucas wrote on Medium:
Where is all this ire when male entertainers rap about sex? I mean, when the Ying Yang Twins were whispering, “Wait ’til you see my dick” — as if no one had ever seen a penis and it was really something special to behold — no one called them hoes. Akinyele instructing women to “put it in your mouth,” Biggie bragging about “tongue delivering” and women “shivering,” Kendrick Lamar (of all people) crowing, “I know you want this dick”: None of it raised eyebrows.
“Sexual women are seen as worthless trash, while virginal women are seen as respectable women of God who should be worshipped,” Burke, the porn actress, told me, boiling down what she thought of the controversy.
In “WAP,” Cardi and Megan created a sexual power fantasy for women, by women, from a woman’s point of view. That fantasy is about a wet-ass pussy — not something outlandish, just a prerequisite for decent vaginal sex. The song tells a lot about Megan and Cardi’s fantastic sex lives, but the scandalized reaction tells us even more about how we see sex in America.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-14--The company behind Fortnite dared Apple to shutter its game on iPhones. Now Apple has gone ahead and

The company behind Fortnite dared Apple to shutter its game on iPhones. Now Apple has gone ahead and sort of done that.

The company that owns Fortnite is making an in-your-face challenge to Apple : We ’ re not going to obey the rules you ’ ve set for your powerful App Store .
And we dare you to do something about it .
Now Apple has done something : After Epic Games announced on April 13 that it was encouraging Fortnite players to bypass Apple ’ s in-house payment system — an intentional violation of Apple ’ s app policies — Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store , claiming that Epic wanted “ a special arrangement ” that other developers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means : If you ’ ve already downloaded Fortnite to your iPhone or iPad , you can still use it .
But the move does mean that Epic won ’ t be able to update the app — something that it did regularly to fix bugs and introduce new features .
So if the situation doesn ’ t change , Epic will eventually have to abandon Fortnite ’ s Apple users .
And now Epic , in response to Apple ’ s response , says it is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also telling its Apple users they won ’ t be able to play future versions of its game : “ Because Apple has BLOCKED your ability to update , when Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 4 releases you will NOT be able to play the new Season on iOS.
” It ’ s a fascinating standoff between a very profitable , highly valued gaming company and one of the most powerful companies in the world .
The way it plays out could have consequences for Apple , its tech rivals — and antitrust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developer behind Fortnite and other games , announced on the morning of April 13 that players who want to buy Fortnite ’ s virtual currency would no longer have to buy it via Apple ’ s App Store .
Instead , it told them they could buy it directly from Epic .
The difference for players , however , is that Epic would charge them 20 percent less if they buy the currency from Epic instead of Apple .
It ’ s a small change that ’ s a big deal because Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kinds of end runs around its powerful App Store .
Instead , Apple wants developers to sell their digital goods within its marketplace , where it takes a cut of up to 30 percent for each purchase .
That stance has long upset developers , who argue that Apple ’ s fee is too onerous and gives its home-grown products a leg up on competitors by essentially letting Apple sell its own stuff with a much better profit margin .
Apple sells its music service , for instance , for $ 10 a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold subscriptions via Apple ’ s store for the same price , it would have to fork over as much as $ 3 of that to Apple .
So , over time , some big players , including Netflix and Spotify , have stopped selling subscriptions to their services from the Apple App Store altogether .
You can use Spotify and Netflix on Apple devices , but if you want to pay for them , you have to visit those companies ’ websites .
Spotify has also filed a complaint with European antitrust @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s policies .
Apple has also drawn attention from US lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren , who has said the company is trying to “ lock out ” competitors .
Last month , Apple ’ s policies came under fire when CEO Tim Cook testified at a congressional antitrust hearing .
And in the past few weeks , Apple ’ s App Store policies have also generated conflict with both Facebook and Microsoft , which complained that Apple was barring gaming services they wanted to distribute through the App Store .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , broadcasting that it wasn ’ t going to play by Apple ’ s rules .
For the time being , if you try to buy 1,000 “ V Bucks ” in Fortnite , Epic will ask you whether you want to spend $ 10 to do so via Apple ’ s store or $ 8 to do it from Epic : Epic explained the move to its users by describing it as new “ discount pricing.
” But in a post aimed at the media , the company went out of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Apple ’ s 30 percent tax , as well as a similar one that Google ’ s app store also charges .
“ Apple and Google collect an exorbitant 30 % fee on all payments ” for virtual goods , the post said , pointing out that Apple doesn ’ t collect a similar fee for real-world goods developers like Amazon , McDonald ’ s , and Uber sell via Apple apps .
“ Epic direct payment simply offers players the same kinds of payment options as these other apps.
” Epic ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Google ’ s app stores .
And later on the same day , Google also kicked Fortnite out of its own app store , prompting another lawsuit from Epic , which repeated most of the arguments it made against Apple earlier in the day .
But Apple is the company that clearly rankles Epic CEO Tim Sweeney , who has been complaining about the company on Twitter for weeks : So now Sweeney is making a very big gamble .
He ’ s daring Apple to either back down from its stance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and see what millions of Fortnite players do next .
In the worst case , the company seems to be thinking , it can survive with a player base that comes from other platforms , like gaming consoles and PCs .
For now , Apple is taking Epic head on — which is likely the only move it could make , in the short term : If it allowed Epic to run an alternate payments system while preventing other developers from doing so , it would have an even bigger headache .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Apple to change its policies .
Here ’ s a statement from Apple PR , released after the company removed Fortnite from the App Store : “ Today , Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users .
As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store .
Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple , and they did so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services .
“ Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade , and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including its tools , testing , and distribution that Apple provides to all developers .
Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we ’ re glad they ’ ve built such a successful business on the App Store .
The fact that their business interests now lead them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users .
We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.
” While Epic doesn ’ t have the same kind of awareness of big tech players like Facebook and Amazon , the company certainly has the capacity to fight Apple .
Epic says it generated earnings of $ 730 million last year on revenue of $ 4.7 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fortnite , which Epic says has 350 million players worldwide .
But while Epic has substantial resources , losing access to Apple customers could still cost it real money .
SensorTower estimates that Apple customers spent $ 1.2 billion on Fortnite since March 2018 .
That would mean after Apple took 30 percent of that haul , Epic would be left with $ 840 million .
Those numbers have presumably been trending down as Fortnite ’ s red-hot popularity cooled , but Epic would certainly like to have those customers again .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will update if it provides any .
In the meantime , it may be worth noting that Epic co-founder Mark Rein retweeted my analysis of this morning ’ s move , without comment : The timing for Sweeney ’ s move is interesting .
It comes after Epic raised a staggering $ 1.8 billion , which values Sweeney ’ s company at more than $ 17 billion .
But it also comes after Cook ’ s appearance in front of Congress .
Had Epic done this in the runup to that event , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by lawmakers .
The move also happens on the same day that Apple ’ s plans to sell even more of its own digital services have come into focus .
Bloomberg reports that Apple plans to sell bundles of Apple subscriptions to products like its music , video , and gaming services — later this fall , at a discount .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

The company that owns Fortnite is making an in-your-face challenge to Apple: We’re not going to obey the rules you’ve set for your powerful App Store. And we dare you to do something about it.
Now Apple has done something: After Epic Games announced on April 13 that it was encouraging Fortnite players to bypass Apple’s in-house payment system — an intentional violation of Apple’s app policies — Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store, claiming that Epic wanted “a special arrangement” that other developers don’t get.
What that means: If you’ve already downloaded Fortnite to your iPhone or iPad, you can still use it. But the move does mean that Epic won’t be able to update the app — something that it did regularly to fix bugs and introduce new features. So if the situation doesn’t change, Epic will eventually have to abandon Fortnite’s Apple users.
And now Epic, in response to Apple’s response, says it is filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in US District Court. It is also telling its Apple users they won’t be able to play future versions of its game: “Because Apple has BLOCKED your ability to update, when Fortnite Chapter 2 - Season 4 releases you will NOT be able to play the new Season on iOS.”
It’s a fascinating standoff between a very profitable, highly valued gaming company and one of the most powerful companies in the world. The way it plays out could have consequences for Apple, its tech rivals — and antitrust regulators.
Epic, the North Carolina-based developer behind Fortnite and other games, announced on the morning of April 13 that players who want to buy Fortnite’s virtual currency would no longer have to buy it via Apple’s App Store. Instead, it told them they could buy it directly from Epic. The difference for players, however, is that Epic would charge them 20 percent less if they buy the currency from Epic instead of Apple.
It’s a small change that’s a big deal because Apple has explicitly prohibited developers from promoting these kinds of end runs around its powerful App Store. Instead, Apple wants developers to sell their digital goods within its marketplace, where it takes a cut of up to 30 percent for each purchase.
That stance has long upset developers, who argue that Apple’s fee is too onerous and gives its home-grown products a leg up on competitors by essentially letting Apple sell its own stuff with a much better profit margin. Apple sells its music service, for instance, for $10 a month; if a rival music service sold subscriptions via Apple’s store for the same price, it would have to fork over as much as $3 of that to Apple.
So, over time, some big players, including Netflix and Spotify, have stopped selling subscriptions to their services from the Apple App Store altogether. You can use Spotify and Netflix on Apple devices, but if you want to pay for them, you have to visit those companies’ websites. Spotify has also filed a complaint with European antitrust regulators, who are now investigating Apple’s policies.
Apple has also drawn attention from US lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has said the company is trying to “lock out” competitors. Last month, Apple’s policies came under fire when CEO Tim Cook testified at a congressional antitrust hearing.
And in the past few weeks, Apple’s App Store policies have also generated conflict with both Facebook and Microsoft, which complained that Apple was barring gaming services they wanted to distribute through the App Store.
But no developer has done what Epic did, broadcasting that it wasn’t going to play by Apple’s rules. For the time being, if you try to buy 1,000 “V Bucks” in Fortnite, Epic will ask you whether you want to spend $10 to do so via Apple’s store or $8 to do it from Epic:
Epic explained the move to its users by describing it as new “discount pricing.” But in a post aimed at the media, the company went out of its way to say that it was defying Apple’s 30 percent tax, as well as a similar one that Google’s app store also charges.
“Apple and Google collect an exorbitant 30% fee on all payments” for virtual goods, the post said, pointing out that Apple doesn’t collect a similar fee for real-world goods developers like Amazon, McDonald’s, and Uber sell via Apple apps. “Epic direct payment simply offers players the same kinds of payment options as these other apps.”
Epic’s move affects both Apple’s and Google’s app stores. And later on the same day, Google also kicked Fortnite out of its own app store, prompting another lawsuit from Epic, which repeated most of the arguments it made against Apple earlier in the day.
But Apple is the company that clearly rankles Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, who has been complaining about the company on Twitter for weeks:
Apple's intentional anti-competitive strategy has been running for much longer than most realize. Here they are in 2011 muscling Kindle purchases off of iPhone by demanding 30% of e-book revenue, "which we acknowledge is prohibitive for many things".https://t.co/trnugoOZgV — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 1, 2020
It pains me to complain about Apple in this way. Apple is one of the greatest companies that has ever existed, perhaps the greatest. But they're fundamentally wrong in blocking competition and choice on devices they make, and that holds up entire fields of technological progress. — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 29, 2020
Apple has gone crazy. If colleges hold virtual classes through an iPhone app, Apple could demand 30% of the tuition. Truly, Apple has no right to take any percent of any company’s revenue just because they made the phone people use to access the stuff.https://t.co/Pt2JlS4bvo — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) July 28, 2020
So now Sweeney is making a very big gamble. He’s daring Apple to either back down from its stance or shutter Fortnite’s Apple app and see what millions of Fortnite players do next. In the worst case, the company seems to be thinking, it can survive with a player base that comes from other platforms, like gaming consoles and PCs.
For now, Apple is taking Epic head on — which is likely the only move it could make, in the short term: If it allowed Epic to run an alternate payments system while preventing other developers from doing so, it would have an even bigger headache. But longer term, this may increase pressure on Apple to change its policies.
Here’s a statement from Apple PR, released after the company removed Fortnite from the App Store:
“Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services. “Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including its tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we’re glad they’ve built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.”
While Epic doesn’t have the same kind of awareness of big tech players like Facebook and Amazon, the company certainly has the capacity to fight Apple. Epic says it generated earnings of $730 million last year on revenue of $4.7 billion; much of that money came from Fortnite, which Epic says has 350 million players worldwide.
But while Epic has substantial resources, losing access to Apple customers could still cost it real money. SensorTower estimates that Apple customers spent $1.2 billion on Fortnite since March 2018. That would mean after Apple took 30 percent of that haul, Epic would be left with $840 million. Those numbers have presumably been trending down as Fortnite’s red-hot popularity cooled, but Epic would certainly like to have those customers again.
I’ve asked Epic for comment and will update if it provides any. In the meantime, it may be worth noting that Epic co-founder Mark Rein retweeted my analysis of this morning’s move, without comment:
The timing for Sweeney’s move is interesting. It comes after Epic raised a staggering $1.8 billion, which values Sweeney’s company at more than $17 billion. But it also comes after Cook’s appearance in front of Congress. Had Epic done this in the runup to that event, the situation certainly would have been raised by lawmakers.
The move also happens on the same day that Apple’s plans to sell even more of its own digital services have come into focus. Bloomberg reports that Apple plans to sell bundles of Apple subscriptions to products like its music, video, and gaming services — later this fall, at a discount.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.