Cardi B is my new favourite feminist.

Cardi B recently released a video clip for the City Girls song she features in called Twerk. The premise of the video is that City Girls are on a hunt to find the worlds best twerker. The video then proceeds to be a glorious four-minute tribute to booty and the women who can shake em. There is soooo much shaking ass in this video. Like so much, but honestly these girls are talented! One even manages to shake her ass while lying on the ground with her legs behind her head and… Just watch the video if you wanna see it.

Much to my dislike (but understanding), not everyone is as much of a fan of the video as me. As footage of a naked woman often does, it sparked some outrage online and naturally, people took to their keyboards to voice their opinions. In particular, Fox News host and Trump supporter Stephanie Hamill tweeted:

“In the Era of #meToo how exactly does this empower women? Leftists, @iamcardib, feel free to chime in. THX ..”.

@STEPHMHAMILL

In case you were wondering, Cardi did indeed chime in, explaining herself perfectly with the following tweet.

“It says to women that I can wear and not wear whatever I want. do w.e I want and that NO still means NO. So Stephanie chime in..If I twerk and be half naked does that mean I deserve to get raped and molested? I want to know what a conservative woman like you thinks “.

@iamcardib

Regardless of whether you side with Stephanie or Cardi, I want to tell you that this video has meaning. To me, it serves as an important reminder that in a time where consent is sometimes considered a grey area and no is considered to have multiple meanings, you are free to get half naked and shake your ass if that’s your prerogative. We, as women should not be held down by the fear of our beautiful, natural bodies being sexually harassed or objectified by men. This video shows women taking full ownership of their bodies and has no intention to be centred around the male gaze. It reinforces the idea that you should be able to celebrate your body and what better way to do that than with movement. It also reminds us that as a female, you can wear a bikini and still not be asking for it. You can be wearing only body paint and still not be asking for it and you can most definitely shake your ass in the same space as a male and still not be asking for it.

Cardi B is a woman, therefore, she has the authority to distinguish what she finds to be female empowerment. Also females, we should not be arguing over what empowers a woman or not and instead, try to understand that due to various social and cultural differences there is actually NO WRONG ANSWER. Every woman views their body in different ways and chooses to share it with the world as she sees fit. Oh, and one more thing, no matter what you wear or how you choose to move your body no definitely still means no.