Nicki Minaj on sexism in the music industry

Nicki Minaj gives us some straight talk about double standards in the music industry.

There is a lot of room for feminist critique around Nicki Minaj’s creative, visual or verbal choices–but I lay off intense scrutiny because she is the only woman in popular hip-hop. That doesn’t mean those critiques aren’t valid, or I don’t see them, I just see her role as the only woman in mainstream hip-hop as patently unfair and probably dictates a lot of her creative choices.

And I totally appreciate what she is talking about here. For those that say we don’t need feminism anymore–watch someone who probably doesn’t identify as a “feminist” talk about sexism in her industry.

Transcript after the jump, thanks to reader Kelly.

…have to be like a beast. You have to be a beast. That’s the *only* way they respect you. I came up under Wayne and Wayne has his way of doing things. When Wayne walks up on the m—-f—-’ stage and-and say, ‘Don’t talk to me, have my f—– music ready, get the f— up out of my face, I’mma blow this — in your —– face all day, it’s cool. But every time I–every time I put my foot down and stand up for myself, it’s like ‘we’ve heard about Nicki Minaj! Nicki Minaj shut down a photo shoot! Oh my god! No one wants to work with Nicki Minaj!’

I’m glad you heard. Now, when I come to a photoshoot, let it be of quality. You know why? Because I put quality in what I do. I spend time and I spend energy and I spend effort and I spend everything I have, every fiber of my being to give people quality. So if I turn up to a photoshoot and you had–you got a fifty dollar clothes budget and some sliced pickles on the m—-f—- board, you wanna know what? No, I am gonna leave. Is that wrong? For wanting more for myself? Wanting people to treat me with respect? But you know what, next time they know better. But I had accepted the pickle juice, I would be drinking pickle juice right now.

When I am assertive, I’m a bitch. When a man is assertive, he’s a boss.
(He bossed up)
He bossed up! No negative connotation behind ‘bossed up’. But lots of negative connotation behind being a bitch.

Donald Trump can say, ‘You’re fired!’ Let Martha Stewart run her company the same way and be the same way! F—, oh, evil b—. But Donald Trump, he gets to hang out with young p—- and have 50 different wives and just be cool… Oh, Donald we love ya. Donald Trump… But when you’re a girl, you have to be like…everything. You have to be–you have to be dope at what you do, but you have to be super sweet and you have to be sexy and you have to be this and you have to be that and you have to be nice and you have to… It’s like, I can’t be all those things at once. I’m a human being… I don’t mean to be ranting and raving like this. I don’t–don’t use this footage; it’s just gonna make me look stupid.

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