If you know me, you know I’m one of the first people to call someone out on being an anti-feminist. Anytime I hear people being disrespectful toward women or perpetuating false and negative stereotypes, I will never hold my tongue to correct them. I’ll admit, I’ve definitely hopped on the “cancel culture” train before.
However, we’ve reached a time where people need to re-evaluate their cancel culture toxicity and false anti-feminist accusations.
It all began when a video circulated of popular singer Dua Lipa at a strip club for Lizzo’s Grammys after-party. She was dancing and giving the strippers money in the video, having a great time.
The “New Rules” singer was promptly attacked by various trolls on social media, saying she’s not a feminist and was being disrespectful toward women by sexualizing and objectifying them. But the entire idea behind being a stripper is that the person stripping is making that choice for themselves.
Sheila Hageman, a blogger for HuffPost said it best: why is stripping considered feminism? “Because that woman is making a choice for herself — no matter how confused or misguided she may be, she has made a choice. A choice of circumstance, or need, or desire - it does not matter. If she has made that choice for herself, then it should be honored and seen as a feminist act - a conscious choice of her destiny in the world.”
Not only does that accusation of anti-feminism fail to reach validity, but it also insinuates that sex workers should feel ashamed about their jobs. Some people are strippers because it’s a job that pays well and it’s one of the only ones they can get. Some people just want to express themselves and flaunt what they’ve got.
Dua Lipa’s haters had the hashtag #dualipaisoverparty trending on Twitter, but luckily, most people are responding the same way I am. People are calling out the fake feminists trying to attack Dua Lipa online by opening their eyes to the truth about sex work and stripping.
Twitter loves to attack Dua Lipa for supporting strippers, but won’t say anything to Lizzo for hosting the party, or to the other people in attendance. What about the men in the industry who regularly attend strip clubs?
People need to realize that the entire idea around “cancel culture” has become extremely toxic, where people are trying to take down unproblematic public figures for anything and everything, when they should be focusing their energy on individuals who are actually problematic in the entertainment industry.
The final rundown: don’t be so quick to “cancel” Dua Lipa (or anyone else who went to the strip club) over being anti-feminist, when the accusations in and of themselves are anti-feminist. Sex work is the choice of the individual and shouldn’t be stigmatized.
Riley Runnells is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Let Riley know by emailing her at rr855317@ohio.edu.
