Nicki Minaj in concert in Oslo, 2012 | Photo by nrk-p3 via Flickr (http://bit.ly/10eGQei)
Another day, another condescending piece about what Christian women are doing wrong. A couple of weeks ago, it was Tim Challies blaming Jennifer Lawrence et al for the theft of their nude photos. Now, in a post at Charisma News called “Why I’m Praying for Teens Who Listen to Nicki Minaj,” Larry Tomczak waxes nostalgic about the good old days of television and rings the alarm about “a parade of vixens being put before our youth needs to be exposed once and for all.”
“As kids,” Tomczak writes, “many of us eagerly awaited the next hilarious episode of Jed Clampett and his Beverly Hillbillies. Parents never gave a thought that there might be something objectionable on the popular TV sitcom.” (Nevermind that the Beverly Hillbilles promoted smoking cigarettes and had some seriously racist undertones.) Clearly, what we need to be worried about are…butts.
Nicky Minaj’s butt, specifically: “Minaj says she is a ‘Christian’ whose ‘dad went to rehab, started attending church and got saved!’ She tweets about Jesus and declares that God is her ‘hero.’ She tweets gratefully that her current hit featuring a barrage of buttocks is ‘A$$mazing.'”
I’m not sure what the best part of this is–the use of scare quotes to describe someone else’s religion, the fact that Tomczak scoured Minaj’s Twitter feed for these references, or his direct quote of the portmanteau “A$$mazing.” Tomczak worries that children may be listening to Minaj’s “catchy music” when they put on their headphones, although his knowledge of her career and lyrics indicates that he’s the one who’s been doing the listening.
He also accuses Minaj of being a wolf in rapper’s clothing, saying “she’s camouflaged herself very cleverly. She endorses Pepsi, Adidas and MAC cosmetics. She’s been an American Idol judge; voice actress for the animated Ice Age kids film; and, dresses in attention-getting, ultra-colorful outfits.” Is it confusing that she does commercials or endorses MAC eyeshadow (the proceeds of which, by the way, go to people living with HIV/AIDS, but that would be inconvenient to mention)? I don’t think people work by being all good or all bad, but it seems that’s the narrative Tomczak wants us to operate with.
If you don’t want your kids to listen to Nicki Minaj and they are at the age where it’s still appropriate for you to tell them what to listen to, then don’t let them do it! Problem solved. If they’re older, have a conversation about what they’re listening to. But don’t blame the people who are doing what they’re doing because you hold them to standards they don’t hold themselves to. Not only is it a waste of time, it is exceedingly condescending.
I get where Tomczak is coming from in thinking that Minaj’s songs might not be the best ones for young girls to listen to–and that’s his prerogative. But it’s hers to be who she is, too, butt and all–without anyone who doesn’t know her casting stones. She’s not the problem.