Megan Thee Stallion has the kind of fans who aren’t afraid to show her love, grace and a spirit of protection
OPINION: The H-Town Hottie has talent, style, and an adorable personality that resonates with women of all ages, including the “aunties.”
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I love Megan Thee Stallion.
I’m not the only one. Women love Megan Thee Stallion. More specifically, Black women love Megan Thee Stallion.
There’s not even one specific type of Black woman that likes Megan Thee Stallion. Black women of all walks of life and of all ages love the H-Town Hottie.
Not only do we love her, but we go up for her. We root for her. We feel protective of her. We champion her. We support her. We want her to win so badly, it hurts.
On Saturday, Megan took to Twitter to address an AI-generated sex tape of her that was circulated on the internet.
“It’s really sick how yall go out of the way to hurt me when you see me winning,” she wrote. “Yall going too far, Fake ass shit. Just know today was your last day playing with me and I mean it.”
(I could go into a long rant about the dangers of AI and how this is just one example of many, but I’ll save it.)
She was understandably upset, and it is absolutely disgusting that someone would do that.
At her performance in Tampa, Florida, later that night, Megan was on stage in front of a sold-out crowd, preparing to perform “Cobra,” a single off her upcoming album “Megan” (out June 28) and as the music started, tears are visible in her eyes, and she takes a moment to try and pull herself together.
Her adoring fans encourage her, cheering her on and shouting “We love you!”
She tries to start the song but is again caught up by her emotions, waving her hand in front of her face and trying to stop the tears from falling.
The fans once again begin cheering for her, showing her all the love they can in that moment.
I tear up every time I watch the video because I can feel her frustration. I can feel her pain. I can understand her wanting to just do the thing she loves and having people repeatedly coming after her because of their own projections and insecurities.
Music
This is Megan’s personal experience, for sure, but it’s also the experience of so many other Black women in so many walks of life, and it is why so many of us love her and find her relatable in a way that makes us want to love her, cheer for her, protect her.
And while Megan’s fanbase could easily just be young girls and young women, there is an entire legion of aunties who have also claimed Megan as their “niece.” Those of us in Generation X and some elder millennials feel very passionately about her.
I had asked my former boss and current editor-in-chief of HuffPost, Danielle Belton, why she likes Megan Thee Stallion.
“I love Megan for a lot of reasons,” she said. “Her fun wordplay, her attitude, how she carries herself even in the face of adversity, going beast mode in the gym to maintain her fitness (something I struggle to do, but admire in her), but what I probably have loved about her the most is she’s relatable to me on so many levels.
“Everything Megan has gone through, from her successes to the abuse and adversity she’s faced, are things I have seen in my own life and are things you see in so many Black women’s lives,” she continued. “She could have easily given up and succumbed to depression or anxiety, but instead, she turned her battles into her art and made music about mental health, something I feel very strongly about as a woman with a hidden disability in the form of bipolar disorder. Megan may be young, but she holds a wisdom beyond her years in her lyrics. She’s savvy and I’m rooting for her always.
“Also, as a fellow girl with curves who grew up hating them in the waif-thin, Supermodel-obsessed ’90s, I WISH there’d been a girl or woman who looked like Meg when I was coming up. Maybe I wouldn’t have hated my booty and thighs so much,” she added.
I asked this question on Facebook, Twitter, and Threads, and the responses were very much the same.
#BlackGirlMagic creator CaShawn Thompson said, “Yes! I love to see young Black girls win! [Especially] girls who are not super skinny, racially ambiguous, and strategically demure. She is GORGEOUS and is gorgeous in a way that Black people in particular appreciate. Plus, she can actually rap, so she’s good at her job!”
“Megan is a skilled emcee. She has a flow and voice that are easily recognizable which makes her distinct,” Dr. Michelle Taylor, a professor of African American studies who focuses on Black women in media, said. “She can really rap. … I think Traumazine was a fantastic album, and given how young she is, she has so much room for growth and I’m interested in where she goes from here.”
Writer Aliya King Neil said, “Dat bodee oddie oddie makes me re-think some choices in my life. At age 50, the introduction of Hot Girl Summer to the lexicon changed my life.”
I wish I could share every tweet and comment I got, but space and my editor will not allow me to do that. Just know this: Black women Gen Xers and millennials love them some Megan. I linked to each post so you can see the varied responses.
The aunties love you, Megan. We want to hold you up and hold you down.
We want you to know that we see in you the young women we were not allowed to be in the 90s because patriarchy is real. We love you for embodying that spirit of liberation and unapologetic Black Girl Magic.
We want you to know that we will ride for you. No weapon formed against you shall prosper because you have proven time and time again that you are stronger than them.
We love you for being a girl’s girl who loves on everyone and brings other women in to help them too.
You are going to continue to shine. Your star is going to continue to rise.
And we are going to love on you every step of the way because you deserve.
It’s not just #HotGirlSummer; it’s #HotAuntieSummer.
Forever. <3
Monique Judge is a storyteller, content creator and writer living in Los Angeles. She is a word nerd who is a fan of the Oxford comma, spends way too much time on Twitter, and has more graphic t-shirts than you. Follow her on Twitter @thejournalista or check her out at moniquejudge.com.
