The comments the 39 nine-year-old rapper T.I. made, whose full name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., have been reported on by The Washington Post, The New York Times, Buzzfeed and various other media platforms, making the internet explode. He has received backlash from medical experts and celebrities, and negative tweets have targeted him for his comments. The podcast has been deleted and the hosts have issued an apology.
Both The New York Times and The Washington Post have reported that Harris claims his daughter Deyjah gave him consent to see her private medical records. However, the whole concept of virginity testing is “medically unnecessary and harmful test violates several human rights and ethical standards including the fundamental principle in medicine to ‘do no harm,’” according to the World Health Organization.
“Right after her birthday, we celebrate, then usually like the day after the party, she’s enjoying the gifts, I put a sticky note on the door: ‘Tomorrow. 9:30,’” said Harris on the podcast, which was reported by The Washington Post about his daughter’s yearly trips to the gynecologist. The Washington Post called upon Jenn Jackson, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University to comment on Harris’ actions.
“Harris is an adult — she can pretty much do what she wants — so why is he still invested in what she does with her body?” Jackson said. She finds it troublesome that the behavior of Harris promotes the idea a young girl’s body is a possession of society.
The Washington Post’s reports include that Harris has been made aware, by his daughter’s doctor, that a hymen, a thin piece of tissue present in some women, might be broken by other activities like riding a bike. Harris was told a virginity test cannot in fact confirm virginity, but the rapper’s responded that “she don’t ride no horses, she don’t ride no bikes, she don’t play no sports, man — just check the hymen, please, and give me back my results expeditiously.” His words on Ladies Like Us show the value he places on the test.
Harris’ misogynistic view that his daughter should be a virgin at the age of 18 promotes a culture which slut shames girls who are sexuality active. All women, including Deyjah, deserve access to safe and confidential resources they can reach out to without being shamed. Planned parenthood tweeted on November 6th, 2019 that “virginity is a made-up social construct, and it has absolutely nothing to do with your hymen.”
According to Buzzfeed, Deyjah has unfollowed her father on Instagram, liked tweets from celebrities such as Iggy Azalea and Chrissy Teigen, and shared her fan’s tweets, all of which criticize the rapper’s actions. Deyjah has stayed silent on media platforms, making no comments about her relationship with her father.
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