Changing sexual double standards are more easily visible in pop and hip-hop music today than ever before. At the center of this shift, is female oral sex. Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj have most recently broken out the cunning linguist lyrics, but big stars mentioning it wasn’t always the norm. Oral sex on males, however, has dominated popular music for the last decade. For example, the song ranked #1 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008 was “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne. Four years later, “Whistle” hit the charts as what critics called “the perfect summer song.” In between those, Rihanna came out with a song called “Birthday Cake” about “licking icing off” the “cake.” It was shot down by critics as smut and so largely criticized that she didn’t put it on her next album, Talk That Talk.
Clearly, there was a huge difference in the way that oral sex was seen in popular culture between men and women. How women’s sexuality is portrayed in music affects the way we all think about it. Thankfully, it’s becoming more common to mention oral sex on women in a positive way. Almost more importantly, it’s women themselves that are talking about it, thereby taking command of their own sexuality.
So what changed? A Brief History of “Lip Service”
In the dawn of sexualized pop music, Prince mentioned female oral sex twice in albums from 1982 and 1988 that both made the top of the charts. The Queen of Pop Madonna followed soon after with her Billboard #1 album Erotica in 1992 that had the song “Where Life Begins” (apparently it’s down there). Other than subtle euphemisms, mentioning it wasn’t predominate nor totally taboo in pop culture at this time.
Then in the 1990’s, rap and hip-hop began to promote only male oral sex, while often also discouraging male-listeners from performing it for the ladies. In albums like DJ Quik’s Safe + Sound from 1995, there are lyrics that call out girls who want oral as disgusting and males who do it as emasculate.
This unfortunate message was repeated in rap throughout the 1990’s until an unlikely hero changed things. Lil Wayne, with his overtly sexual lyrics, made mentioning cunnilingus in his music a way to differentiate himself. Starting in 2008 with the song “Ain’t I,” he specifically called out his squeamish predecessors saying, “I eat [it] when he wouldn’t.” From then on, there hasn’t been a Lil Wayne album that hasn’t mentioned his oral sex skills.
Most recently, though, it’s female artists who have been taking on oral sex as a way of showing women’s power and sexual prowess in popular music. Beyoncé came out with her hit album Beyoncé in late 2013, including the song solely about cunnilingus, “Blow.” As of November 14th, 2014, this album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile Nicki Minaj, already known for her sexual lyrics, followed suit in 2014 with The Pinkprint. This album mentions female oral sex in very commanding ways in at least 6 songs. It currently holds #10 on the Billboard 200. Together, this fabulous female duo also released a remix of Beyoncé’s “Flawless” that included “p**** served delicious.”
These two women have greatly and very quickly changed the way “dining in” is represented in popular culture. Over time there have been many great artists that have championed the benefits of equally pleasuring both parties, but never before have women been heard so clearly and authoritatively on their pleasure in music.
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