Let's Talk About “GOLD DIGGING"
Cardi B once said, “broke boys don't deserve no *meow*, (I know that's right!)..."
Even though Cardi B released this song last year, the lyrics still live rent-free in my head, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
With the way it trended, it's clear that a lot of people loved it, women especially, and found it empowering.
Other people might listen to the lyrics and immediately associate it with gold-digging.
Cardi B is not the first female rapper to succinctly let the men know they have to be in a specific income bracket to even be able to approach her, it has been a trend in pop culture for a while now.
Listening to this song, and seeing how it was received got me thinking about a lot of things.
1. sex sells. Just taking a glimpse at the entertainment industry would show you that this is a fact.
2. why is this the way things are currently?
3. should this be considered gold-digging?
I know, you might be thinking that it is just a song, but my over-analytic mind likes to see meaning in everything. So let me try to answer these questions.
Why is this the way things are currently?
We have capitalism to blame for the transactional nature of sex, and this might be a reach, but hear me out.
When it comes to sex and relationships, we cannot deny that women are judged more harshly than men. If a woman has a higher body count, she is seen as cheap. If a man has a higher body count, it is something to brag about.
The feminist wave ties into the golden age of porn which I mentioned in my recent article “The Commodification Of Women’s Bodies”.
Feminists were convinced that sexual freedom was fundamental in the struggle for the equality of women.
It is not a coincidence that the feminist movement ties in with the golden age of porn. Women’s labor was undervalued so their survival was frequently dependent on men.
With the feminist movement and the fight for sexual freedom, sex became a commodity under capitalism.
This was embraced by a lot of women as it gave them some kind of power, and agency…if you can’t beat them, deny the broke one’s sex.
Should this be considered gold-digging?
A gold digger is a derogatory term for a person who engages in transactional sex or relationship with others purely to get money from them.
This term is usually used to refer to women but men can also be gold diggers, just take a look at “The Tinder Swindler”.
So should this quote “broke boys don’t deserve no pussy” be considered gold-digging?
Maybe and maybe not.
A lot of women have confessed that they cannot date “down” economically, a lot of men feel threatened by a female partner who earns more than them.
Also, for the longest time, even marriage was a contract between two families, marrying somebody to further your family's fortune was very common. The Bridgerton is an interesting representation of that.
In this common contract marriage, one family usually benefitted more than one, is that also gold-digging?
I don’t make the rules here so I cannot say you’re a gold digger if you agree that “Broke boys don’t deserve no pussy”.
While I was researching for this article, I learned a lot of new things and it’s interesting to see the effects capitalism also has on intimate relationships, people feel the need to date “up” to achieve financial freedom.
Sidenote: The same men who complain about gold diggers would flaunt their wealth to get a woman.
I would love to know your thoughts on all of this, and if this is something you have ever thought of.
