Megan Thee Stallion shared images of her foot with graphic criss-cross stitches in her heel and the doctors inspecting them on Wednesday 19 August on Instagram. The 25-year-old rapper explained that she posted pictures of her gunshot wounds to show what had happened to her after trolls had accused her of lying about being shot. She added she also wanted to explain herself, after people questioned how she was able to celebrate her new collaboration with Cardi B titled ‘WAP’.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDuD7willfQ/

The ‘Hot Girl Summer’ singer was forced to undergo surgery after being shot in both feet while leaving a party in Hollywood last month, on 12 July. Despite her describing the incident as the “worst experience” of her life, many suggested that Megan’s ability to dance meant she was lying about her injuries, leading the rapper to set things straight on Instagram.

The post, which has since been removed, was captioned: “Lol what I have learned abt majority of the people on social media is y’all like to hear bad news before good news, a lie spreads quicker than the truth, and y’all really be believing the s*** YALL make up. I got hit at the back of my feet because when I got shot I was WALKING AWAY FACING THE BACK.”

She continued, “I usually don’t address internet bulls*** but y’all people are so sick. God was really watching over me and I’m healing so well! Sorry I’m not as sad and miserable as a lot of y’all lol but ima keep being Megan Thee Mf STALLION.”

Prior to her injury, Megan Thee Stallion had been in the car with fellow rapper Tory Lanez, who was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. However, early reports said that the star had cut her feet on broken glass in the car, with surveillance footage of the incident showing her limping from the vehicle and leaving bloody footprints.

After the shooting, Megan also posted that she was “incredibly grateful to be alive after being shot multiple times,” adding that “I suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against me and done with the intention to physically harm me. I was never arrested, the police officers drove me to the hospital where I underwent surgery to remove the bullets. I’m incredibly grateful to be alive and that I’m expected to make a full recovery, but it was important for me to clarify the details about this traumatic night.”

After the incident, Lanez was arrested at 4:40 a.m. and charged with a felony, according to information from the Los Angeles Sheriff Department. He is currently out on bond after posting a $35,000 bail.

The LADA’s office is now considering whether to file charges against Tory Lanez and they have asked law enforcement to provide a further investigation before they make the decision whether or not to file felony assault with semiautomatic firearm charges against Lanez.

It’s been 10 days since the release of the iconic ‘WAP’ by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, and the public remains stunned. The song is a celebration of female sexuality, liberation, and pleasure in a space so long dominated by men—naturally, it has caused great controversy and enraged many conservatives.

Last week, American political commentator Ben Shapiro filmed an awkward reading of the song’s lyrics, censoring the word pussy as the “p-word” while making a dig at feminism. Shapiro then continued to take his criticism of the song onto Twitter, stating that vaginal wetness is a sign of a bacterial infection or an STD, and must be treated. Yes, you read that correctly.

Listen, guys. I fully explained on the show that it's misogynistic to question whether graphic descriptions of "wet-ass p****" is empowering for women. “WAP” is obviously an incredibly profound statement of women’s empowerment, a la Susan B. Anthony. https://t.co/KKYerf1dGW

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 10, 2020

Shapiro, who seems to have taken the lyric “bring a bucket and a mop for this WAP” a bit too literally, advised women who experience vaginal wetness to see a doctor—claiming that this statement comes from his wife, Mor Shapiro, who is a medical practitioner herself. Shapiro continued by publicly announcing that he had never made his wife of 11 years, and the mother to three of his children, wet through sexual arousal. Naturally, the video and his ridiculous statement turned into a viral meme in no time.

Someone made a remix of Ben Shapiro singing WAP 😭💀 pic.twitter.com/zC7TSkFW1X

— Chess Sam♟ (@celestial_sam_) August 11, 2020

It is important to point that Shapiro specifically talks about what he considers to be ‘excessive’ vaginal wetness, as it is unclear whether he means wetness all together—however, even then his statement is deeply misinformed. Vaginal wetness is essential in keeping the vagina clean and protecting it from injury or tearing, and it doesn’t necessarily come from arousal only, but is common and natural during sex. It can make vaginal penetration easier and often more pleasurable, and there is no ‘right’ amount of fluid as it varies for everyone.

While Shapiro’s ridiculous comments make great memes and entertain us, they are part of a bigger problem, as they highlight the stigma and lack of knowledge around female anatomy and genitalia. Vaginal wetness should not be considered abnormal nor taboo, and yet it is by many. A lot of the stigma can be attributed to the lack of general sex education, which is especially limited in traditional school curriculums. This lack of information then leads many women into feeling insecure about their natural vaginal form or basic bodily functions.

According to a 2017 survey conducted by The Eve Appeal, 500 out of the 1000 men interviewed were unable to identify where the vagina is. In heterosexual relationships, women have fewer orgasms than men on average, which is known as the orgasm gap. A 2016 study by the Archives of Sexual Behaviour found that 95 per cent of straight men report they always climax during sex, compared to only 65 per cent of straight women (in contrast, lesbian women who claimed to have always climaxed with their partner averaged in 86 per cent).

Some women are unable to climax regardless of their partners and still endure a pleasurable experience. Although orgasms are not the end goal of sex, the orgasm gap is steep. The study finds that women who orgasmed more frequently were more likely to receive oral sex, be generally satisfied with their relationship, and feel comfortable communicating their wishes to their partner. Shapiro’s suggestion that women who experience wetness as a result of arousal have a disease only goes to show how negligent and misinformed straight men can be in relation to their sexual partners.

The worst part of all this, however, isn’t the fact that women who sleep with these men are receiving mediocre (at best) sex—it is the fact that it is conservative men in politics like Ben Shapiro who are making decisions for our bodies. The majority of US laws banning or restricting access to abortion have been disproportionately voted on by conservative, Republican men, and if anything, this is proof that it is not their place in doing so.

And yet, Shapiro’s sensitivity to ‘WAP’ shouldn’t come as a surprise. In 2005, a 21-year-old Shapiro published a book titled PORN GENERATION: How Social Liberalism Is Corrupting Our Future, in which he critiqued the representation of sex in culture, complaining that sexual liberation is destroying our core values as a society. Therefore, it is unlikely that his ignorance and overt negligence over female arousal and pleasure comes from a place of confusion—it is a choice.