Eating the Booty Like Groceries: Hip-Hop, Assplay and the Cult of Masculinity

In the clapback heard (and tweeted) round the world, Amber Rose responded to Kanye West's epic internet trolling with a dig, as it were, at his sexual proclivities:

Kanye, fearing his masculinity would be put on trial, responded with a resounding "no homo":

Which is disappointing, because Kanye's been known to wear Givenchy skirts, he was one of the first hip-hop artists to speak out against homophobia and he showed nothing but love and support for Caitlyn Jenner during her very public transition.

This Twitter tainting also follows rumors of Drake's love of getting rimmed, as well as perhaps the greatest lyric to emerge from 2015:

Thank you, Jhene Aiko. The R&B songstress got inspiration for the lyrics from noted booty-loving Southern rapper Kevin "I Don't Get Tired" Gates.

"The line of 'Post To Be' reminded me of the Kevin Gates Vines where he's talking about booty," Aiko told Complex. "He keeps saying in the Vines--'You 'posed to eat the booty.'"

"People take it different ways," she added. "Some people are appalled, some people think it's funny. I feel like it's a fun song."

Aside from being hilarious and the kind of punchline that made Nicki Minaj's career, the lyric was also part of a bigger conversation rap, and society, has been having about anal intercourse among heterosexual folk.

The gays have known how great assplay is for literally millennia, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular among the straights as well. A 2011 report from the CDC found that "36% of women and 44% of men [have] had anal sex with an opposite-sex partner."

Of course, before there were studies of such things, straight couples were experimenting with anal behind closed doors. It was something reserved for a wedding night or a birthday--you've been a good boy so you get to hit it from behind. But what of the bros out there who want to get hit?

These days, the kids are talking a lot about pegging, or the act of a woman penetrating a man with a dildo or strap-on. Women sound off about it in Cosmo, or they tried it and liked it in Vice or they make comedic fodder of it on TV, as in the amazing "Knockoffs" epsiode of Broad City:

And straight guys seem to like it, too, as Cosmofound out:

The role reversal was very exciting. We're steeped in a culture of prescribed sexual roles for men and women, so it's a thrill to break the "rules" and experience things that most people don't dream of trying. Letting my girlfriend fuck me in the ass didn't make me feel any less masculine or her any less feminine, but it did allow me to feel a vulnerability I was not accustomed to, since she could easily hurt me if we weren't in tune. It was also a way to trade perspectives for a bit, which is always eye-opening.

In rap, as reliable a barometer of the social climate as anything, there's a booty eating renaissance. Hell, Trick Daddy even made a day out of it.

Rappers have always loved booty, from "Baby Got Back" to "Back That Azz Up"; "Ms. Fat Booty" to "Ms. New Booty." It's the one thing gays and rappers have always had in common. That, and perhaps a love of extravagant jewlery and a tendency towards hyperbole. But only recently has it been okay for dudes to talk about eating booty, tossing salad, et al.

As soon as the fork is in the other hand, however, the homophobia comes out. Back (to back) to Drake. As arguably the biggest and most influential rapper in the game--like I said, Kanye, arguably-- Drake's success is unimpeachable. Unlike his masculinity. His oft-ridiculed sensitivity set fire to an entire subset of memes, like this charming witticism here:

More than anything this makes me angry at our educational system. But with that kind of shade trolling about the internet, an alleged groupie claiming Degrassi's Jimmy Brooks liked butt stuff wasn't so much a revelation as a confirmation. Drake is "sensitive" so he must be gay.

But anal intercouse isn't gay. A 2011 study found that less than 40% of gay and bisexual men engaged in anal sex during their most recent sexual encounter. You know, 'cause sometimes it's just nice to cuddle.

Amber Rose, Time magazine contributor, really did Kanye and the rest of the world a service. Sure, she intended to shame, ridicule and exploit Kanye for being, well, Kanye, but she also shined a light--a shady light, but a light nonetheless--on our cultural obsession with men getting penetrated. It doesn't make you any less of a man, prostate stimulation can be really great and you shouldn't knock it till you try it.

We're rapidly moving towards a society where the old gender norms are crumbling, and that excites a lot of people and that scares a lot of people. However, I would be remiss if I didn't touch on the racial implications of #KanyeAnalPlaylist.

Black people are often accused of being homophobic, but that's not necessarily true. I think that masculinity is something precious and prized in the black community hews closer to the truth. When one considers how the black man has been emasculated in America, it's easier to understand why Kanye would go on the defensive as soon as his masculinity is challenged. Even when he continually challenges masculinity.

But if there's anyone who can make it okay for straight guys to like a little assplay, it's our lord and savior--Yeezus Kardashian-West.

So when it comes to butt stuff, Yeezy, don't be so anal.