Oh, the Horror! Doja Cat & Escaping the Male Gaze

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat, is a 27-year-old female rapper born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Despite making music since she was a teenager, Doja Cat did not reach mainstream success until 2018 when she released what critics referred to as “meme music.” Dressed as a “sexy farmer and farm animal,” Doja Cat strutted half-naked online and rapped the lyrics, “Bitch, I’m a cow.” This track, titled “Moo,” currently has 126M views on YouTube, and ultimately, became a bonus track on Doja’s debut studio album, “Amala.”

In the last five years, Doja Cat has evolved from internet meme star to pop-rap girlie and trendsetter. Her second album, “Hot Pink,” was the first to catapult her to Billboard 100’s Top 10 and the third release, “Planet Her,” cemented Doja as both a Grammy-nominated and award-winning artist. However, Doja Cat’s image recently morphed from quirky yet strangely alluring rapper to villainous woman.

As both a horror fan and self-proclaimed “Black feminist killjoy,” I personally love this latest era of Doja Cat. The “Agora Hills” artist's transformation from bright pink aesthetics to blood-soaked antagonist gave many people whiplash, but not me. I saw that shit coming and have been eagerly awaiting. Pulling from franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street and Paranormal Activity, Doja’s latest visuals and flows are an homage to horror film and a play on society’s deepest fears. And no, I’m not talking demons and ghouls; I’m talking about the unrestrained woman. 

 Controversy surrounding Doja Cat circulated long before she posted her bald-headed selfie in August 2022. However, something about the rapper’s newly-shaven dome catapulted her into the public eye in a new, vulgar, and horrifying way. Prior to this, the midsize lyricist had wowed fans (and some, if not most, of her haters) with her colorful wigs, big eyes, creativity, and of course, her fat ass. Something shifted, though. This public adoration began to slowly grind to a halt.

I’m actually getting ahead of myself. Before Doja Cat shaved her head and revealed it to the world via Instagram, the weight loss came first. As Doja Cat began slimming down during her “Planet Her” tour run of 2022-’23, more and more folks started commenting on how displeased they were with her appearance. Their beloved slim-thick baddie was looking more slim than thick. As Doja Cat slimmed down, so did fans’ sick fantasies of her. Frightened, folks flooded social media to ask various questions. Was it coke? Was this a cry for help? What will become of their precious superstar if she doesn’t provide entertainment and curves?

Instead of considering THE OBVIOUS (tour dates, live performances, demanding rehearsals, etc.), fans immediately revolted because of their entitlement to celebrity status. For some, she was getting too skinny to fuck, and for others, particularly female fans, they were disappointed because they no longer shared a body type with Doja Cat. (There was a similar outcry back when Lizzo documented herself doing a cleanse, and my fellow fat girls lost their minds because their idol had fallen.) Let me be clear: Celebrities of any size do not owe us shit. Lizzo does not owe us fatness. Doja Cat does not owe us slim-thickness.

This brings me back to the shaved head debacle. Doja Cat shaved both her head and eyebrows in August 2022, and people were angry because she was no longer the version of her they were sexually attracted to. For men, especially, they were traumatized. Their false realities were shattered. They were humiliated that this woman no longer was performing for them and posing for them. (Though it is debatable that she never was to begin with, but alas.) In conclusion, Doja Cat wasn’t just escaping the male gaze. She was operating successfully and happily without it. She did not even seem to care that she was existing outside of it. Boohoo. These poor men.

How could she alter her own body in such a way? What about them? What about what they wanted to see on their timelines?

“Planet Her,” Doja Cat’s third studio album, was a project dripping with color, sensuality, pleasure, and feminine energy. Here is where we got high energy, poppy singles such as “Need to Know” and “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA. This project was praised by critics for its “candy-sweet melodies”[1] and hailed as “exquisitely strange and spectacularly camp.”[2] The artist herself stated that the project was an attempt to “go outside of… [a] pop aesthetic or rap aesthetic. I wanted to quite literally travel outside of the planet. When it comes to the videos and choice of words and melodies and combinations musically, I wanted it to feel different. I wanted it to feel otherworldly. So, I just named it Planet Her.” The cover art, which features the artist bedazzled and floating in space, feels just as dreamy and delightful.

Doja Cat’s fourth studio album, “Scarlet,” was released last week. While I This project had niggas shaking even before its release, as it is the culmination of Doja’s weird antics and newly-reclaimed self-image.
Doja Cat got new tattoos and documented those over social media leading up to the release of “Scarlet.” The tattoos included a creature from Fortunio Liceti’s 1665 De Monstri, representing how imperfection can be beautiful and found in nature. This Instagram update was the first image to evoke satanic panic. Numerous people accused the singer-songwriter of selling her soul, to which she replied, “Your fear is not my problem.” The second wave hit when she tattooed a bat skeleton across the entirety of her back, which the artist explained in her caption: “Bats often represent death in the sense of letting go of the old and bringing in the new. They are symbols of transition, of imitation, and then the start of a new beginning.”

This new beginning, or “Scarlet” era, is the ultimate troll, and I commend Doja for it. There is so much power in saying, “Fuck y’all, this me,” and not giving a damn about what people (specifically thirsty-ass men) have to say. And that, my friends, is the real horror of “Scarlet.” Not the “Demons” music video, which actually features the singer-songwriter as a literal demon, or the “Paint the Town Red” video that shows Doja as a harbinger[3] of death. The real horror comes from the fact that this woman is taking her image back and reminding y’all that while yes, she is/can be fine as fuck, she also is here to rap, nigga.

“Scarlet” is for the spooky girlies and rap fans. It is a delicious marriage between hip hop and horror, as well as a testament to the power of reclaiming one’s self-image. It is an excellent reminder that the absolute terror of the world is not women who do what they want, but men who feel like they can without consequences. Statistically speaking, men will feel emboldened to do a lot more than just hop in someone’s comments. Men’s violence and lust come from eons of folks saying “Boys will be boys.” Patriarchy begets real-world violence: sexual assault, domestic violence, cat-calling, toxic masculinity, etc. Much of this stems from the inkling that women exist for men’s consumption. Meanwhile, girls and women just want to exist without always having to consider how they look or whether or not they are worth their weight in pussy. 

To conclude, I’ll leave you with a few words from the artist herself. You can hear them for yourself if you check out “Scarlet” by Doja Cat.

Bitch, I said what I said. 

I'd rather be famous instead.
- “Paint the Town Red”

Lost a lil' weight, but I ain't never lost a tushy

Lookin' good, but now my bald head match my

Lookin' good, but now they all sayin' that I'm ugly

Boo-hoo, my nigga, I ain't sad you won't fuck me

I'm sad that you really thought your ass was above me

You're lucky 'cause I just paid your bill with a reply
- “Attention”

I'm a puppet, I'm a sheep, I'm a cash cow

I'm the fastest-growing bitch on all your apps now

You are tired of me 'cause I'm on your ass now

You are mad at me 'cause I am all they slap now
I can nap now

Lots of people that were sleeping say I rap now

Lots of people's hopes and dreams are finally trashed now

Lots of people say they met me in the past now
- “Demons” 

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[1]  “Planet Her” album review by Pitchfork’s contributor Safy-Hallan Farah

[2]   “Planet Her” album review by Rolling Stone’s Brittany Spanos

[3] noun

noun: harbinger
plural noun: harbingers

a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another