Being a woman in music seems exhausting. Billie Eilish regularly pointed out fans and media’s fascination — borderline obsession, really — with her body, from covering herself in baggy outfits to avoid creepy comments to shutting down the perception of her revealing Vogue cover constitution “growth.” Lizzo constantly battles derogatory comments about her weight and shape despite the extreme level of fitness it takes to play flute, dance, rap, and sing at the same damn time.
The latest target of users trolling on social media is Coi Leray, the breakout artist who spent the last two years building a buzz before landing a huge hit with “No More Parties” earlier this year and becoming a 2021 XXL Freshman. Commenters have compared her to a boy in the past, and today, her name is trending on Twitter in light of her appearance at the BET Awards, where she wore a pair of baggy pants with a bikini top, a look that has become something of a trademark for the artist, who seemingly loves to embrace her shape and show off a lot of skin (her twerking videos get nearly as much attention as her music).
Coi Leray really biting Carti in every imaginable way pic.twitter.com/l4PtblCeuO
— Squirt Reynolds (@SquirtReynolds_) June 28, 2021
nobody:
Coi Leray: https://t.co/iqXy5giHi2 pic.twitter.com/vOoS4mbnfw
— unfriendly black hottie (@_SHughSHefner) June 28, 2021
my cousin said Coi Leray look like Randall from Monsters Inc & now I can’t unsee it
pic.twitter.com/cTl5kFrMg3
— Joku
(@_JustJoku) June 28, 2021
Normal people. Coi leray pic.twitter.com/J4h06irSFu
— Different type
(@VLGKXNG) June 28, 2021
Coi Leray giving me Kid Buu vibes. Can’t just be me pic.twitter.com/ffkuH4HGFT
— @dvontri
(@peepthekicks824) June 28, 2021
The negative attention prompted her to wonder at the fascination with her shape, tweeting, “Is there a certain way I’m supposed to look? Help me understand.” She then questioned, “In the Bible is it a Sin to be thin?”
My body is always trending. I don’t understand
— PRESSURE
(@coi_leray) June 28, 2021
In the Bible is it a Sin to be thin? Help me understand
— PRESSURE
She also pointed out the hypocrisy inherent in these comments, subtly imploring empathy for women from those commenters, saying, “I hope all yall mothers got beach bodies.”
I hope all yall mothers got beach bodies
— PRESSURE
A quick look at the Coi Leray trend on Twitter sees plenty of users echoing her sentiment, decrying the abusive commentary surrounding her and other women’s bodies in the music industry.
the way yall *continuously* compare coi leray’s body to a boy/man…….and then wanna get on here and question why 19 year olds are getting BBLs and why the airport is packed with women fresh off the table….the call is coming from inside the house. pic.twitter.com/7f6PRyBEoy
— thee protagonist (@BreeeCass) June 28, 2021
I think the 72 hour 180 from “love whatever body you’re in” to “coi leray built like a boy” is proof in how performative a lot of y’all’s interests are in actually protecting Black women
— Dylan Ali (@dylanali_) June 28, 2021
I hope the internet doesn’t bully Coi Leray into getting work done. her body is fire
— aaliyah, the creator (@aaslayah) June 28, 2021
Men will slander big girls, then turn around and slander women shaped like Coi Leray. If y’all hate women just say that.
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) June 28, 2021
At first the Coi Leray jokes were arite. But now y’all muttin it. Then y’all wonder why the BBL conversation started to trend. But y’all gone act slow and pretend like y’all have women’s best interest at heart when discussing these things on the bird app…….k pic.twitter.com/qUBNivNFn8
—
ᴀss ᴋᴇᴛᴄʜᴜᴍ
So long as social media gives a platform to every Tom, Dick, and Harry to share their worst opinions (and continues to reward them with engagement), it seems unlikely that there will ever be much change on that front. However, Coi’s post, and the current conversation, highlight the problem, and spreading awareness is the first step to resolving it.