#MileyWhatsGood Is Both Meme-tastic And Important For Social Justice

1 September 2015, 13:05 | Updated: 8 May 2017, 17:09

Nicki Minaj Disses Miley Cyrus Live On Stage at th
Nicky Idika

By Nicky Idika

Miley, what's good?

It seems that no one knew quite what to make of this year's MTV VMAs. One thing people can't seem to let go of, however, was the iconic moment Nicki Minaj destroyed everything with three little words: "Miley What's Good". 

Since then, "Miley What's Good" has spiced up the minutiae of post-award show memery.

Someone merged memes for a mega "in joke" moment. 

 

When Tumblr had its way with 'miley, what's good?'
 

http://factoseintolerant.tumblr.com/post/128050812302/streetraht-when-miley-cyrus-takes-you-to-her
http://lesbellesfesses.tumblr.com/post/128094216458/justin-timberlagoon-has-this-been-done-yet

 

Some people have also taken #MileyWhatsGood and turned it into a real and honest conversation about how someone like Miley has benefited immensely from black culture and seemingly betrayed the people she stole from with her New York Times interview.

 

And then, of course, comes the merch.

 

While #MileyWhatsGood is a fair bit of fun, it's good to remember that Nicki Minaj's frustration comes from a very real place. After multiple attempts to carry on a real conversation about race, Nicki has had to face attempts to shut her down from Taylor Swift, the mainstream media, and now Miley. "Miley What's Good?" is not just a rhetorical question cleverly meant to generate buzz for MTV. It's a real call to either have the conversation in a real way (that isn't brushed over with faux feminist platitudes) or stand down and let women who know about racism and inequality talk about racism and inequality.