The feud between Cardi B and Candace Owens isn’t just a Twitter spat, it’s a perfect microcosm of the culture war

Two of America’s most high-profile women have become embroiled in a war of words on Twitter with a fascinating subtext. The battle between Cardi B and Candace Owens seems to represent a much larger cultural conflict.

It’s not uncommon to see political pundits and musicians argue. But the latest online spat runs much deeper than someone simply being out of touch with what is hip and new. Rather, it seems like we’re looking at two public figures who represent very different ways to live life as a woman. I’m speaking, of course, of the war of words between right-wing political pundit Candace Owens and former stripper-turned-rapper Cardi B.

The arguments stemmed from Cardi B’s recent performance at the Grammys which came across as half live performance, half lap dance. Now, Candace Owens isn’t just your average right-wing pundit. Like Cardi B, she is a young black woman who is married and has a family. But there is a clear difference in how they approach their particular lifestyles. Cardi B obviously is very adherent to hip-hop subculture and all the extremes that come with it. Candace Owens, on the other hand, is much more conservative.

Given that Owens is the founder of the Blexit movement, which was formed to convince young African Americans to leave the Democratic Party, you can understand her comments. Although she can be seen as very traditionalistic, her heart is in the right place as she wants more African Americans to have better lives. She has a firm idea of how to achieve that. Cardi B, on the other hand, thinks that her lifestyle is the one that really gives someone freedom. She does what she wants when she wants, and that seems to be enough.

Although it looks like the feud between the two will result in a lawsuit, given that Owens alleges that Cardi B posted falsehoods about her on Twitter, the bigger picture is quite intriguing. You could examine both, and ask questions of each’s interpretation of feminism. What seems like a petty Twitter squabble can really be looked at as something that’s reflective of society in the modern day.

It does seem that there are many in America who think that the way Cardi B behaves is empowering. They see someone like Candace Owens as a proverbial Uncle Tom. Owens is a woman who is in an interracial marriage, and is more than happy to promote conservative values. Many will look at both and question which archetype they would prefer to have in their life.

The hard question that needs to be asked at this point is whether the lifestyle that Cardi B embodies really does empower and free people. Do people really want their daughters to act like Cardi B, essentially giving a lap dance at the Grammys? I’m of the opinion that you should have the freedom to be Cardi B, if that’s your choice (although I draw the line at robbing and drugging men, as she has admitted to doing in the past). But if you want to behave as she behaves, why not?

In many ways, what we have here feels like the living personification of the “which way, western man” meme. On one hand, you have Owens’ idea of traditionalism which brings stability, but may be considered boring by many. On the other, you have a modern outlook which promises excitement but may not have the same stability. That Owens probably has the better idea shouldn’t preclude people from behaving like Cardi B. 

But right now, like everything else in America, it feels this is a debate where no consensus will be found.

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