{"id":441,"date":"2025-06-04T06:06:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T06:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/?p=441"},"modified":"2025-06-04T19:04:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T19:04:58","slug":"megan-thee-stallions-fluxability-as-a-anime-superheros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/?p=441","title":{"rendered":"Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s \u201cFluxability\u201d as  Anime Superheros"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Karina Morales-Pineda<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdB4dtWbVbRDoX3sT1eFho9vgVkU5cP_ctCRcpG-KpkPwwcyTDg-IDFFiquTB0RB6Umxuj-hNx0pLIX7BTW4pVtTdfDdIBOYf0L8NpvV4dfkUySkVhOtSAWhkHucsjdD8BEztUh4g?key=9vJNFfpLC6MjBr_vg1fd_w\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Satoru Gojo \u2013 \u2018Jujutsu Kaisen\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>                In this blog post, I am using Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s use of anime superhero cosplay\/inspiration as an example of \u201cFluxability\u201d, and how it serves her as both &#8220;Megan Thee Stallion&#8221; vs. Megan Jovon Ruth Pete. With the cosplay and imagery of anime superheroes in and out of her artistry, Megan is able to bend between genders and adopt the qualities of the superheroes, such as strength and confidence. My thoughts are in conversation with \u201cFrom American Marvels to the Mutant Generation: Reinventing the Superhero\u201d by Ramzi Fawaz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(***I do not know anything about the anime characters Megan cosplays\u2026 but as a heavy consumer and fan of her music as a queer rap artist from Houston,\u00a0 I think this is an extension of how\u201cfluxability\u201d can be interpreted as.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cRather than performing flexibility, I argue, the monstrous powers and bodies of postwar superheroes exhibited a form of <strong>fluxability,<\/strong> a state of material and psychic becoming characterized by constant transition or change that consequently orients one toward cultivating skills for negotiating (rather than exploiting) multiple, contradictory identities and affiliations.\u201d (11)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words - Official Trailer | Prime Video\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VxQHsx7d_nU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words &#8211; Official Trailer (2:12)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>                In her 2024 documentary,<em> Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words<\/em>, Megan speaks about overcoming the trauma of being ridiculed, blamed, and not believed in after being shot by artist Tory Lanez, and grieving the loss of her mother, all while navigating both success and hate in her career. She uses an animation of herself switching between Megan Pete and her alter-ego superhero\/rap character, Megan Thee Stallion. In this preview for the documentary, a clip of her fictional superhero character follows with the words, \u201cHER POWER, HER STORY\u201d, using superheroes to create a queer, confident and powerful persona, to inspire confidence is a common theme among her artistry. \u2018\u201cI&#8217;m half anime character, half rapper,\u2019 says Megan Thee Stallion.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crunchyroll.com\/news\/features\/2020\/4\/14\/megan-thee-stallion-loves-the-bad-boys-of-anime?srsltid=AfmBOopegdgVnYFmM47JON9jVlr2xQjf4pVpOG2eYAOPLqy_QDnnp4Hx\">Crunchyroll Interview<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXd6MTkeMStKXQBfjJdJJSN56BBkKOstTmQMuK8kYKYcq_YKCsNoHP2EJW2GO_J1ONUPVIHNNeQ-97WnydPsq36zwMjrJCXadNYYsxzxIcAoHx84-iB1DIAlcCV7viAMkCEiWBlZ?key=9vJNFfpLC6MjBr_vg1fd_w\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:304px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">           Shoto Todoroki \u2013 \u2018My Hero Academia\u2019            <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Megan has a unique, aggressive, deep South style of rap, one that requires confidence and even cockiness in every delivery. When she speaks about loving her figure, being queer, and healing from her trauma, she has to embody a constant high level of confidence that is not realistic for anyone outside of her music and character. Her documentary breaks down what her cosplays and character, Megan Thee Stallion, can sometimes hide. Megan showcases both emotional vulnerability and cocky confidence, as well as resilience, qualities that often contradict each other and are traditionally associated with femininity and masculinity. However, Megan can switch between these characters to protect and process her personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXf1Z0yknZUocVQeaW_5hNxFA4ytuNn0HR5PTb9RM4YSeiei9_GbHsc7TEjZwj1lQV5yrhff98uh_iWGZNdZiqeya6Xp28XxfG1_JDwseILy5jrqJkPE0fmrrvIbkAHpDGYrJ-J9ww?key=9vJNFfpLC6MjBr_vg1fd_w\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:372px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Boa Hancock \u2013 \u2018One Piece\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Karina Morales-Pineda Satoru Gojo \u2013 \u2018Jujutsu Kaisen\u2019 In this blog post, I am using Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s use of anime superhero cosplay\/inspiration as an example of \u201cFluxability\u201d, and how it serves her as both &#8220;Megan Thee Stallion&#8221; vs. Megan Jovon Ruth Pete. With the cosplay and imagery of anime superheroes in and out of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":447,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}