As Bajan business mogul and pop superstar Rihanna, partner A$AP Rocky and their one-year-old son stunned in a British Vogue photo shoot last Wednesday (February 15), the growing family was instantly met with a particular strain of backlash. 

Fresh from her NFL Super Bowl LVII performance, Rihanna was criticised for attempting to subvert traditional familial roles by ‘leading’ A$AP Rocky in the March 2023 spring issue. 

Detractors further called out the pregnant hitmaker for ’emasculating and decentralising’ the father of her two children.

This emasculation agenda is heavily focused on black men. Serena William’s husband is? WHITE. Is she walking in front of him on the cover of Vogue? Nope just her& the baby. Same concept as Rihanna, the article is about Serena, baby, & family life… yet ASAP on the cover😂 pic.twitter.com/lOVBDDUkID

— Baldie Locs👩🏾‍🦲 (@Mila_Tequilaa) February 16, 2023

The Harlem rapper, nine months younger than Rihanna, was also on the receiving end of flack for ‘abandoning’ his position as the man of the house. 

Rihanna’s British Vogue feature unintentionally polarised social media as the photo shoot morphed from a celebration of love to an inspection of gender roles, the male ego, modern families and black masculine expectations. 

While conversation still swirls around Rihanna amid the black community’s fevered reaction against the cover, those coming to her defence maintain A$AP Rocky was not diminished in his role as the father. Continuing, many argued that instances of supportive husbands/partners are increasingly common today. 

MORE REACTIONS:

I love how Rihanna’s Vogue cover disturbed so many ashy people.

YES. Be uncomfortable. Look at that family defying archaic relationship goals of yore.

Just Black, rich, unbothered and flipping gender norms like pancakes. It’s beautiful.

— Black Ashley (@ashleysimpo) February 18, 2023

Conservatives dislike the Rihanna Vogue cover. Liberals love it.

Conservative values are more likely to result in more successful black families and children.

And that’s what we should be fighting for. ✊🏾

— Katharine Birbalsingh (@Miss_Snuffy) February 18, 2023

cannot believe men are on Beyoncé’s internet saying the British vogue cover is trying to emasculate and de-center the black man as the head of the family… babes it’s a women’s fashion magazine featuring rihanna. he was an accessory to the shoot not her life, lord pic.twitter.com/wU7NvkKV0c

— Aiyana N. Ishmael (@aiyanaish) February 16, 2023

Rihanna Vogue cover with A$AP Rocky brought out the insecure men and put the male ego on full display.

As a real man, you assist your woman with the kids and you are secure enough to let her lead. A relationship is a team, and raising kids is the hardest job in the world. pic.twitter.com/wjwtLJSV1K

— Marcellus Wiley 🧢 (@marcelluswiley) February 22, 2023

So now SOME Conservatives are mad about this…

It’s literally Vogue CELEBRATING motherhood and a united couple.

The article is centered around Rihanna. In what century is it an issue for a woman to be holding her partner’s hand from the front???

STOP OUTRAGING OVER NOTHING. pic.twitter.com/VSiermcuHb

— Xaviaer DuRousseau (@XAVIAERD) February 17, 2023

Our Today presents a list of shining examples: 

• Portia Simpson-Miller & Errald Miller 

As one of the ‘pioneer couples’ locally, former Cable & Wireless chief executive Errald Miller held no qualms about being a supportive husband to former prime minister Portia Simpson-Miller during her tenure as minister and eventual first female leader of Jamaica. The pair married in 1998 and remain together well after Simpson-Miller’s 2016 exit from representational politics. 

• Kamala Harris & Douglas Emhoff

American attorney Douglas Emhoff has openly expressed contentment with being “overly her husband” to history-making US Vice-President Kamala Harris. As recently as November 2020, Emhoff has repeatedly put Harris’ career ahead of his—even quitting a law practice just before the inauguration ceremony in Washington DC.

• Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce & Jason Pryce

Jason Pryce plays an integral role in the success of reigning women’s 100-metre World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who he married in Hanover 12 years ago. Pryce and their son, Zyon, are the most important support system for Jamaican ‘Mommy Rocket’ and elite athlete sprint as she competes on the global stage.

• Serena Williams & Alexis Ohanian

American entrepreneur and co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, is openly supportive of retired tennis great Serena Williams. Ohanian, who married in 2017, is not dishevelled by Williams’ superstar factor and is always in her corner alongside their daughter, Olympia. 

• Lisa Hanna & Richard Lake

Business executive Richard Lake often adopts a peripheral approach, handing much of the public spotlight to Lisa Hanna, his wife of nearly five years. Hanna, People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament for South East St Ann and opposition spokesperson is the de facto face of her marriage to Lake. 

• Marlene Malahoo Forte & Ian Forte

Ian Forte, former president of the Court of Appeal, may be retired but that has not impeded the respected attorney from supporting the exploits of his wife, Marlene Malahoo Forte—a senior lawmaker, minister and MP within the Andrew Holness administration. 

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