I think of Eminem, honestly, as a case study in straight, white, male privilege. It's that the man who performed a song about strangling his girlfriend in front of her at a concert actually remains one of the most popular artists on, well, Earth.

It's not that Eminem is awkwardly rapping on despite being irrelevant. But for some reason, Eminem maintains an international audience and has, as of late, set and matched records in the recording industry for sales and plays through the years. In my world, white dudes who whine about 'being picketed against' aren't worth paying attention to, nor are men who refuse to accept the importance of the women in their lives. In fact, even as I got older, I noticed a specific lack of interest in ever hearing a word Slim Shady felt necessary to let out of his mouth. I totally credit my mother with this decision now, knowing that she did indeed know best in making me avoid the sexist shitshow that was his entire career in the early 2000s (and is his entire career now). This weekend, Eminem was awarded the 'Global Icon Award' at the MTV EMAs, leading me to ask myself, 'Why won't Eminem just go away?'Ĭonfession: I wasn't allowed to listen to Eminem growing up.