Members of the military community are outraged after a video on TikTok showed two uniformed female soldiers performing the choreographed 'WAP' dance that has gone viral.
Since rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion released their hit single 'WAP' two weeks ago, the song has been met with both criticism and praise after it debuted at No.1 on Billboard's Hot 100.
While many have heralded the song a sex-positive anthem, others have decried the lyrics as tasteless for its hyper-sexual nature and references genitalia.
For example, the song's name is an acronym for 'wet-a**-p****' and the phrase is repeated several times throughout the three-minute song.
But this week, Military Times reports that the debate spilled over into the online military community after a TikTok video of female soldiers doing the 'WAP' dance was shared.
It also sparked discussions about what expectations female soldiers are held to while in uniform and the apparent double standards that aren't used against male service members who reportedly do similar acts on TikTok.
Shared by user Kamyrnvinson01, the video appears to show her and another female soldier dancing while 'WAP' blasts in the background.
The same dance moves were performed by several other TikTok users as the moves gained traction and went viral.
But Military Times reports that it's not simply the song's lyrics in the video that have caused anger, but the perception that the female soldiers posted a 'thirst trap,' or a provocative image shared to social media that garners attention due to the person's attractiveness.
A number of comments that disparaged the video were explicit and sexist, including several men calling for women to be barred from military service.
Others made hyperbolic statements that China, the country that created TikTok, had somehow emerged victorious.
'Women have no business serving in the military,' wrote Jesse Lee Peterson, a radio show host and pastor who once called President Trump 'The Great White Hope.'
'China will win without firing a shot,' one affronted user wrote.
A man who claimed to be a non-commissioned officer chastised the video as 'disgraceful to the uniform.'
'As a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army... we, as in the professional service men and women, do not condone this behavior,' he wrote.
'It is disgraceful to the uniform and inappropriate on all levels... but again, there are always the few that taint the image of the whole.'
A number users said while they don't have problem with the song itself, the fact that women were in uniform is 'unbecoming.'
However, several other users spoke condemned the critics for reportedly finding fault with this instance and not similar acts committed on social media by male soldiers.
'Let’s be clear here,' said Victoria Kositz, a veteran and professor of military science, according to Military Times.
'The reason this particular video is making the rounds outside of Twitter and bringing up comments on professionalism from people with oak leaves and eagles or people with stars between their chevrons and rockers is because it’s of two women.'
Another woman wrote: 'Being okay with men in uniform doing the WAP dance and having a huge issue with women doing the same dance just goes to show you how sexist the military is.
'I am so tired of seeing those two military girls doing the “WAP” dance on my TL being bashed,' one person wrote.
'Do you even know how many MILITARY MEN I see on tiktok DAILY, dancing inappropriately, grinding on f****** walls, floors, showing themselves shirtless etc, just say y’all hate women & go.'
One woman shared a TikTok video appearing to show a male soldier making a 'thirst trap.'
'If you're going to comment on the unprofessionalism of those two females, but you don't call this out as being unprofessional in uniform, then you're actually just shaming women,' she wrote.
A handful of people questioned how others can be outraged over the TikTok video amid a number of dead soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas and sexual assault of female soldiers.
'There have been 7 soldiers found dead in Texas. There are men in the military raping and murdering their coworkers. But the WAP dance is the problem?' one person wrote.
Another said: 'STOP talking about military women dancing to WAP and START talking about the women getting sexually assaulted and their command not doing anything about it.'
The video was made private on Kamyrnvinson01's account, but joins several military-themed TikTok videos that covered everything from 'milspouse' difficulties and toxic chains of command, Military Times reports.
While the Trump administration has made an aggressive play to ban the social media app from the United States for national security reasons, membership in the country has increased.
The Pentagon barred service members from using TikTok in 2019, deeming it a cyber threat, before the Army and Navy both banned use among ranks.
However, a survey from Sandboxx, which connects service members and their supporters, found that nearly 50 per cent of the 436 people surveyed still used TikTok.
'42 percent of respondents say they use TikTok at least once a month, with a quarter (24 percent) saying they use it daily,' Sandboxx told Military Times.
'This is despite many branches banning the app’s use on government devices and warning against its use on personal devices.'
But military members would forgo the app if their superiors specifically asked they delete TikTok, according to Shane McCarthy, Sandboxx chief marketing officer.
'The data clearly shows that no matter how our military members feel about TikTok or its use by civilians, they plan to follow the order of their command,' said McCarthy.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
