#QueenBey #BeyonceFeminism #BlackFeminism #WomenEmpowerment #SexualFreedomForWomen #Intersectionality #ThirdWaveFeminism #MalcolmX #TerminateDoubleStandards #SexualLiberation
Beyonce is an iconic symbol of female empowerment today, especially for African American women. She has broken music records with her astonishing voice and has changed perspectives on feminist black history with her music. One of the reasons Beyonce is a feminist is because she promotes sexual liberation and control for women and not just men. For example, Beyonce's songs “Drunk in Love”, “Blow”, “Partition”, and “Rocket” view sexuality within a feminist perspective. It is acceptable n society for men to be sexualized, such as men taking their shirts off and showing their abs in the media. Men are also allowed to brag about how many sexual partners they have had and get praised for high numbers. However, the double standard is extremely prevalent for women because when women dress in a sexy way or have multiple sexual partners, they are not praised. Women are called sluts and whores even though men do the same thing and get a positive reaction. Women cannot even discuss sexual acts or express their desire for sex because it is unladylike and inappropriate. However, guys can discuss sexual topics all the time without being criticized.
Beyonce breaks the double standard for women by being open and honest about her sexual acts, needs, and wants in her music. For example, the songs “Partition,” “Rocket,” “Drunk in Love,” and “Blow” talk about sexual acts openly and proudly. “Blow” is very obviously talking about oral sex and “Drunk in Love” expresses women's confidence in their sexuality. Beyonce encourages women to be empowered by their sexuality and promotes owning one's sexuality as a woman. Next, the song “Partition” ends with a french quote that states, “men think that feminists hate sex, but it’s a very stimulating and natural activity that women love.” Beyonce makes it very clear that women are allowed to want pleasure for themselves and not just for their man.
Beyonce also highlights the feminist issues of unrealistic and unattainable beauty standards within society and empowerment for women. The song, "Pretty Hurts," discusses society's obsession with being flawless in body size and physical appearance. The song emphasizes how society says that intelligence means nothing and beauty defines women's worth. However, Beyonce also explores self-empowerment in her songs “Flawless” and “Grown Woman.” “Flawless” includes a snippet of the Ted Talk talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in one of its verses and “Grown Woman” speaks of self-liberation. They both express how women have lots of power through their sexuality and how women deserve sexual liberation.
Beyonce has also emphasized the third wave feminist inclusion of black women in the feminist movement within her album, Lemonade. During the start of the feminist movement in the 1960s, black women were not accepted and people were racist against them. First wave feminism only included the united front of white women, which is not feminism at all. Feminism is equality for all women and includes intersectionality. There became a need for black women to have their own feministic movement. Black feminism is a combination of third wave feminism and pride in black heritage. Black feminism represents ownership in one’s body, equality sexually, socially, and economically and having pride in black culture. Beyonce's album, Lemonade, is her sixth album and second visual album. The visual album is a sixty-minute-long celebration of black women celebrating black feminism. Beyonce's song, "Sorry,” shows black women in tribal clothing and Beyoncé sitting on a throne with Serena Williams next to her. These two women represent powerful, successful, black women who have made history and how other black women can be successful too despite their race.
Beyonce's song, “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” represents the anger and hurt a woman feels when she is cheated on. This song also shows the power and unpredictability of a woman who has been disrespected. In this song, Beyonce refers to Malcolm X stating that she has the power over her man as Malcolm had power over the masses .Beyonce says, “The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” Beyonce is stating that even when feminism existed, black women were not included and even today, black women still face prejudice and discrimination for their ethnicity. We should all be uniting as women to accomplish equality instead of dividing up into smaller groups to create conflict.
Whether Beyonce discusses feminism in general or black feminism, she does it in such a tasteful and artistic way that it truly changes people's perspectives. Her use of visual albums is incredibly inspiring as videos truly have the power to move people. I believe Beyonce does a great job of combining the past with the present within the fight for black feminism. She does it in a way that makes it seem so clear that equal rights and the termination of double standards is the obvious choice in society. She reminds everyone that feminism means the equality of all women, despite one's race or ethnicity, and women need to unite together to succeed in this fight.
-Marisa Ward
Jackson, D. (2016, November 03). Beyoncé, BEYONCÉ, Lemonade: Symbols of Black Feminism. Medium, Retrieved from https://medium.com/@Destinee_Jackson/beyoncé-beyoncé-lemonade-symbols-of-black-feminism-a4dc4b4d97eb
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