Beyoncé, BEYONCÉ, Lemonade: Symbols of Black Feminism
“Because I am female
I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices
Always keeping in mind that
Marriage is the most important…
But why do we teach to aspire to marriage
And we don’t teach boys the same?
We raise girls to each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men…”
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are…”- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The lights go out. The tune of “Partition” fades out. Then words flash in white on the black screen in rhythm with the poem until the word Feminist is reached- flashing in all caps. Beyoncé appears in front of the flashing Feminist sign. The words disappear and the poem concludes. The beat for “Flawless” drops.
On December 13, 2013, Beyoncé dropped her album-BEYONCE. The self — titled album was a first of its kind in different aspects. The album dropped without promotion; With each of the fourteen songs came a music video, plus an additional video with no audio. The album’s themes touched on relationship issues and monogamy while also delving into feminist themes. Indirectly, Blue Ivy Carter is responsible for the content and themes on BEYONCE unbeknownst to her. Beyoncé began recording the album after the birth of her daughter.
Giving birth had a liberating effect, and Beyoncé felt more confident and empowered sexually. The outcome is the album that revels in female sexuality and owning that sexuality in mainstream music as opposed to women being objectified as per usual.While most of Beyoncé’s discography is sexually charged and love related, BEYONCE explored and took control of sexuality. Songs such as “Drunk in Love”, “Blow”, “Partition”, and “Rocket” took sexuality from a feminist stand point; Socially, its normal for boys and men to be seen as sexual beings. Boys are allowed to boast about their sexual conquests; it is acceptable for them to have had more than one sexual partner, whereas girls are considered impure or tainted if they have the same or more sexual partners than their male counter parts. It is even easier for males as a whole to discuss sexual acts in public whereas girls are expected to be “a lady in the streets, and freak in the sheets”.
Most of the album specifically “Partition,” “Rocket,” “Drunk in Love,” and “Blow” talk about sexual acts openly and proudly. With “Blow” being in your face and frank about oral sex; “Rocket” whose sexual tones gave off D’Angelo “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” vibes and “Drunk in Love” showcasing confidence in sexuality, this collection of songs speaks explicitly and metaphorically about sex being the epitome of one of the themes of third wave feminism where sexual acts and owning their sexuality is empowering. “Partition” tops off this idea by ending with a quote in French, stating that, “Men think that feminists hate sex, but it’s a very stimulating and natural activity that women love.” The album continues with the themes of third wave feminism by shining a light on societal unrealistic beauty standards in “Pretty Hurts.” It showed our culture’s obsession with body image and physical perfection while simultaneously exploring self-empowerment that is later picked up by “Flawless” and “Grown Woman.” “Flawless” includes a snippet of the essay turned TEDx talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in one of its verses and “Grown Woman” speaks of self-liberation. They both touch on how much power women have through their sexuality. Beyoncé uses sexuality as a liberating tool.
Indirectly, Blue Ivy Carter is responsible for the content and themes on BEYONCE unbeknownst to her. Beyoncé began recording the album after the birth of her daughter. Giving birth had a liberating effect, and Beyoncé felt more confident and empowered sexually. The outcome is the album that revels in female sexuality and owning that sexuality in mainstream music as opposed to women being objectified as per usual.
Historically females have been and continue to be treated lesser. Historically black people have been and continue to be treated lesser. Both groups see major prejudices and double standards. When those two criteria are combined, it appears as if black women receive the short end of two sticks. During the birth of the feminist movement which reached popularity in the 1960s, black women were not accepted on the basis of racism. The solidarity meant for white women only. Black women were not liberated in groups like that of the Black Panthers or SNCC. Black women experienced sexism from prominent misogynistic or chauvinistic figureheads within their own Civil Right Movement. There became a need for Black women to have their own feministic movement. Present day there is still a need to “protect Black women and girls from the constant waves of oppression, discrimination, and prevalence of destructive images of Black womanhood.” Black feminism is a combination of third wave feminism and pride in blackness; it represents ownership in one’s body, equality sexually, socially, and economically while simultaneously being prideful and representing black culture. The pride of black heritage as well as the endorsement of how much power women, specifically black women, have is blatantly seen and felt in Beyoncé’s most recent album Lemonade.
“Wait a minute…wait a minute… wait a minute…” Bruno Mars’s “Uptown funk” Fades into the background and an all-female percussion line appears and begins their performance — playing the instrumental to Beyoncé’s “Formation” — while revealing the songstress and her female backup dancers. “Okay ladies now let’s get in formation.”
Three months following the performance an HBO special titled Lemonade aired. The TV special was her sixth album and second visual album. The visual album is a sixty-minute-long celebration of black culture; it is sixty minutes of black women celebrating themselves. “Sorry” shows black women in tribal clothing, tribal paint, and tribal hairstyles. It features Beyoncé sitting on a throne with Serena Williams next to her; representing the two very powerful, influential, and accomplished black women and the solidarity between them. The song itself, represents women no longer putting up with infidelity. “Hold Up” follows the same format. Beyoncé references Yoruba which is prevalent in Afro-Caribbean cultures; the goddess represents love, fertility, and sexuality.
“Freedom” goes on a different path entirely. The visual and the song itself has strong connotations and emphasis on slavery, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter Movement. The mothers of Trayvon Martin (Sybrina Fulton), Michael Brown (Lesley McFadden), and Eric Garner (Gwen Carr) are all featured in the video holding pictures of their now deceased sons; Freedom has a slew of young black female stars showing solidarity with the black community and the movement and representation for black women.
“Formation” makes another political stand against policy brutality explicitly by showing Beyoncé standing on a patrol car almost completely submerged in flood waters. “Formation” is the first single from Lemonade, it set the stage for the theme of black feminism boldly. Once again for the culture Beyoncé represents black pride with her all black backup dancers most of which are shown with their natural hair; the video references Hurricane Katrina and Louisiana-Creole culture from the antebellum period with its clothing to present day with her use of Big Freedia — a transgender New Orleans artist.
“Don’t Hurt Yourself” is blunt and aggressive with its delivery; It represents the backlash and anger of infidelity, showing the power of a woman scorned. In the midst of her bouts of rage, she refers to Malcolm X stating that she has the power over her man as Malcolm had power over the masses, and the statement “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.” By Malcolm X is included as a reminder of the still present day necessity of black feminism.
The entirety of the album has a dual purpose to own your blackness confidently as a black individual and to own your femininity as a woman. The same themes of owning your sexuality that was prevalent in BEYONCE is still relevant and at the forefront in this album. With the use of a transgender icon in Big Freedia, it an anthem for owning your gender as well. With the use of an entirely black female cast (sans Jay-Z) throughout all the videos, it is representative of black feminism. The album provides a space for all black women — trans-gendered included — to be empowered, in a time where there is a lack of representation in pop culture. The first single, “Formation”, because of how raw it is and how it encompasses gender, sexuality and blackness, ruffled feathers within white America, and the rest of the album followed suit. It seems that white America is still not comfortable with prideful black Americans, more specifically prideful black women.
“Prove to me you’ve got some coordination.” Beyonce and her backup dancers appear in all black leather leotards; Beyonce performs the chorus acapella in sync with her choreography. “You might just be a black Bill Gates in the making” She finishes the line, the beat drops, fire erupts, and she shoots the universal black power fist into the air.
