Let’s get to the ROOT of the teeth references in Beyonce: Lit and Lemonade

Throughout this course, there have been common occurrences of teeth in various texts. Whether teeth have been mentioned in poetry or discussed as a form of identification of corpses, this recurring theme has caught my attention during the semester. I learned in an anatomy course that the teeth are the most durable body part after an individual dies; because of this, teeth played a major role in slavery and identification of slaves. Teeth were also mentioned a few times during Lemonade; the reason for this remained unclear to me. I wanted to discover what teeth may symbolize in art forms such as literature and music to gain insight into why Beyonce focused on them and how all of these uses might tie together.

Teeth were most commonly discussed in this class when referencing slavery. In Lonely in America by Wendy Walters, an old burial site for slaves in Portsmouth was dug up and the corpses were inspected; one of the most discussed features of the bodies was the teeth. Many of the corpses had shaved incisors, a common West African tradition. It seems that their teeth were one of the only identifiers for slaves, dead or alive. We see this concept come up again in Beloved by Toni Morrison. Chapter 22, also known as “Beloved’s chapter” involves Beloved reflecting on memories of hers; she describes being surrounded by dead bodies and at one point mentions that men were separated from women. Although never confirmed, I interpreted this chapter as describing the middle passage of the slave trade.

As discussed in Lonely in America, many slave remains are still being discovered today; inspecting teeth can provide considerable information about the individuals. Tooth mutilation (shaving, breaking, extracting, or filing of teeth) is a ritual practice in many Sub-Saharan countries. In 1991, a major slave cemetery was discovered in New York City; the remains were studied to determine the birhplace of individuals (New World vs Old World). Old World encompasses all African-born slaves versus New World which includes slaves from the Caribbean and Florida. The only major difference between New World and Old World slaves is the condition of their teeth (ie if they had been mutilated or not). It was found tooth mutilation was not practiced in slave societies in the Caribbean or North America. Although teeth alone cannot completely identify someone, they can yield information as to where the person is from, and how old they may have been when they died.1

Teeth are commonly used in literature and art as well; they most frequently symbolize something with roots. In this case, that could be family, history, birthplace, etc. For example, in White Teeth, a novel by Zadie Smith, the protagonist personifies her cultural roots and past as her teeth. Throughout this piece, she “loses” her teeth, symbolizing the shedding of her past.2

Learning more about the significance of teeth in the post-slavery world has answered some of my questions as to why they came up throughout various texts of ours. However, it seems like teeth still come up often in music that is not necessarily tied to slavery and/or history. Although Lemonade contains various historical references, it is also filled with spiritual and emotional allusions. Similarly to White Teeth, in Lemonade, we learn about Beyonce’s relationship with Jay-Z, and how she works through being cheated on. Their relationship has deep roots and baggage which could be why teeth are brought up. On a spiritual level, teeth are often found to be representative of some kind of suppressed emotional energy that needs to be released.3 This can be tied to many of the media forms discussed so far. The main mention of teeth in Lemonade is in Anger, when she states “If it’s what you truly want … I can wear her skin over mine. Her hair over mine. Her hands as gloves. Her teeth as confetti.” We can assume that Beyonce has been suppressing her emotions prior to Lemonade; she is now finally expressing those suppressed emotions. Similarly, In Beloved, Beloved (and all of the other characters) experience great emotional suppression as well.

Other art forms have similar references to teeth. Most commonly is pop artist, Lorde. Lorde has directly mentioned teeth in lyrics of 4 songs: Green Light, 400 Lux, Team, and White Teeth Teens. Lyrics in these songs are:

Green Light: “All those rumors, they have big teeth / hope they bite you”

Team: “A hundred jewels on throats / a hundred jewels beneath teeth”

400 Lux: “dreams of clean teeth”

White Teeth Teens: “I’m not a white-teeth teen / I tried to join but never did”

While these lyrics all may seem somewhat random, Team, 400 Lux, and White Teeth Teens all reference some sort of luxury and materialism. Lorde insinuates that having clean/white teeth is a luxury and she emphasizes an extravagant lifestyle in these songs. It is thought that Lorde does this to increase awareness for the privileges in today’s society; although this is common in the art industry, including teeth in these references is an interesting way to go about it.4 Contrastingly, Green Light’s use of teeth in the lyrics seem to be completely different. These lyrics relate more to those in Lemonade. Green light is about heartbreak and moving on, so these teeth lyrics may be tied more to spiritual and historical meanings of teeth– emotional suppression and roots connected to something.

Although I was hoping to find ways to connect the many teeth references throughout our class, many of them either are random, or have different meanings. The most common interpretations for teeth in our pieces were the historical context and spiritual context of teeth. In other art forms, such as lyrics by Lorde, the use of tooth references could be random or dependent on the artist/writer. While I was unable to connect all of these uses of teeth, my additional research at least provided some explanation for why they were included in many pieces.

References

1: Handler J. 1994. Determining African Birth from Skeletal Remains: A Note on Tooth Mutilation. Historical Archeology; 28(3): 113–119. From https://www.jstor.org/stable/25616321.

2: Marchbanks M. n.d. The Tooth’s Position in Art and Literature. Mark C. Marchbanks Family

Dentistry. From https://arlingtontexasdentist.net/tooths-position-within-modern-art-literature/.

3: Raina M. 2020. The Spiritual Meaning of Teeth. Raina Dental Care. From https://www.rainadentalcare.com/spiritual-meaning-of-teeth/.

4: Tensley B. 2017. Lorde is Talking Teeth — And Status. Pacific Standard. From https://psmag.com/news/lorde-is-talking-teeth-and-status.