What Beyoncé Says About Feminism: Beyoncé vs. Lemonade
Beyoncé has released two visually compelling albums that shook the world. Beyoncé, her first visual album, was a prelude of the artist we know today — an artist who understands the importance and impact someone of her status can have when she uses her platform to shift culture. This was more prevalent in her most recent solo album, Lemonade, as she introduced us to a more social justice-oriented and politically active side of Beyoncé. Although, there is one thing both albums have in common — feminism. In an interview with Elle Magazine, the songstress explained what being a feminist is to her — “It’s someone who believes in equal rights for men and women. I don’t understand the negative connotation of the word, or why it should exclude the opposite sex… When we talk about equal rights, there are issues that women face disproportionately… If you believe in equal rights, the same way society allows a man to express his darkness, to express his pain, to express his sexuality, to express his opinion — I feel that women have the same rights.”
In her self-titled album, Beyoncé embodied modern feminism making women feel independent and confident in who they are. First, in the opening song, Pretty Hurts, the singer encourages women to not allow society to set beauty standards and to feel comfortable in their own skin.
“Pretty hurts
Shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
…It’s the soul that needs surgery”
Second, in both Blow and Partition, Beyoncé boldly expressed her sexuality, making women feel confident about having sex just as much as men. For example, Partition included a line from the French movie The Big Lebowski stating (translated in English):
“Do you like sex? Sex, I mean the physical activity, coitus, do you like it? You’re not interested in sex? Men think that feminists hate sex, but it’s a very stimulating and natural activity that women love.”
Flawless, probably the most leading song on the album featured lines from Nigerian writer and feminist Chimamanda Adichie. The author did a Ted Talk on feminism stating:
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller
We say to girls: “You can have ambition, but not too much
You should aim to be successful, but not too successful
Otherwise, you will threaten the man.”
In Adichie’s book We Should All Be Feminist, she explained that feminism was a word that is limited by stereotypes that shape our thinking.
In Lemonade, Beyonce is showing her strength as a woman by showing her vulnerability, playing both the helpless heartbroken woman, but also the empowered heartbroken woman. By doing so, she demonstrated the range of feelings that any woman feels about a betrayal, but also refuses to box herself into feeling how women are “supposed” to feel after getting heart broken. In songs such as Hold Up you see the singer show more aggression and violence toward the infidelity of her husband Jay Z. In Sorry, the singer says in the hook
“Middle fingers up, put them hands high
Wave it in his face, tell him, boy, bye
Tell him, boy, bye, boy, bye
Middle fingers up, I ain’t thinking ‘bout you”
Women feel so empowered saying this line by simply telling men to move along and…
In songs such as Pray You Catch Me, Beyoncé is seen in an all black hoodie, fully covered hinting at feelings of sadness and loneliness. Sandcastles is the first scene with Jay Z in Lemonade, which shows them having close, intimate moments implying forgiveness and reconciliation.
All in all, Lemonade displayed deep feelings of anger, pain, denial, healing, reinvention, freedom, empowerment, and joy that many women can connect with on some level.
In both Beyoncé and Lemonade, the star gave us powerful videos filled with messages that advocated for many political issues — feminism being one. She gave a new meaning to the word allowing women to feel empowered, sexy, and confident in who they are.
