Beyoncé Rebuttal: God save the Queen
Oh no she didn’t!
Dear G. Alden,
After reading your piece on Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, I have come to conclude that you are severely misguided in your understanding of both Beyoncé’s work and feminism. I would even go as far to say that you feel… threatened, intimidated, or shocked that a woman is capable of being confident, strong, sexy, and successful, all on her own accord.
Yes, Beyoncé has become an icon for feminism. She has an extremely successful career, which she has worked very hard for, and happens to be a very smart businesswoman who dictates her own image. The entire music industry is about what sells—unlike many other musicians, Beyoncé is not being told how to sell herself. She is self-managed, and is in charge of how she is perceived. Should she not be applauded for this stance of independence? Furthermore, if you had done your research, you would know that her stage persona (Sasha Fierce, or more recently, Yoncé) is a character different from who she is in her personal life. She knows how to play the game, and some might even say she is above it. To clarify, she pays someone to film her so that at the end of each day, she can watch the videos for self-improvement, because she knows she can always do better. That, my dear, is admirable work ethic.
In regards to your discussion of “what is fundamentally wrong with Beyoncé’s image”, you are sorely mistaken in your belief that Beyoncé “views modesty as the male defined version of femininity”. Her specific statement, which you quoted, was that “money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what’s sexy. And men define what’s feminine. It’s ridiculous.” You make a connection that doesn’t exist, and have failed to consider the fact that Bey might find her GQ cover feminine and even empowering. If you need a photo of Bey being “modest”, here are a couple for you:
I see no problem with Beyoncé using her fame and image to empower women and bring attention to the fact that gender equality is a myth. By maintaining an extremely successful career, all the while having a family and happy marriage with another power-player (Hov), she is going against the misogynist belief that women are not as capable as men, that women who are married and have children should stay home. The same goes for all those criticizing her usage of ‘Mrs. Carter’. Feminism is about choice: if a woman chooses to take her husband’s name, or if she ultimately decides to be a stay-at-home mom, she is a liberated woman. (In reality, Jay-Z and Beyoncé have both taken each other’s surnames – marriage equality!) If Beyoncé wants to use her sexuality and dance around on stage in a leather thong next to her husband, so be it. It is her choice to do so. (I’m sorry, were you trying to slut-shame Queen Bey?)
Beyoncé is iconic because she is unafraid to be an independent woman who expresses herself as she pleases. What you have done is criticize another woman’s expression of empowerment. Just as you have your own idea of female empowerment, Beyoncé has hers. The next time you criticize Beyoncé, I suggest you do a bit more research. With the exception of an inappropriate reference to Tina Turner’s domestic violence case in her song “Drunk In Love”, I have no qualms with Beyoncé as a feminist icon. Let me end with an excerpt from Chimamanda Ngozi’s TED talk, which was sampled in Beyoncé’s song “***Flawless”:
“We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.”
Images courtesy of iam.beyonce.com and the Huffington Post