What Beyoncé is really telling us about infidelity in Lemonade
She has stripped off her celebrity status to stand among us women
I just want to have a conversation about infidelity with you all. This stems from the shock, for some, about Jay Z’s infidelity to Beyoncé and countless comments around the internet asking how he could possibly cheat on Queen B. Infidelity is a form of emotional violence that can be reciprocated on both sides of an intimate relationship. No class, race or creed can escape from it. Although I recognize that all folks experience it, I’m going to frame this conversation as infidelity specifically against women.
Why is it that infidelity has become so normalized in our society? Why is it that my own mother has asked me, “What is the point leaving a man for cheating on me when I will be going into another relationship where I will be cheated on?” This isn’t a behavior that is challenged by mainstream society. It is a behavior that women have internalized such that this form of violence isn’t one we are allowed to really be upset about. Even though we have all the right and then some to be mad.
As a member of the Beyhive, I have always been aware of the rumors of Jay Z cheating on Beyoncé. First there were the rumors about him and Rihanna, and then Rachel Roy. None of these rumors ever really surprised me. Cheating is something I unfortunately believe to be normal in most modern romantic relationships, and by sharing her own experience of infidelity in her album, Beyoncé is stripping off her celebrity status and becoming a fellow woman. Her acknowledgement of the trauma through Lemonade shows the rawness of her experience. By doing this, she’s telling us that as women we are not alone. Despite infidelity, we are beautiful and we are enough.