Beyoncé is a feminist.
At least, I’d like to think so. It’s not confirmed, but here’s hoping. And judging by her most recent album and the topics of the songs, I’d put money on the fact that Beyoncé is trying to tell women something—or maybe a few things. Give the album a listen and let me know.
In “Flawless”, my personal favorite track, Beyoncé creates a powerful ode to feminism and emphasizes the idea that girls can aspire to so much more than merely being someone’s wife. Beyoncé features acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk on feminism within the song. Adichie speaks of female empowerment through women’s ability to be comfortable with their sexuality:
“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.’ 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. Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors, not for jobs or 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. Feminist- a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” (Source)
In the music video for this song, Adichie speaks of the ideal woman who is comfortable with her sexuality, and it is paired with images of Beyoncé dancing in what many describe as being a provocative manner.
I, on the other hand, would like to claim that the juxtaposition of these two components of the song can only be thought of as EVOCATIVE: evocative of a woman whose words match her actions, who is going to dance however the hell she wants, with or without a man watching her or by her side. Beyoncé shows that she doesn’t care what anyone thinks—and women today shouldn’t either. Queen Bey is essentially asking, “Why does my sexuality disappear as soon as I am married, as soon as I have a child?”
“When I was just a little girl, you dreamt of being in my world, don’t get it twisted, get it twisted, bow down b**ches.”
Women can and should have dreams. Those dreams should not merely be to find a husband, but rather pursue their passions and interests. Furthermore, a woman should be allowed to voice her opinion and speak up in the face of adversity without being labeled a shrew, or a b**ch, or any number of horrible, awful things. Women have minds and voices and should never be afraid to use them.
“I woke up like this. I woke like this. We flawless.”
I think the beauty of Beyoncé’s proclamation is that she speaks of feminism while simultaneously reminding women the power that comes with being a woman. Women of today get stuck on the outdated idea of a feminist as some dowdy smart-mouth from the 70s, who doesn’t let guys open doors for her, and who believes that they “need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Beyoncé, on the other hand, flaunts her sexuality and accepts it. Women shouldn’t want to be men—they should want to be themselves whomever that may be. It doesn’t matter! Because it is only after we accept who we are that others will accept us as well. You have to be comfortable with who you are when you wake up in the morning. Every women needs to understand her value and wake up in the morning thinking of herself as “flawless” (And if you’re like me, who wears retainers and glasses, waking up flawless is tough…at least let me put contacts in!).
Beyoncé loves men. I love men. But should modern feminism mean that we should want to be men, or worse, put men down? Definitely not. We as women must lift ourselves, and each other, up first. Because when female empowerment is achieved, when it becomes the social norm, when we change as a culture: that is when the glass ceiling will be shattered.
“Saying I… look so good tonight.” –Queen B
Yes, you do. Accept it. Embrace it. Flaunt it.
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