Beyonce is no stranger to creating controversy. But she is unlike any other controversial face we are constantly bombarded with in our media, with their controversial actions and camera-friendly love lives. Beyonce has become a voice speaking out above the noise of shallowness and fame. This has been thrown into a particularly clear focus recently, however. First, when she shocked the world with the surprise release of her self-titled 5th album, with songs like “Flawless” featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s social commentary about women and feminism, and then with a brand new musical event she released on April 23rd which had a lot more to say than the media is sharing; more specifically, more than feminism as a whole is paying attention to.
What is Lemonade?
Lemonade, an hour long HBO special, is nothing short of a visual masterpiece, seamlessly transporting us into a piece of art that feels more like a feature length film, with a Beyonce soundtrack, than anything else. More than 700,000 people in the U.S. tuned in live for its release, an impressive feat in a world reliant on streaming services for their entertainment. Lemonade, as described by Tidal, the streaming service owned by Beyonce’s husband, Jay-Z, is “every woman’s journey of self knowledge and healing” but in reality, it’s so much more.
Beyonce Stops the World... Again
Mass media has not been afraid to dissect this release. But unfortunately, in the tabloid-centric world we live in, what has become the overarching theme and cultural impact of Lemonade has been rumors of infidelity in the marriage of Beyonce and Jay-Z. The fact that this is what people have pulled from a visual and musical statement about feminism and the power of black women, or in truth the lack of power, is an insult to women everywhere.
The black community is largely celebrating this release and they have every reason to. It serves as a stunning display of black women who have been unapologetically themselves in the media and a visual metaphor of them gaining strength from each other in Lemonade. It is truly a ground-breaking social commentary in the growing awareness of racism, alive and well, in the United States.
The Feminist Reaction
Where Lemonade and Beyonce herself is not finding support is in the community that should be celebrating it the most: women and feminism. But in truth, feminism is almost ignoring or reacting poorly to what some would call a wake-up call that Beyonce has released. But this isn’t the first time Beyonce has been disregarded as a feminist, by mainstream feminism in recent years.
Feminism as popularized by celebrities like Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift and other tabloid regulars have made feminism into something less accessible for those in a low socioeconomic position, due to race or class. This mainstream feminism seems to have very little room for the type of feminism Beyonce has brought to light. Despite women-centric lyrics and music, uncountable hours and money put into charity work for women groups, and even a seemingly ground-breaking decision for both Beyonce and Jay-Z to both legally change their names to Knowles-Carter upon marriage, Beyonce can’t seem to catch a break from feminist critique.
Beyonce's Response
Beyonce has refused to bend to their standards of feminism and womanhood. She has unapologetically allowed herself to be a sexual woman, Beyonce does not “unpretty” herself for the sake of the feminist cause, she does not shy away from using Mrs. Carter as a name for herself, and doesn’t play down the effect of being a wife and mother in her life. On paper, these all seem like no brainers, of course Beyonce is a feminist leader of the generation! Why would anyone doubt that? The answer comes down to the fact that Beyonce’s feminism, as with many other women of different races and life circumstances is that it doesn’t always look like the mainstream feminism and is therefore bad. Feminism doesn’t look like an episode of Girls, it is not based out of privilege and nepotism and isn’t always easy to swallow. But both visions of feminism are valid and important and should be treated with the same level of respect and acceptance by other women.
So what has been Beyonce’s answer? Let’s put black women at the center of what I do and see what happens. Melissa Harris Perry wrote an article for Elle on the subject and said it best, “What would happen if we took the hopes, dreams, pain, joy, loss, bodies, voices, stories, expressions, styles, families, histories, futures of black girls and women and put them in the center and started from there?” That’s exactly what Lemonade did.
The story plays out as a journey, and by the end, Beyonce is leading a group of women who have also fallen victim to feminist wrath by not playing into what modern feminism is asking of them. Beyonce leads Amanda Stenberg, Zendaya, Quvenzhane Wallis, Winnie Harlow, Michaela DePrince, and, the mothers of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner in what any viewer is sure to identify as an uprising. The true statement of Lemonade is just that: if the modern movement of feminism won’t accept strong leaders into their midst with open arms, these strong women will remain who they are and lead a new generation into true equality and true feminism.
What Does this Mean for Feminism?
What has been proven by Beyonce with this incredible feature is simple: Beyonce doesn’t need feminism but feminism needs both Beyonce and socioeconomic diversity as a whole. At the end of the day, equality for women, the very core of what feminism is meant to achieve, cannot be reached if we are silencing the voices of women by the masses strictly because they don’t fit into the particular mold our society has decided they should. We need to take our standards for what a feminist is and decide if what we are holding women to is any different the the standards society as a whole are trying to hold us to and grow as a movement. If feminists can’t do that, if feminists can’t stand for all women, even women they can’t culturally understand, what’s the point of what we are doing?
