By Neslihan
I think there are a few women in the urban scene who can wear a hootchy thong and still work it. One of them is Beyonce. I just love the aesthetics she puts forward in each album. Each album characterizes her alter ego but the main theme is her being a strong, independent woman who hustles her way through the music scene. Yet when I saw the videoclip of 'Partition' -and I'm hella open-minded- I kind of blocked. There was a lot of nudity in it and I just didn't really get how this all was supporting the song. The song is about B being comfortable with her sexuality and loving every aspect of sex. And she aint afraid to tell it, nor is she afraid to show it.
The song tackles second-wave feminism, that kind of was all about feminists striving for a debate about sexuality, reproductive rights, professional life etc. But at the same time those feminists thought that you had to put aside your femininity to get all of this done. They thought that banning stilettos, make-up and sensuality would make people take them more seriously. So at the end they ended up fighting for the women they kind of looked down upon because those women were to feminine. Beyonce could be seen as lipstick feminist, which is a part of third-wave feminism, the counter-part of second-wave feminism. This wave is all about being a feminist but being also in peace with your sexualitiy. B shows us that it's okay to love sex and to openly discuss it. It's okay to be comfortable with your nudity. In short she wants us to know that she's confident about her sensuality and that that is not a reason to think she's less capable in life in general but in a gender point of view more specific.
What really got me was, how classy she actually looks while she's singing about
grinding on Jay's wood . She must have thought: if he can sing about this, then so can I! And she's totally right but the longer I thought about her live performances with Jay when singing 'Drunk in Love' the more I came to the conclusion that she's justifying the same sexuality, she's fighting for, through marriage. She's like: "I can be a sexual being because I'm doing it with my husband." It feels as if this is the only way women can explore and expose their sexuality. She's legitimizing her behaviour but also looking down upon women who aren't married or in a 'serious relationship'. (I truly hate this term because who decides what's serious?) And she does the same thing in 'Partition', she's being a hardcore lipstick feminist but again Jay-Z is in the video to justify the fact that she knows what she wants in a sexual kind of way.
Like I said before Beyonce is a confident lady, who can take care of her own shit. But being a feminist, I can't help but doubt her feminism. Feminism is not about hating men and being solitary and ending up celibate, I know that, but when Miss Knowles -or should I say Carter- sings about getting dressed and ready to dance, it sounds like she's doing that to please the other sex. I know every woman wants to feel desired and sexy but I don't dress up for him. I dress up for me. And I think Beyonce really accentuates the fact that she does it all for him. And that is not what lipstick feminism is about.
I also want to talk about her early take on feminism during the Destiny's Child period. Back in the time it was so empowering to see three young girls looking sexy yet standing strong on their ideals. As they were young and human, the consistency in their preaching is not always there. In one song they'd go on about needing a fella to pay their bills, while in another one they'd be all about power and independence. We'd shift from being dependent on a rich guy to being fiece and self-sufficient. Those were funny times.
I do think Beyonce has feminist views but I wouldn't consider her a feminist. She's powerful and empowering yet very conservative in some way. I'm not saying she should all be man-repellent but I think it's about finding a balance between being man-repellent and pleasing him. And that's not easy to do since these are two extremities. I think 21st century feminism is not about burning your bra and wearing shapeless male clothing but we still do need feminism. We need it in the media, in the workplace, in the bedroom and in politics. So, I wouldn't say feminism is dead. It's alive but it fights for different things in the Western world.
Sources:
