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Tuesday 28 January 2014

Is Beyonce a Confused Feminist??

I've seen a fair amount of hand-wringing and pearl clutching over the Beyonce/Jay-Z GRAMMY's performance and how "anti-feminist" it apparently was and so I felt the need to look into it a bit more closely myself. I tend to view everything through a feminist lens and am usually the first person to declare something misogynistic but I watched the video and I've seen the photos and for me, it really was just a slick, well-rehearsed performance by two professionals who appear to also be a very loved-up couple. It seems a lot of people felt it was an uneven performance because Beyonce was dressed in fairly minimal attire while her husband was fully suited and did considerably less writhing around the stage than his missus. 


Yes, this is tiresome and by that token, nothing new. The same people were only recently applauding Ms Knowles for her strongly pro-feminist album release in December even though she wears similarly minimal clothing in the artwork and videos for that album. So it seems to be the presence of a male counterpart with the combination of her outfit that's bothering people in this scenario.
If this was the video for Blurred Lines, I would be agreeing wholeheartedly. That was a whole mess of misogyny; the lyrics, fully clothed men surrounded by women who were either naked or scantily-clad and treated as props was frankly, stomach-churning. However, for me, the crucial difference is that Beyonce is most definitely not a prop here. She's not a backing-singer, a dancer or stage-decoration for Jay-Z. She comes out singing her own song, in control. If anything, Jay-Z is providing back-up for her. It's just a very different power dynamic. How Beyonce chooses to express herself visually is surely up to her and if you think about it, this is how she always dresses on stage and in her videos and always has, since her Destiny's Child days. So is it just the fact that Jay-Z was present and chose to wear a suit that is irksome? Would you rather she had worn more or he had worn less? I'm genuinely asking, not being facetious here at all! 
To clarify, I'm not advocating the hyper-sexualisation of female pop stars by any means. I was one of the many people left disturbed by the Miley Cyrus VMA performance last year but that was purely because I felt concern for her; she seemed a bit dazed and most definitely not in control of the situation. That sounds incredibly patronising I know, but it's how I felt. I've seen countless Madonna performances with similar shock tactic outfits/dance moves but they didn't leave me feeling uncomfortable in the way Miley's did. And I certainly didn't feel that way either when I watched Beyonce yesterday.
Look, I'm not the world's number one Beyonce fan so this isn't coming from a place of blind allegiance to her but I generally have a fairly good gut-instinct when it comes to these things and "anti-feminist" really did not spring to mind when I watched the video of their performance.
I guess what I'm really wondering is, can someone only be considered a feminist if they adhere strictly to what you personally associate with the word? Or can the individual alter it to suit their own interpretation? As far as I'm aware, there are many different definitions of feminism floating around and so I feel uneasy about judging anyone's feminist credentials because of that.
I could well be completely off the mark here though, so please let me know in the comments if you disagree with my interpretation and you think there's something a bit askew here.

17 comments:

  1. Really interesting discussion post. Ultimately, (this may remind you of a campfire and a freezing night) I think it's absolutely fair and right that interpretations of 'feminism' differ. For one person it could be wearing whatever she damn well please, singing HER songs about HER life (Beyonce) for others it could mean something completely different. Feminism should be about equality and respect and as part of that respect we should all try to understand different perspectives/interpretations. We don't have to agree on them, but dictating what feminism is or uttering the words ' you can't be a feminist if....' goes against the whole point and turns feminism into something by which to judge others' actions and opinions. Really interested to see what people think!! xx

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    1. Thanks chicken. It has been interesting to hear people's opinions on this because I have to say, it stumped me a bit. As you know, I agree with you regarding how part of feminism is respecting a woman's right to choose how to live her own life, how she wants to dress etc but I guess there's always a section of feminists who feel the need to say "you're doing it wrong" if it's something they disagree with or wouldn't necessarily add to their own definition of the word. I dunno, it's strange! xx

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  2. Really good post. I'd only caught glimpses of this as I've been distracted by other stuff going on & had yet to see the footage etc. Having said that from the few comments I'd seen I had assumed it was pretty explicitly anti-feminist & am guilty of making the same judgement without seeing the actual performance. In terms of the media, little clothing is something I seem to go back and forth with. But ultimately I think it comes down to a woman choosing to portray herself one way versus it verbally or non-verbally dictated that she needs to do so in order to be successful. Sometimes it can be hard to tell I suppose & I feel so bombarded these days that I'm often left feeling unsure if what I've just seen is empowering or exploitive! Interested to her what everyone else thinks!

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    1. Thanks Orla, I know exactly what you mean, it can all be a bit much when we're constantly being fed different messages by the media about what women should and shouldn't be doing and what is and isn't feminism. I just felt the criticism of this was a bit heavy handed.

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  3. Great post, I do have a bit of a problem with how hyper sexualised Beyonce seems to want to be for her latest album but at the end of the day it's her choice even if I don't agree with it!

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    1. That's fair enough, I can't say I've noticed her becoming increasingly hyper sexualised in recent times as opposed to how she's always been but I probably haven't been paying close attention either in fairness ;)

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  4. It was the twerking and grinding her bum in front of the audience that made me feel uncomfortable. Also she kept putting one hand close to her crotch. I don't think this is Beyonce being Beyonce. I believe it's beyonce staying current in a world full of Miley's and Rhianna's. It was overly sexual and she's giving a large audience what they want. It's just really sad to me that she feels she needs to stay relevant in this way and it set's a really bad example to both children and women on how we should behave and dress to get attention. Beyonce sadly has said she is empowered by this overt sexualisation of herself.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Elizabeth. For me, I just don't see this as a huge departure for Beyonce. If you look at the video for Crazy In Love, it was much the same (and that was around 2002!). While I don't agree with the hyper sexualisation of female pop stars (as I said in the post), this isn't really anything new for her so I'm just confused as to why it's now upsetting people so much.
      As for this setting a bad example, women are bombarded from childhood with constant sexual imagery promoting female objectification; you can't walk down the street, turn on the tv or a computer or open a newspaper without being faced with that- that is far more insidious and damaging than a hugely talented woman enjoying a globally successful career, choosing to express herself sexually. If she finds that empowering then who are we to argue?!

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  5. Really well put. I think people are becoming hyper sensetive to so much and they're almost looking for reasons to pick something apart. I don't think there's any pleasing some people. But you made some excellent points :) Finally! A voice of reason! :) I love the feminism debate that's been happening online, I think you're right - there's no strict definition of the term - everyone can take it to mean whatever makes sense to them. I'm of the belief that we can all be treated equally in terms of respect and all that, but we're all intrinsically different, we can't all be the "same" ... Beyonce is an empowering female in the media spotlight. I'm not her biggest fan by any means but we do need more women like her :)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment Lisa. I think it's great that there's a few discussions going on this too, I'm loving reading all the different opinion cause it really is important for people to be thinking about these things, even if I don't agree with everything that's being said! x

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  6. Really good post, I wasn't too uncomfortable watching the performance as the song was a wuite 'sexy' song for lack of a better phrase. I really liked your point about Jay Z being the accessory to the performance, that's what I though. Maybe i'm missing out on something but to be honest, I didn't really think it was that bad. In fact, I thought it was quite sweet that he came out and joined her on stage.

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    1. That crossed my mind too Avril. I just saw a couple that are really in love tbh, not everything has to be a statement about female empowerment or feminism, it's possible this is just a moment in pop culture provided for entertainment purposes only!

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  7. What irks me about the clothes thing is that people aren't at all questioning or making the point that women often wear skimpy outfits whereas guys don't have to do that to be sexy or whatever. Like, to the people pointing out that 'Beyonce looks like she's dressed as a stripper and Jay Z's just slick in a suit', how do you want Jay Z to dress in this circumstance? If he came out topless, it would have looked ridiculous to us, because we're not as used to male nudity. Whereas it's the norm for women to be like that, to see them more as objects because they dress like that.

    From my point of view, Beyonce is performing her song the way she wants to. The thing with the word feminism is that there are so many different ways to interpret that word and how it applies to women. Some will see that dressing like this is degrading and that you shouldn't have to do it. Others will come from the point of view that a feminist is a woman who does what she's comfortable doing, wears what she's comfortable wearing. I don't think the issue is if Beyonce and what she does is feminist or not (I think it is, because as I said, she's performing and dressing the way she wants to, you know she's in complete control of the situation). She was essentially acting, she gets into character every time she performs. I think this came across at the end when herself and Jay walks off stage arm in arm, just husband and wife again, not Beyonce and Jay-Z. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with the performance, from all the fuss I thought she gave him a lap dance or something on stage!

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    1. I see your point, again, I'm not agreeing with the hyper sexualisation of women but why is it bothersome just because Jay Z was there? Is it not also an issue when she's performing on her own too? Cause she was dancing on that chair on her own for most of the performance and she dresses like that at all of her concerts/in music videos etc. This post really was in reference to people on the internet that I spotted who only last month I saw applauding Beyonce for her pro-feminist album, that are now demonising her for "going against the sisterhood" etc. This just makes no sense to me, she hasn't changed dance moves or costumes in the last month so I don't get why it's an issue just because there was a man present. But yeah serious amount of fuss over very little. Odd.

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    2. Oh ya, I agree. I also wondered if it would have been such a big issue if Jay-Z was not there. Like you said, she hasn't changed dance moves or costumes in the last month. I think some people just like to go along with popular opinion, in that when she was being congratulated for saying she was a feminist, others were applauding that but then when they start lambasting her for this performance, they quickly switch sides because they think that they should be outraged that a feminist would act this way. It's a sticky situation as there's no definition for being feminist, it's open to many interpretations. Not even with that, I don't get why people are more outraged over this when she's had many sexy routines and costumes in the past!

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  8. Having only listened to some of Beyonce's new album I can't comment on the overall thing as a feminist piece of work, although I have seen others say that it is. This article by the Policy and Communications Officer of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland certainly sings its praises - http://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/what-beyonces-new-release-tells-us-about-sexual-objectification-254323.html

    As for 'Drunk In Love', Beyonce singing about her sex life is fine by me, however, Jay-Z rapping the lyrics 'I am Ike Turner…Baby know I don’t play. Now eat the cake, Anna Mae. Said Eat the Cake, Anna Mae' while Beyonce mouths along doesn't sit so well with me.

    Was it really necessary to reference the abuse that Tina Turner suffered at Ike's hands? I know in the next line Jay-Z states he's nice and people have told me that he's subverting things by showing us what he's not and that I don't understand hip-hop. Maybe I don't, but it seems jarring to include a specific incident of someone else's domestic abuse in a song about your sex life.

    Hollie McNish wrote this article about her reaction to that line and whether the whole album should be judged as a result of it - http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/beyonce-drunk-love-jay-zs-2939249#.Uugxsyg4n-k and a UK radio station has chosen to edit the lines out - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/22/beyonce-drunk-in-love-edited-radio-station-offensive_n_4643839.html

    I've listened to the song a few times and I still can't shake the uneasy feeling when it gets to that line.

    Sorry, I kind of went off on a tangent there. The Grammy performance didn't seem all that controversial to me (my issues with certain lyrics aside). As you've said there are many different variations or branches of feminism, and the majority of 'Drunk In Love' could probably be considered as sex positive feminism, so I'm with you on not wanting judge someone else's feminist credentials. Especially if we all agree on the basic principle that women should be treated equally to men. Whatever additional thoughts/beliefs a person has after that are just that, additional thoughts and that's where feminism diversifies. Which isn't always a bad thing.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Paula, i have to admit I didn't really listen that closely to the lyrics as it's not really my type of music so I completely missed the Ike/Tina Turner reference, which I agree, is in poor taste.
      I love and agree with everything you have said in your last paragraph there..basically just all of that times a thousand!! xx

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