Above is a song, off of Beyonce’s new self-titled album, called “Flawless”. The song is about female empowerment, and includes an excerpt of a Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (a fabulous author and feminist who wrote the beautiful book “Purple Hibiscus”). Critics argue that Beyonce sexualizes herself too much to be considered a feminist. I personally disagree with that statement, and think empowerment shouldn’t come through sacrificing or minimizing the sexual prowess and beauty of women, but rather by showcasing that that is merely one aspect of a woman, and not the defining one. Bellow are some choice lyrics from the song. If you get the chance, take a listen to the song and let me know what you think!
“I know when you were little girls
You dreamt of being in my world…
I took some time to live my life
But don’t think I’m just his little wife
Don’t get it twisted…”
The following is in the song but originally from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk:
“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 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 for 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…”
The second part “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller
We say to girls: “You can have ambition, but not too much…I am expected to aspire to marriage” is literally my life. My parents always say that we expect you to be married by 24 the latest like my mother did, and they cannot understand that I want to finish school, get a job,a nd make something of myself before I even think of committing to cooking and cleaning for the family. Except according to my mom, a woman not married has accomplished nothing…
Christina, it’s apparent that your mother has a very traditional mindset, much like those of a few of my relatives. The entire concept of marriage being the biggest accomplishment in a woman’s life has been engrained into the minds of women in all of time, and still is to this day. The mindset of inequality between the two sexes is becoming less common in the newer generation, however, as women today are rising in the workplace.
We are gaining equality in this respect slowly but surely, but the double standard that exists will take much more time to be eradicated. A man who juggles women is considered a “player” and is praised by his peers whereas a women with many different male partners is called a “slut” and is looked down upon. Women are taught to be ashamed of our bodies and sexuality while the exact opposite is expected of males, whose main goal is to have as many partners as possible. Of course, this is a generalization, but it is undeniably the view of our current society and will unfortunately continue to be for who knows how long.
I actually love the song and it’s interesting because I remember when the uncompleted song first came out several months, and it was only that first portion “bow down b*tches” and everyone was criticizing Beyonce because it sounded so abrasive and condescending for her to tell everyone to bow down to her. However, after the completed version Flawless came out, everyone loved it because it was juxtaposed with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech and it really gave the “Bow down” section a deeper meaning. It’s not about just telling people to bow down, but to take command of the more confident part of yourself. I just think it’s fascinating how you wouldn’t expect “bow down” to be a feminist anthem and it sounds so different when it’s put into context, and this could go back to what Bernstein said about “music has no meaning.” I think it’s easy to misconstrue the intent without hearing the speech and the section that comes afterwards. It’s so creative of her to integrate different excerpts and clips to give her songs a whole other meaning.