Beyoncé’s Soulful Feminism
I happened to like Beyoncé’s halftime show at the Superbowl.
But I also happen to like Beyoncé.
Perhaps it’s because Beyoncé, whether she means to or not, promotes a pro-family version of feminism.
She more or less said in an interview that her husband, Jay-Z, is the only man that she has ever slept with. In that same interview, she describes herself as a feminist, and says that relationships with strong women helped keep her from falling into “unhealthy relationships,” a polite way of saying lots of hooking up and sex.
She is of the rare celebrity breed that a) still gets married, and b) actually waits to have babies until married.
Even outside of the Hollywood bubble that is still a pretty big accomplishment these days, when the number of babies born out of wedlock has soared in recent years. It’s sort of sad to say Beyoncé can be a role model for today’s women, but, in a sense, it is true.
And while she has had some music lows, arguably the most popular song of her career–the song that really solidified her brand–was “Single Ladies,” in which she admonishes single women to tell men, “If you like it, then you better put a ring on it.”
She didn’t shy away from that one last night, completely stopping mid-song to dramatically gesture to her ring finger.
But Beyoncé truly won the world, and me, when she became a mom.
In a world that turns mothers against their babies and their own nature, Beyoncé embraced motherhood in a way that no woman in public life in my lifetime ever as, other than maybe Sarah Palin?
Beyoncé said that her baby’s first heartbeat, heard on a sonogram, “was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life.”
But my personal favorite Beyoncé moment was when she broke Twitter records (beating the death of Osama bin Laden) at the 2011 MTV VMA’s while performing “Love on Top,” when she tore off her jacket and revealed a budding baby bump.
The world literally freaked out, sending close to 9,000 Tweets per second.
It’s perfectly right that life should beat death, even on Twitter. And people simply love babies, and Beyoncé gave the world the chance to rejoice in the news of an unborn baby.
Many criticize Beyoncé for her skimpy attire, and this is fair. But I would suggest that she is soulful. She typically reveals her thunder thighs rather than her breasts, and her legs are something to behold when she dances.
She is a truly incredible dancer, and the feminine strength she brings to the stage is reminiscent of the spiritual energy that David LaChapelle captured in his 2005 documentary, Rize, about krumping in South Central L.A. Krumping is a form of street dance characterized by its highly expressive, almost violent energy that involves a lot of hip slamming and chest shaking. The documentary follows a movement started by Tommy the Clown to use krumping as a means to lure troubled youths away from sex, drugs, and alcohol.
While scenes, especially those of women, krumping in the documentary might raise eyebrows, it’s not a sexual dance. It’s angry, and painful, and soulful, and actually rather heartbreaking to watch. Krumping is emotion working its way from the inside out through the body.
And that’s just it. Beyoncé comes from the inside out. And she’s selling soul, not sex.
Traditional conservatives may not like that she shows so much thigh or stumps for the president. But when I watch her perform, one hand on the stage, waist-length mane in the air, stilettos slamming and chords filling the Superdome to the brim, for a moment I can forget all that. For a moment I can just appreciate an incredibly talented, strong, and fearless woman who loves babies and marriage and isn’t afraid to show it.
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She may be selling soul, but she is also definitely selling sex(maybe using sex to sell soul?). Her routine consisted of sassy hip thrusts, hair flipping, and come hither looks at the camera. I guarantee that not many people were thinking “aww she likes babies” when she was writhing on the floor stomping her heels. Maybe after the fact people thought about how cool it was that she was a good Mom but also could slut it up on stage. But don’t kid yourself, girls wanted to have her legs and look that good in thigh highs and guys wanted to well you know……
All of my feminist friends who approved of her performance last night lost all credibility in the “don’t objectify women” discussion.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Beyonce. But let’s call a spade a spade, it’s not because of her family values.
I am sure you meant nothing with your final admonition beyond “Let’s speak plainly,” but you might wish to reconsider your phrasing given the person who is the subject of Ms. McGuire’s article — I am afraid that it might be misunderstood and the point of your comment lost.
Actually, Jeremy, watching a talented performer like Beyonce and deciding the sexuality inherent in her performances is the measure of its worth or the most important thing about it is practically the definition of objectifying women.
As is saying that any woman whose technically brilliant and soulfully deployed dance moves turn you on is “slutting it up.”
Congrats to McGuire on an excellent article.
Clare, I’m sure Beyonce and her bank account could tell you how much the “inherent sexuality” in her performance is worth. I would say that performing the way Beyonce does (and most other female pop artists do) for money is “practically the [illustration] of objectifying women.” I feel comfortable speaking for the majority of men (and most sadly, kids) when I say that for all the technical brilliance and soulful deployments her performance may have had, it was completely lost in the sexuality of it all. I suspect Beyonce, her producers, and anyone else who cashes in on her efforts would agree. Technical brilliance and soulful deployment sells, but not nearly so successfully as you-know-what …
While I agree that Beyoncé has some singing and dancing talent, the Superbowl show she performed had nothing to do with family values such as marriage and childbearing. How you came up with that after all the hip-gyrating and air thrusting is comical.
I venture to guess she wouldn’t even be the “darling” she is to the public right now were it not for Obama’s huge crush on her.
I just witnessed the “Beyonce Feminist” cultural affect on America’s teenage girls this wkend. I was a counselor to Senior High girls where eating disorders, sexual clothing and image are rampant. The sexual dance moves, face expressions & @ss showing “outfits” were NOT healthy or appropriate for the tens of millions children and young teenagers watching. Not appropriate for the American family Super Bowl. Wrong time & place. Why not change a few things to make it family friendly? She could of done it.
I agree with the other commenters. Beyonce is a fabulously talented lady. It’s wonderful that she embrace her role as a mother in interviews. But let’s be honest: that is not the image she projected at the Super Bowl.
This is exactly how I feel. Indeed, some of that image detracts from her incredible talent, and that’s a shame.
I think…the gulf between you and me is that while I think that it’s fabulous to love marriage and babies – and, insomuch as a single woman without children can truly know those things, I love them and want them for my own – I just don’t think it’s the only thing I should love, or that I should love it any more than my future husband. If he is allowed to love them while also loving a career, why can’t I?
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Compromise often leads us further down the wide road.
I skipped the half-time show, b/c I knew based on a montage of her antics as the game went to a commercial break that I, as a man who loves his wife and cares about the innocence of his children, had no business allowing it to play on our TV. You don’t get points for preventing pregnancy till marriage and not sleeping around when you make a living stirring adulterous thoughts (at least) and assaulting the innocence of children. It’s like admiring a eugenics advocate for helping old ladies across the street – this article is very difficult to take seriously. Rare “celebrity breed” – talk about a big fish in the tiniest of ponds.
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I can’t say anything more poignant and accurate than Rich Lowry from the National Review …
“Some day a cultural historian will write the definitive history of the Super Bowl half-time and how it morphed from a showcase for the likes of the Grambling State University marching band to a platform for gyrating pop stars. (Michael Jackson started the trend in 1993.) Beyoncé dressed like she was headed for a shift at the local gentlemen’s club, and put on a show that was an all-out assault on the senses. She was stunning and athletic, as well as tasteless and unedifying. The Harvey ad was schmaltzy rustic romanticism, to be sure, but it celebrated something worthy. It was uplifting rather than degrading. It spoke of selflessness and virtue in moving terms.”
I fail completely to see how either abstinence or marriage are feministic.
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She and the other women dancing danced as if they were performing in a strip club, and strip clubs are not pro-family.
Beyonce needs to stand up for women and reject the way women have been objectified in our culture. She can do this by presenting a respectable image of herself–a less-sexual image. Maybe then men will stop staring at us women as we walk down the street in heels, even while our skirts are a very conservative and modest length.