The black female body has long been a source of exploitation, with a vast field of literature documenting abuses that revolved around their sexuality. Following the footsteps of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Jacobs, Beyoncé recently released her visual album Lemonade: her personal ode to women’s autonomy. A reflection on the history of slavery in the United States shows that the most significant difference between the treatment of male and female slaves was the treatment of female slaves as sexual objects by their white slave owners. The patriarchy of the time defined expectations on women – white women were ideally modest and pure, while black women were overly sexual beings. Thus, white women had no right to explore their sexuality and be open about it, and black women were overwhelmingly vulnerable to unwanted sexual interactions. As history progressed, women in the United States have gained the right to vote, have become valuable members of the American workforce, and have gained greater respect within society. Despite these advances however, there is still progress that needs to be made. Beyoncé challenges the dehumanization of the black female body a
nd “sells” it, making the decision on her own to exploit her body and empower women to have that sort of individualism. The album is centered on infidelity, and while everyone is questioning “Did Jay-Z cheat on Bey?” we are missing a much larger message of girl power.
Suggesting that Beyoncé is only speaking to black women is invalid, due to her massive viewership. Beyoncé is an artist, and while she may not be starving, she is in this business to make money like everyone else. She is going to produce art that will relate to the most amounts of people, maintain her provocative image, and simply entice people to buy her work. It is important to consider the way in which her album was released to the public before discussing its contents. Lemonade was set to air on HBO as a primetime special on April 23, 2016. No one knew what it was going to entail, and despite competition from the NBA playoffs, it reached nearly 800,000 views in the 18-49 year old demographic. Her intended audience lacks color, and based on her very identity she embodies strong femininity to the masses.
With that being said, the power of her work is not diminished even while being a part of the capitalist society many would disagree with. What is extraordinarily powerful about Lemonade is that the black female body is exploited but in such a way that it foregoes the negative connotations of the word. Beyoncé places herself, a large number of backup dancers, and even her own daughter in the center of our screens, making it “normal”. In the beginning of the album, Beyoncé realizes the one she loves has betrayed her. She walks through what seems to be the Deep South in a beautiful yellow dress, accentuating her feminine features. The ordinary black women first appear here in the album, and throughout, a diverse representation of these women in terms of their physical attributes star. There is a unique mixture of the every day woman, alongside the more glamorous women doing choreographed dances. Women are sometimes so pushed towards embracing their natural bodies that they are dissuaded from changing them or “making them up”. Through both representations, Beyoncé is making a statement that any form is beautiful, every form is relevant, and every form is important to who a woman is and what she can testify.
Returning to the discussion of the history of women in the United States, and more specifically the type of woman Beyoncé represents, it is important to note as a viewer that much importance is placed on the body. From slavery to today, the black female body has been bought and sold. Beyoncé has intentionally sold her body to the public. She wears revealing clothing, clothing recognizable to her culture, and dances in a provocative manner. In doing as such, she seduces her audience and celebrates not only herself, but also women as a whole that challenges the ongoing devaluation of women in society. This is an “in your face” confrontation that flourishes power to women.
So, why is this also something women of all colors can celebrate as well? To answer that, I would argue that Beyoncé is creating images that she knows. Through her backup dancers who have similar features to her, there is a sort of sisterhood that exists. They are resisting the invisibility that is placed on them, and that is something all women can relate to. It challenges the norms, considering that they are all black, but it can be twisted to re-envision how society sees the female gender. There is a difference between trying to take ownership of experiences that to belong to oneself, and finding a commonality with one’s own experience to create positivity rather than more invisibility.
Beyoncé sticks to the idea that the woman is the victim of the societal tale, and this is where the story line plays a huge role in her declaration of women’s empowerment. As stated, the story begins with Beyoncé’s character being betrayed. This is not necessarily groundbreaking or creative – what it is though, is Beyoncé expressing a way in which men have historically devalued and dehumanized women through music and visuals. She carries a baseball bat through the town as “Hold Up” plays, stating, “What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy? Jealous or crazy? Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately…I’d rather be crazy.” Here, Beyoncé is celebrating rage, and channeling it in a way that will help the cause. The imagery of her hitting cars with the bat is symbolic of the infuriating emotions when stuck in oppression. Beyoncé is the embodiment of female power, and what is interesting to note is that the video seems extraordinarily dream-like; she isn’t endorsing women acting irrationally, but challenges them to take action to eliminate the discomfort caused by societal inequalities. We, as a society, have yet to fully develop female power. In the song “Daddy Lessons,” the father figure gives Beyoncé a gun. “When trouble comes to town and men like me come around, oh, my daddy said shoot,” while she is warned about the dangers of man, she still cannot shoot. This fantasy is what must become a reality, when given the tools to do… we must act. “Tough girl is what I had to be,” here Beyoncé is acknowledging that women must remain strong, as we are not quite there yet. Therefore, these images must be taken with a grain of salt. Beyoncé creates her own visuals that are open to immense interpretation. This opens up the idea that not everything necessarily holds true. Despite this, the idea of feminism is still embodied even with the ambiguity. The point of feminism is not to just exploit one’s body, it is the power to do what one wants with their body without anyone making claim to it but oneself. As Beyoncé makes the claim, it is society that must respond adequately.
As Beyoncé moves through the stages of grief in Lemonade, the words are printed on the screen as each song changes: Intuition, Denial, Forgiveness, Hope, and Reconciliation. Female emotional pain is exposed; it is made real. As seen in struggles to reach freedom, people need a voice and that is what Beyoncé is doing for modern women. What Beyoncé speaks of is what women are in control of, themselves and their reaction to their emotions. She accepts the fact that she cannot just put out an album and expect society to change, but she can start somewhere with expression. Between each stage, Beyoncé speaks the words of Somali-British poet Warsan Shire. She states after jumping from a building and landing in water, “I tried to change… closed my mouth more… tried to be softer, prettier, less awake…” suggesting women have to conform to the societal pressures of changing for their man, not speaking their mind, and focusing on their looks. This is during the “Intuition” stage. As the story progresses, Beyoncé’s character gains her voice and embraces independence – again a proclamation of women’s autonomy, “She works for the money, she work for the money from start to the finish,” she sings. She isn’t relying on a man for support; she is making a claim to her success. Historically, men have been breadwinners and have allowed their status in society to overpower women’s voices and personhood. There has been a shift in this attitude, and Beyoncé shows that though she was stuck in the predominantly male system, by exploiting her character’s pain, she was able to find strength.
As a direct result of Beyoncé’s nature and appearance, it is often argued that she stands for black women only. Looking at the historical underrepresentation of this population, I personally understand why it is important for black women to have a voice. On the other hand, what Beyoncé does in Lemonade is creates, through her art, a voice for women in general who have been devalued and dehumanized, with a story of infidelity. There is a common ground; women must resist the patriarchal structure of society and not allow the expectations of what men want them to be to stop them from learning and living autonomously. Healthy self-love can shine through when women refuse to be a victim like Beyoncé’s character:
To be free to the fullest extent, we must not stop with one voice. One person does not make a movement; Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, did not start the Civil Rights
Movement; he simply heard what the people were feeling and he acted. Therefore, change does not come from sitting back and waiting or listening to someone like Beyoncé. One cannot just endure the pain of being oppressed; one must move beyond that and take action. As she closes Lemonade, “Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation. You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation, always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.” She demands women stick together and prove our worth through hard work. She wants to stir the pot like the activists of the past who have made change, but their work is not done. Beyoncé is the voice, the lemon, but society has to take what positive message she expresses to women and actively work towards that mixture of femininity and strength that will sweeten the sour mouths of the painful past.
