Last month, Beyoncé managed to live up to the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award presented to her, crowning her “the best living entertainer” during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards with her performance.
Beyoncé performed a total of 12 songs including “Flawless” where she has caused an uproar in the Feminist movement. Many believed that her performance sexualized women, yet Beyoncé managed to give female sexuality a new meaning.
With her sexy moves and powerful lyrics, Beyoncé makes a statement that women should use their sexuality in their favor like she does.
Some of the lyrics of Beyoncé’s new song include “I know when you were little girls. You dreamt of being in my world” and also “I took some time to live my life. But don’t think I’m just his little wife,” which, if you ask me, is amazing because who doesn’t want to be like Beyoncé? Famous, successful, beautiful and in reality – Flawless.
Then, in the middle of the song, Beyoncé steps back to allow the audience to listen to a playing of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay “We Should All be Feminist” were she says “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…”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ends with defining the term Feminist and then Beyoncé resumes singing with the line of the night, “I woke up like this, we flawless;” making her the new face of feminism today.
Maricela Rocha
mrocha4@ucmerced.edu