I’m a recent subscriber to Ms. magazine, so I’ll be interested to check out the accompanying article on cover star Beyonce’s “Fierce Feminism” when it lands in my letterbox in the near future.
Considering her latest world tour is entitled “Mrs. Carter”, Beyonce is a questionable choice for the feminist bastion’s cover. While her personal life seems to be one built of respect, equality and solid choices, her public persona is somewhat at odds with this: she sings about men only being good for “putting a ring on it” and “paying bills” and poses with underboob on the cover of a men’s magazine while espousing the detriments of the patriarchy controlling what’s “sexy” and “feminine”.
Fellow feminist stalwart Bitch magazine has a worthwhile article tackling these contradictions so how will Ms. justify their cover choice?
Related: Why is Feminism Still a Dirty Word?
Elsewhere: [Bitch] All Hail the Queen?
Image via Ms.
I read a part of that bitch mag article. Loved the quote: “Lip service for female fans, fan service for the guys.” It’s so on the money. I’m not Beyonce biggest fan, but I find it hard to associate her with the feminism people want her to stand for specifically because of the song ‘Cater 2 U’ which she sings with Destiny’s Child. Then again, I hate typecasting feminism, especially because of my own ‘type’ of feminism. I’m like the biggest feminist contradiction that I bet people would prefer me not to call myself feminist. Which makes me wonder if modern feminism is not about typecast but what you want to be. Alas, it’s too confusing for me. I have asked Rachel to recommend some books to me so I can work on my Scarlett-inspired second book character, Charlie.
Completely agree. I think people desperately want Beyonce to be a feminist because she’s a successful black woman in a league of her own, but unfortunately she’s said on many occasions that she doesn’t identify as one, and it’s only very recently that she’s succumbed and called herself one. I’m not sure we need reluctant feminists halfheartedly championing the cause, but I can’t wait to read the article. My copy should be arriving in the post any day now
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