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Beyonce: Feminist or Hypocrite? By: Imani Love C2016 Bow down and all hail the queen. She’s known as being Ms. Independent, a fashion icon, actress, recording artist, mother, sister, daughter, supportive wife to the hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, and a breadwinner totalling net worth of 350 million dollars. In the eyes of the public, Mrs. Carter can do no wrong. Her lyrics seem to entice women (and even some men) by giving them a sense of empowerment and self-worth. Starting from her days with Destiny's Child up until now, Beyonce has always had a way with her words, engraving themselves in the minds and hearts of her fans. Up until her recent, strongly sexual, self-titled album, Beyonce, Mrs. Carter, has taken on an independent feminist stance, lyrically. With songs such as “Run the World (Girls)” and “Me, Myself, and I” her verses put her female fans into a zone that gets them thinking that they are the controllers of their own destiny and that they can get by all on their own. In an interview with Vogue in April of 2013, Beyonce declared that she was a “modern day feminist” and that she believed in equality. This all looks good and well on paper, but then when songs and music videos like from her latest album Beyonce, are played, it makes you think twice. Within the number one hit, “Drunk in Love” Jay-Z refers to Beyonce as being “the baddest b**** thus far” as well as reference to known abusive relationship between Ike and Tina (Anna Mae) Turner. It just brings up the question of whether Beyonce is truly a feminist or if she just takes the idea of what a feminist is lightly. Either way, if Beyonce plans on referring to herself as a feminist, she should consider making some adjustments. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy listening to Beyonce and there are some songs on her new album that I like, but the bold statement of being an advocate for women’s rights, especially after this album does not seem to fit the image that she is portraying right now. Beyonce has recorded songs in the past delegating an empowering message, but her newly recorded album makes the statement of being an advocate for women’s rights controversial. She talks about women equality, but she portrays a backwards image with her music and portrays an element of submissiveness. It raises the debate of whether Beyonce is genuinely an activist for female equality or if she pretends to be for record sales. Pook Eccommenbattons By: Sarah Brokenborough C'2016 NW By Zadie Smith (2012) Americanah By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013) Where’d You Go Bernadette By Maria Semple (2012) Sula By Toni Morrison (1973) 32 Candles By Ernessa T. Carter (2011) Colorblind: A Memoir By Precious Williams (2010) We Need New Names By NoViolet Bulawayo (2013) On Black Sister’s Street By Chika Unigwe (2012) Nowhere is A Place By Bernice L. McFadden (2006) Some Sing, Some Cry By Ntozake Shange (2010) Courtesy of www.thelineofbestfit.com Courtesy of Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images 14 Feb/March 2014 SpelmanPaper@gmail.com The BluePrint t«