“We Should All Be Feminists” an Exploration of the Work of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter Shaped by Feminist Literature
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“WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS” AN EXPLORATION OF THE WORK OF BEYONCÉ GISELLE KNOWLES-CARTER SHAPED BY FEMINIST LITERATURE Aantal woorden: 26 363 Axelle Hantson Studentennummer: 01301553 Promotor: Prof. dr. Marysa Demoor Masterproef voorgelegd voor het behalen van de graad master in de Taal- en Letterkunde: Engels Academiejaar: 2017- 2018 ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout the process of writing this thesis. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof dr. Marysa Demoor for her tremendous support and advice she has given me. Secondly, I want to thank Prof. dr. Erik Steinskog from the University of Copenhagen for providing me with his syllabus from his class “Beyoncé, gender and race”, thus providing me with a lot of useful sources, and thirdly Prof. dr. Elisabeth Frost for her help. Lastly, I would also like to thank my family and friends, especially my mother, and close friends Sofie, Timothy, and Reinart for their continuous support and kind words. iii List of Abbreviations CFC: Crunk Feminist Collective CR: Consciousness-raising CRM: Civil Rights Movement HBCU: Historical Black Colleges and Universities R&B: Rhythm and blues iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. v Preface ........................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Basic introduction to feminism ................................................................................... 3 1.1 Definition and origin of feminism ......................................................................................... 3 1.2 First-wave feminism ............................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Second-wave feminism ........................................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 The three phases of second-wave feminism ................................................................... 4 1.4 Third-wave feminism ........................................................................................................ 6 1.4.1 Most important characteristics of third-wave feminism .............................................. 7 1.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2: Black feminist thought, hip-hop feminism, and intersectionality .......................... 11 2.1 Black feminist thought ......................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 First interdependent dimension of oppression ............................................................ 12 2.1.2 Second interdependent dimension of oppression ........................................................ 12 2.1.3 Third interdependent dimension of oppression .......................................................... 12 2.1.4 Six distinguishing features of Black feminist thought ................................................ 13 2.1.5 The controlling images about Black womanhood ....................................................... 15 2.1.6 The importance of music in Black feminist thought ................................................... 19 2.1.7 Black feminist thought in a transnational context ...................................................... 21 2.2 Hip-hop feminism ................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.1 The origins of hip-hop .................................................................................................... 22 2.2.2 Characteristics of hip-hop feminism ............................................................................ 22 2.3 Intersectionality .................................................................................................................... 26 2.3.1 Structural intersectionality ........................................................................................... 27 2.3.2 Political intersectionality ............................................................................................... 28 2.3.3 Colorblind intersectionality ........................................................................................... 28 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 28 v Chapter 3: Beyoncé as a self-defined Black feminist .................................................................. 30 3.1 Biography of Beyoncé Knowles ........................................................................................... 30 3.1.1 Beyoncé’s activism ......................................................................................................... 31 3.1.2 Super Bowl (2013) and Coachella (2018) Performances ............................................ 32 3.2 Beyoncé, Black feminism and Black feminist thought ...................................................... 33 3.2.1 Policing of the Black woman’s body in Black feminist though .................................. 34 3.2.2 Sexuality in Black feminist thought .............................................................................. 35 3.3 Beyoncé and hip-hop feminism ........................................................................................... 36 3.4 Beyoncé and intersectionality .............................................................................................. 37 3.5 Beyoncé feminism ................................................................................................................. 38 3.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 4: The self-titled Album Beyoncé (2013) as an overt Black feminist opus ................. 41 4.1 Beyoncé’s performance at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards ..................................... 41 4.2 An in-depth analysis of the self-titled visual album BEYONCÉ (2013) ........................... 42 4.2.1 Black feminist thought and hip-hop feminist tenets in BEYONCÉ ........................... 44 4.2.2 ***Flawless – Beyoncé featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ................................. 46 4.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 5: Lemonade (2016) as the culmination of Beyoncé’s Black feminist endeavours .... 51 5.1 About Lemonade (2016)........................................................................................................ 51 5.1.1 Warsan Shire and Lemonade ........................................................................................ 52 5.2 An in-depth analysis of Lemonade ...................................................................................... 52 5.2.1 Intuition ........................................................................................................................... 53 5.2.2 Denial ............................................................................................................................... 54 5.2.3 Anger ............................................................................................................................... 55 5.2.4 Apathy ............................................................................................................................. 57 5.2.5 Emptiness ........................................................................................................................ 57 5.2.6 Accountability ................................................................................................................. 58 5.2.7 Reformation .................................................................................................................... 59 5.2.8 Forgiveness ...................................................................................................................... 60 5.2.9 Resurrection .................................................................................................................... 60 vi 5.2.10 Hope ............................................................................................................................... 61 5.2.11 Redemption ................................................................................................................... 62 5.2.12 Formation ...................................................................................................................... 64 5.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 66 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 68 Works cited 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