Becky With The Good Hair

In her most recent album Lemonade, Beyoncé, opens up to her fans and the world more than ever by singing about her husband's infidelity. With the release of this new material, while fans rallied to her side to support her, many people began to speculate about who Beyoncé’s husband, rapper Jay-Z, had an affair with. While the exact specifics of the affair are unknown, Beyoncé hold nothing back on this album.

            In one track, Sorry, Beyoncé sings the following:

“ Looking at my watch, he shoulda been home
Today I regret the night I put that ring on
He always got them f*cking excuses
I pray to the Lord you reveal what his truth is
I left a note in the hallway
By the time you read it, I'll be far away
I'm far away
But I ain't f*cking with nobody
Let's have a toast to the good life
Suicide before you see this tear fall down my eyes
Me and my baby, we gon' be alright
We gon' live a good life
Big homie better grow up
Me and my whoadies 'bout to stroll up
I see them boppers in the corner
They sneaking out the back door
He only want me when I'm not there
He better call Becky with the good hair ”

While it is extremely sad that Beyoncé is questioning her marriage and contemplating what options she has, the line that stood out to be the most in this section of the song is “He better call Becky with the good hair.” This line not only calls out Jay-Z’s alleged mistress, but it also calls attention to the struggles that Black women face, specifically in regards to beauty standards.

Earlier this year, or maybe even last year, a young Black actress, Zendaya, was harshly criticized for wearing her hair in dreadlocks to the Oscars. Fashion commentators stated that based on her look they assumes that the actress much have smelled of “patchouli and weed”. This statement is extremely offensive, it doesn’t take a lot to see that; however, the fact that someone thought that these comments were okay to say is what alarms me.

Very often many forget that we live in a White society, and these individuals forget this because of white privilege. I am aware that as a White young woman that I have this privilege—I know this because when I walk into a store I can see models and mannequins in my skin color.

As a result, it is because of this White washed society that African American women are left to feel as if their ideals of beauty are not acceptable. For Beyoncé, it is her hair. By stating that this other woman can be identified by her “good hair”, Beyoncé is vulnerably admitting to listeners that she struggles with accepting her natural hair since it does not meet White beauty standards; or at least this is how I perceived this line.

This struggle to embrace Black womanhood and Black beauty has been happening for way too long. It can be seen in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun through the character of Beneatha, and many other texts. In conclusion, I applaud Beyoncé for not only showing her fans that she is battling the same issues as many other individuals, but for also serving as a role model for young women of all races.

 http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/zendaya-responds-hair-controversy/story?id=32102893

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beyonceknowles/sorry.html