Lemonade & the Black Female Narrative

This past week, Beyoncé shocked and surprised the world with the release of her new album, Lemonade. This album was her sixth record to hit number one on the Billboard charts. However, unlike her previous albums, this record reveals a new, deeper level of vulnerability and intimacy that her fans have not yet seen. The tracks on this album detail her husband’s infidelity and the marital struggles she has faced as a result of his actions.

While the vast majority of people who have heard Lemonade are rallying behind Beyoncé, there has been some backlash from some individuals. The most negatively outspoken individual is fellow starlet Azealia Banks. This singer/rapper claims that by sharing her struggles Beyoncé is supporting the concept of “a heartbroken black female narrative.” Banks additionally claims that Beyoncé’s most recent work “is the Antithesis of what feminism is.”

As a result of Banks’ first statement I was left to sit and think through what she possibly could have meant. After a moment I thought back to the African American Literature class I took last semester. In a lot of the literature we read, we saw that many of the female characters, both white and black, were left at the mercy of males. While enslaved African American women did receive more abuse by White males than White women did, females from both races were subjugated and abused by the patriarchal society that surrounded them. Having this in mind I would say that Banks’ statement bears no validity. All women in the music industry have been criticized for sharing their feelings, because very often when they do these females are viewed as being over dramatic or over emotional. Meanwhile when men do the same exact thing, the music they produce is praised, and is just viewed as the art it is.

To Banks’ second statement, it just doesn’t make sense. So many people, apparently Banks included, has the wrong impression about what feminism actually is. To quote Beyoncé herself,
“Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” Feminists can sing about their feelings and be vulnerable, feminists are not the man hating individuals that people so often think of them as.

 It is in my opinion that with the release of her new album Beyoncé showed a tremendous amount of courage. By sharing her personal story, she is showing her fans that everyone experiences hardships and not every relationship is perfect. She is encouraging her fans to walk with their held high and push forward despite what rainstorms they may be walking through.

http://mic.com/articles/141835/azealia-banks-slams-beyonc-s-lemonade-and-its-heartbroken-black-female-narrative#.7XFP0JQDg