Test 2

A couple of months ago MTV screened their annual VMAs. Amongst Katy Perry’s denim tribute to Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus’ homeless date and Nicky Minaj’s wardrobe malfunction – it was (of course) Beyoncé who stole the night with her 16-minute performance - a prelude to receiving the Video Vanguard Award.

It took me a long time to decide what I thought of Queen Bey’s VMA performance. During her 12-track melody of her self-titled album, her rendition of “Flawless” saw her silhouette stand boldly against the giant, neon letters spelling out the word “Feminist”. Whilst she stood, an extract of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDx speech “We should all be feminists” played in the background. I questioned whether this performance had single-handedly just established Beyoncé as the new face of feminism or if it was just a closely calculated marketing stunt.

To say the least Beyoncé’s feminism is not flawless. People have accused her of “double standards” referring to her sexually explicit lyrics, her semi-nude magazine covers and her raunchy music videos. However, this relates back to when Achidie says “girls are taught not to be sexual beings like boys are”. Feminism is very much a personal process; one which also includes embracing, celebrating and owning your body. She openly addresses her sexual desires and pleasures- promoting self-love and inner confidence.

Often referred to as the “F-word”, feminism is laden with “heavy baggage, negative baggage”. Rush Limbaugh claimed the movement only existed “to allow ugly women access to society”. One of the main obstacles of feminism is to no longer make it taboo. If the Queen of music stands by it, why can't we?

Beyoncé is a career woman, an entrepreneur, a committed wife and a loving mother. She is the epitome of a modern, empowered woman and demonstrates that in a world where women are frequently told to make a choice between identities, she proves that actually, you can have it all.

Adichie’s speech has been hailed as a speech that can change the world. She clarifies what feminism is. It’s not a fight for women, fought by women, but an issue that all of humanity should be concerned with. She claims gender as it functions today is still a grave injustice. And it’s true, it is. 

For example, in the UK, the gender pay gap is 19.1%. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive a car. In China & India, there is a high prevalence of female infanticides. In 2008, it was reported that 1 in every 3 women are likely “to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime”. The list continues with sexual exploitation and violence, forced child marriages and so on.

“Gender matters. Men and women experience the world differently”. Gender colours the way we experience the world. But we can change that”. 

We must realise that women are not only responsible for addressing these struggles. These are humanity’s struggles, which we are all responsible for – man and woman. In her speech, Achidie defines a feminist as “a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes”. And so, as the title of her speech states “We should all be feminists”!!!

Saveena Mangat