In Pimp Theory, a “bottom bitch” is the one in the whores’ hierarchy who rides hardest for her man. She’s the rock of every hustler economy and her primary occupation is keeping other ho’s in check and gettin’ that money. She isn’t trying to elevate the status of her sister ho’s. She isn’t looking to transform pimp culture. The bottom bitch is a token who is allowed symbolic power, which she uses to discipline, advocate for, represent and advance the domain of the stable. In pop culture, she represents the trope of the chosen black female, loyal to her man and complicit in her own commodification.
In hip hop vernacular she has emerged as the “Boss Bitch” or “Bawse”, titles you’ll hear used liberally across urban/pop discourses – from the streets to rappers to the hip hop, basketball and ATL housewives. What she represents is an appearance of power within a structure of male dominance, but in reality this “power” is merely vicarious and not a positional power in and of itself.
Admittedly, bottom bitch is an unfortunate metaphor to use for framing conversations about Beyonce, but when you’re married to “Big Pimp’n” and his cameo on your new self-titled album, coined a “feminist masterpiece,” is all about how he gon’
Catch a charge, I might, beat the box up like Mike…
I’m like Ike Turner
Baby know I don’t play, now eat the cake Annie Mae
Said, eat the cake, Annie Mae
you leave us no choice. When elements of the feminist community rise up to applaud your simplistic, pro-capitalist, structurally violent sampling of feminism, the metaphor becomes even more relevant. Moreover, we’re concerned that the capitalist ethics of mainstream hip hop has seduced feminist allies into flirting with bottom bitch feminism in their silencing of those who would critique Bey and the systemic violence she represents.
To this we ask: Is a feminism sponsored by the corporate music industrial complex as big as we can dream? Is the end game a feminism in which the glass ceiling for black women’s representation only reaches as high as our booties? Can’t we just love Bey as an amazing corporate artist without selling out the hard won accomplishments of our black feminist and womanist foremothers? Can we not love her for the gorgeous and fierce mega pop star she is without appropriating her for some liberal, power feminist agenda?
These questions asked, we do understand the terror and mistrust some black women may feel when confronted with representations that reflect us to ourselves as brilliantly beautiful. We also get the impulse that these same women may have to criticize and destroy such images. But this is not that. Our critique of Bey as a feminist doesn’t come from a place of fear. Indeed it may even be more a critique of the black feminist blogosphere. Our real fear is of a bourgeoning cadre of institutional gatekeepers of “appropriate” black feminist politics going in hard with their facile analyses, shaming and silencing black women with alternative reads of B.
Real Colored Girls are not here to promote or co-sign the idea that to critique Bey’s “Flawless Feminism” is to hate black women. We reject the idea that love for the folks equals blind loyalty. Our deep and abiding love and respect for the ancestors will never permit an image of feminism wrapped in the gold chains of hip hop machismo. We ain’t throwin’ no (blood) diamonds in the air for ‘da roc, no matter how many feminists you sample over a dope beat. We’re smarter than that. We’re worth more than that.
Insisting on a rank and file consent and approval to these ‘terms of engagement’ is a form of bullying and in the spirit of Audre Lorde we remind you that silencing dissent will not protect you. We feel strongly that it is our duty and imperative to engage multiple perspectives in the marketplace of ideas, supporting open discourse, lest we find ourselves guilty of policing one another into a dishonest respectability.
Our work is not done. Beyhive Bottom Bitch Feminism does not replace nor is it even in the realm of the critical work of black women writers and artists across the discursive spectrum, as some folks have proclaimed across social media. As womanists and black feminists, we have a responsibility to bring it with our cultural work which we will infuse, at all times, with an ethic of care and responsibility. The coontocracy of assimilationist corporate negroes is in full effect, riding for patriarchal capitalist agendas and having us believe that somehow Bey’s success is a step toward some dystopic vision of progress for Black women. There may be empowerment for some folks but by and large it is a false hope steeped in capitalism and individualism, supporting the escapist desires of rampant pornographic consumerism.
This essay does not come from a place of ‘who gon’ check me, boo?’. We would like to invite dialogue, conversation and a multitude of perspectives. We’re thinking that our next conversation will be about how Beyonce has opened the door for further discussion around black female sexuality. We’ve been feelin’ this quote by bell hooks from her essay “Selling Hot Pussy”:
When black women relate to our bodies, our sexuality, in ways that place erotic recognition, desire, pleasure, and fulfillment at the center of our efforts to create radical black female subjectivity, we can make new and different representations of ourselves as sexual subjects. To do so we must be willing to transgress traditional boundaries. We must no longer shy away from the critical project of openly interrogating and exploring representation of black female sexuality as they appear everywhere, especially in popular culture.
What are your thoughts?
#RealColoredGirls
#BottomBitchFem
Real Colored Girls 
I do agree with some of the comments regarding the “jargon” (not the actual jargon per se but the cohesiveness & organization) and on the other hand I also agree with having a lazy mind sometimes; mainstream media has dulled me quite a bit I admit, and so I see dense paragraphs and get all uneasy. This is still a well-written, relevant piece of analysis.
I like Beyonce. I like her style (sometimes) and I like most of her music. Is she a dynamic and successful artist? YES. She is amazing in her own right. Is she a feminist? I’m afraid not. She is an excellent pseudo-feminist though and she is mainstream media’s “Queen Bee” to lead the masses of other female bees into confusion as this piece pointed out. The confusion? That somehow activity means accomplishment. That a flashy squad of females dancing to girls Run The World means every well-dressed money-making woman expressing herself in whatever way she pleases is the equivalent of a feminist. As the article pointed out critiquing Bey does not mean we hate a black woman who is “getting her own”, it is simply a critique of what she represents. It IS sad that when you hear the words “black power couple”, it is Bey & Jay that comes to mind, as one reader commented. They are over-glorified. Just as activity does not mean accomplishment, reflection does not mean representation!
If Beyonce is a true feminist and not a commercial dolly then what might we label other female artists like India Arie, Lauryn Hill? Women like Vandana Shiva (when Shiva is relentlessly fighting the consumerism and capitalism that Bey’s image and music has a symbiotic relationship with)? I like dancing to her music telling myself girls run the world (she does have some catchy stuff out there) but her “empowering” lyrics have nothing on the soulful vibe of ‘Video’ by India Arie, for example. Mainstream media feeds us more Queen Bey than other less sexual artists. People like to argue about how a person’s dressing should not be used to judge who they are yet it is their “individuality” and “self-expression” that is used to defend said chosen outfits or anything they do for that matter! If you don’t dress ladylike we’re going to assume you are NOT lady… like. She has conformed to the industry and THAT is why THEY praise her as so worthy. She is a beautiful woman with many achievements but contrary to one of the comments not every girl wants to be like her; some of us are not into making ourselves look lighter and wearing blonde hair pieces. Some of us do wish to be successful but we prefer to go about it while remaining decent ladies, hoping our daughters grow up to not be living advertisements and brands swept up in this commodified, sexualized world.
Not saying if any of us were in her shoes we wouldn’t be putting ourselves out there, making our money… In a world where capitalism runs everything, not every Boss Bitch is a true Queen! (Clearly seen in the masses of self-acclaimed “boss bitches” whose status as such is quite questionable.) In the words of Ms Hill “How u gon win when u ain’t right within”? A point to remember is that Western ‘Feminism’ would have a woman defy her husband/man at home yet encourage that same woman to be submissive to an employer… ‘Feminism’ is therefore a relative concept so while Bey’s feminism may not work for some I guess it would work for others!
“Peace to the women who raise the status of our culture with an elevated mind.” ♥
Laeda,
Your an amazing writer. Love your response!
you know enough with the academic analysis of who is or isn’t a feminist the album isn’t meant to be a thorough representation of all black feminist everywhere it is simply a representation of this artists journey to resolve all the disparate parts of what it means to be a black woman to her. To co-opt her journey and raise the flag as some how she meant this as the end all be all feminist mantra is a cop out.
So what she is in love with her husband of 5 years not some damn whore. I don’t believe in marriage (see seen in Frida) but the fact that she is married and you want to somehow create a relationship between pimp and whore is bs on another level..really. Her husband of 5 years made a innocent off the cuff remark and somehow it is the end all be all to symbolize their marriage…again…really.
Throwing Beyonce under the bus to underscore a point that isn’t relevant to any of the 1 million people buying her album does what exactly. Let’s have a discussion about how black women have to choose between whether they will be seen as a saintly mother, whore, innocent schoolgirl but never a complete multidimensional fully realized woman where is that discussion…
I do not see a reference to Bettye Wright, Joi Gilliam, Aretha Franklin, or any other black woman artist who sang about loving her man, pleasing her man but being an independent woman in this article.
Let me know when you write that one.
bell hooks is correct. Women must reclaim their own bodies for their own pleasure without allowing men to make them into objects for only mens pleasure, since men created and control the porn and prostitution industries.
Female traitors against women who run brothels or are “bottom bitches” are Honorary Men who try to get power by doing what men want them to do-control other women.
Their minds have been colonized and they see themselves through the eyes of the MEN who exploit them.
Consider the term “bottom bitch” created by MEN. She is at the bottom of the male hierarchy and is cast as an animal-a bitch.
ill tell you why this is stupid…..for years black womens bodies have never been their own. and now we want to argue about what Beyonce does with hers and how she represents it. lets be clear what Beyonce does affects Beyonce not us now stop being bitter bitches….(cause that’s what u sound like) go buy her album (cause you know it great) and do something productive like feeding the homeless or something…..get off her back about her being a feminist because she is.
Have a nice day bitches
@marmar0908 Do you feed the homeless or help those in need? Just wondering. I do. And the fact that I do doesn’t even matter! Helping or not helping those in need doesn’t mean I can’t have or share an opinion about music industry propaganda. What does “helping people in need” have to do with anything that this post was about anyway? Alot of commenters on here keep suggesting that and it’s really creepy and makes no sense. Also, your assertion that “her album is good and you know it” is an OPINION – one that you did not even buttress clearly with any examples. And even if you DID do so, you’d still find alot of people who STILL don’t think it’s a “good” album because – surprise! – people are allowed to have varied tastes in music and that doesn’t automatically make them “haters”. So please don’t call people “bitter bitches with no points” when you can’t seem to construct one clearly yourself.
For the last time, Beyonce – as a woman is entitled to do whatever she wants and no one should judge her for it. Also, as you pointed out, her body is hers/our bodies are ours and no one should tell us what to do with them. However, I think the issue here is not “Beyonce is a soulless cunt product”, it’s “Beyonce: Brought To By The Propagators of Soulless Cunt Products!” Alot of the women on here don’t necessarily see a problem with a woman wanting to portray herself as a sexy, glamourous, chanteuse of “Bad Bitch/All About My Man, My Shoes, And My Money” anthems. They see a problem with this kind of message being propelled and promoted on the national stage almost more than any other type of message about womanhood and having it be used to sell sex and products. It’s kind of like consumerism – there isn’t a problem per se with an individual wanting to express themselves through the things they buy, but it is a HUGE problem when this lifestyle is promoted for and prescribed to the masses as the “best” way to live. I can’t speak to the real reason why the author of this post wrote this article, but I’d like to think it was in response to the deification of Beyonce in the media as the apex of womanhood when really she is only but a sliver of the kind of woman that represents what womanhood and femininity can be or can be about.
I don’t have any suggestions for you to go run a soup kitchen or foster an orphan like you did for us, but I will ask that you try to have a little more of an open mind about what the author and some of the commenters on here are trying to say.
See that’s why I can’t jump on the Beyonce Bandwagon. When she first came out she seem cool but I don’t know what happened … http://youtu.be/xsPT9pKZSRo
[…] blog hasn’t been around for long, but made big waves with their January post about Beyonce being a “bottom bitch feminist”. These women do not mince their words and they tell it […]
[…] Colored Girls This blog hasn’t been around for long, but made big waves with their January post about Beyonce being a “bottom bitch feminist”. These women do not mince their words and they tell it […]
[…] blog hasn’t been around for long, but made big waves with their January post about Beyonce being a “bottom bitch feminist”. These women do not mince their words and they tell it […]
This article is stupid. You’ve based your whole bottom bitch theory of Beyonce and her supporters on the idea that because she supports her man and builts her on empire of wealth that she is synonyms with the term bottom bitch. Your whole approach in detailing your weak points shows your arrogance and closed mindedness to any form of support for women who you don’t agree as being the (real) depiction of black feminism. How dare you call another black woman a bottom bitch. A bottom bitch is not a term that should be used to describe any women in a conversation about feminism, it completely takes away any credibility that the writer has because they have become apart of the problem. Your basically saying that Mitchell Obama is a bottom bitch because she supports her man while taking a back seat to his presidency. And the same could be said for any other successful woman of color who is supporting their man.
I think you really just have a problem with the fact that many people support Beyonce and the feminist that you feel should be at the forefront of everybody’s minds are not. This article is nothing more than an attempt to marginalize, condemn, and misrepresent supporters of Beyonce and Beyonce herself. Your points are invalid and completely miss the point you are trying to make. A woman who supports her man and is constantly trying the elevate herself is not a bottom bitch. And if you think because she shows her body that she being whored out then you are definitely wrong. Beyonce is an entertainer and everything that she is doing is apart of the act, she is trying to captivate you with her beauty and you can’t say she is a whore for that.
The fact is no one can decide for any woman what feminism should look like. Women should be free to and supported for doing what they feel they want to do. If that means showing off their bodies, supporting their man, being cocky about their success, and being over all fierce than that’s their business. You can’t condemn women who support Beyonce as calling them the Bottom Bitch movement because that’s what you think Beyonce is, which by the way is not true.
And on a side note, you only had one problem with the album and that was Jay-Zs cameo. You framed his lines ass abusive and mistreating to a woman. It seems to me your stagnant perception of Beyonce won’t allow you to see the lines as being aggressively sexual as I believe Beyonce wanted parts of her album to be. This album was exactly what Beyonce wanted it to be, a true representation of who she is, and if you ask me that’s what feminism is about, allowing women to represent themselves how they see fit along with destroying systems of power that don’t allow women to be treated as equal to men. If some women found strength in Beyonce’s album then let them keep it.
I’m really struck by the complexity of this album release and the complicated love-hate layers that exist throughout for me. While having an appreciation for striving to be empowered, riding hard for her man and celebrating her own sexuality, I’m struck by the inevitable impact of patriarchy, racism and the ceilings for black women to be fully self expressed. I had a knot in my stomach for most of this album and am curious (also, as the authors ask) to engage in more dialogue. Sheesh. Who knew a Beyoncé release would be this deep?
I have two great examples of Black women who transcended gender and racial stereotypes yet still had their own sexual power – Josephine Baker and Zora Neale Hurston. If you are a feminist or a woman who cares about women and you don’t know about these amazing powerhouse females, you are truly missing out. Look to them rather than Bey for how to map your power without compromising your sexuality. Zora’s letters alone will be with you for a lifetime.
Just wondering—why do black people and people of color in general are always said to have “transcended” stereotypes? Why are we the only ones who have to transcend anything,for that matter. It’s gotten to the point where I hate that saying,flat-out. Why the hell can’t white folks transcend their whiteness for once? Why put all the burden of “transcending”across racial barriers? Get white folks to do that sometimes. I know about the two women you mentioned above,too.
The talents of many dozens of people who are visual artists and cinematographers went into the Beyonce production. Many signed non-disclosure agreements–forbidden to tell us they work on it. Each video was directed by a different cinematographer and carefully photographed by someone (Shomi Patwary, Ricky Saiz ,Francesco Carrozzini, Todd Tourso, etc, etc). One GOOD thing about the “Visual Album” is that it exposes people who will never go to art school–Beyonce included–to the latest avant-garde video art.
But, are you a sculptor because you PAID for the sculpture? Is she an artist because she paid for others’ talent?
1. The visuals in each video are collaborative works that required the input of many talented painters, sculptors, videographers, editors, scriptwriters, all schooled in crafting images.
2. This is a commercial product that touches our emotional buttons. Smooth, well-lighted, velvety, shocking, the images seduce us. To what end? I intend to teach this “Visual product” with the help of bell hooks, this excellent blog, and others.
3. The hype, the dishonesty surrounding Beyonce as an “artist” whose brains and genius created this must be looked at too.
There are a few things that I believe need to be acknowledged about this new album of hers.
1. She was not the sole writer on the album.
So there exist in the lyrics ideals of the music industry, other men who many or may not be supportive of the feminist ideals I believe Beyonce is trying to represent, as well as other women.
2. A feminist is not a perfect woman.
Which I believe is precisely Beyonce’s point. This is her first time putting her face on a complete compilation of music that has feministic concepts in the lyrics of each song. Give her time to grow into this new role. Also, why can’t a feminist be married, completely in love with her husband, supportive of him, making money with him, and be questioned for how much of a feminist she may or may not be. Now, I will admit that I see how who her husband is may also be why these questions are being raised…BUT CAN HE LIVE? He is growing. I believe that he has more respect for women now than what he ever has had in the past. He has a daughter and a wife. Let them grow, and since they are in the business of expressing themselves, express themselves as they are growing.
3. Lauryn Hill isn’t perfect either.
She was referenced as an ideal feminist who is deserved of our attention. Well, she has fallen short as a feminist as well. Exhibit A: Her relationship with her children’s father.
4. I believe Beyonce is searching for some AUTONOMY.
I think she understands the world in which she lives in and her place in it. With that knowledge, she is searching for some freedom. I believe her freedom is in the women she is becoming (another point the album is making). She is multifaceted. Thus her album expresses that.
5. Jay-Z’s verse did not help support her ideals.
In the same token, he is not featured on the album as her pimp. In every way he is featured as her husband.
6. Beyonce’s JOB is to be a performer. She has an employer.
So there are some aspects to this album, musically and visually, that I am sure the company that financed this project had control over. Even though is was Beyonce’s project, Columbia still put its logo on the album.
The fact that this album is about her and her idea of Feminism but written by men, videos, directed by Men, and validated by Men is a huge contradiction to her cause. The radios are playing Drunk in Love 30x a day where your children have easy access to assimilate. They don’t play that urban mess overseas because the standards of music is higher. I’m really disappointed in the mass amount of people who are justifying this Behavior and write it off as “she’s just am entertainer or she gets paid by her employer”. We don’t look at it that your 8 year old daughter may be singing this song over the phone with her boyfriend planning to mantle up like a surfboard. Men wrote those lyrics for her and they just tell her how great she sounds when they really fantasize about being with her. We have to do better in being more aware of what is being placed in the atmosphere for us to take in. This album shouldn’t be taken as the guide to freeing yourself because it’s the complete opposite.
If concerns about who hears the music, then that is the responsiblity of the parent of said 8 year old child. Sensorship is key to that problem. Beyoncé is an artist, and historically those who sponsor artist financially have a say in how they do the artist does their work. This had been true since ancient times. Zora Neal Hurston had to Taylor her writing to how her patron expected the portrayal of Black people to be. My earlier comments were only stated to be realistic. Issues concerning this album do not fall into Beyonce’s lap. It is a broader issue. Even still I will acknowledge that she plays a major role and her voice is present in the lyrics and visuals hence her writing and production credits.
“If concerns about who hears the music, then that is the responsiblity of the parent of said 8 year old child.”
SO much easier said than done. Thank GOD the entertainers of my generation (who I supported all of the time with purchases of their singles and entire CDs) thought of themselves as role models rather than simply assuming that a parent would be able to police their every move. I might have been sliding down a stripper pole or dealing with very adult challenges at the age of 15 like many young black people are these days.
Oh and I did read Zora as a young girl and never got the idea that using my sexuality was where it was at, so please don’t put her precious name into this Beyonce nonsense. Thanks!
To be fair,Beyonce has written some of her own hits (Crazy In Love) and co-written/produced some of her other songs for years, so she’s not just this little puppet being used as a vehicle for other people’s songs. She never seems to get the credit for that either–I think she is an undercover feminist.though, I look at the fact that she headlined that huge multi-national televised concert to raise funding for girls’ education in countries where it’s lacking; the fact that she chose an-all female band as her backing band on her last tour,and she did make comments in that Vogue interview about the treatment of female artists in the music business which showed that she understood how the game is played, but she hasn’t let it play her–that’s the difference. Just little things like that come off as feminist to me–or at least as feminist as you can get within the system you chose to work within to show a little of it.
I also couldn’t believe all that hell raised about a year over her performance at the Superbowl opening—I mean, c’mon—some folks were actually claiming she looked “whorish” just because of what she wore–which really wasn’t even that revealing anyway. You’d think she was putting on a strip show the way people reacted to it. I thought that whole thing was so ridiculous. Just shows you how uptight this country still is about any expression of sexuality and women’s bodies. Look at the recent flap about one of the members of the gospel group Mary Mary (who just broke up recently ) putting a picture of herself online in a nice turtleneck sweater dress she looked nice in–the woman was completely covered up,nothing showing whatsoever, and some people STILL had problems with the fact that she had a nice figure, of all things! They were claiming that she was trying to look too seductive and tempt men’s minds—or some stupid BS like that! I swear—some people seem to think that anything remotely sexual is evil, or wrong. Apparently you can’t quietly show off a nice figure for a fortyish woman with a couple of kids because a Christian woman isn’t even supposed to have a figure either–ain’t that a trip.. A lot of negative projection going on there, for real.
I have learned a lot from this commentary. The take-away from this forum is to always seek understanding of people places n things especially of self. The physical world will constantly evolve and so will its inhabitants good bad or indifferent.
Bey is choosing her path n rightfully so. I have acquired respect for her after my observation of her documentary n recent interviews. She is a conscious black woman and obviously evolving. She may not be on some of ya’lls level of consciousness but we can give her credit for attempting to make progress.
No matter what they do or how much money they horde the Carters, the Alts, the Kardashians, the Fanjuls they aren’t exempt; they cant hide from themselves. God spirit abides within them and me.
Thank you all for the edification here in this blog. Let’s continue to have dialogue at home, in our communities, online…to incite our fellow people to educate oneself by any means necessary and seek a positive evolution.
[…] and those contributed by Beyoncé’s husband referring to himself as Ike Turner, casting her as Tina, and referencing a well-known episode of domestic abuse between them, debate […]
[…] Brazil, and the African continent). Indeed, black feminist bloggers Mako Fitts and Christa Bell of Real Colored Girls problematize what they interpret as Beyoncé’s “simplistic, pro-capitalist, structurally […]
You know the funniest thing about some of these posts is that they keep on mentioning that she is a married woman. I guess if she was single she would be a hoebag or something,but ya’ll Bey stans keep harping on about “respectability politics” yet keep bringing up her marital status. I agree that strong relationships between Black men and women are important—but this is not the case in A LOT OF THESE COMMENTS here and on other parts of the blogosphere. Beyonce would be relegated to a nappyheaded baby momma had she been poor,and had a child born out of wedlock to A LOT of you and it’s like,the apex of what Feminism should NOT BE. Sounds like more Black folks trying to run away from a stereotype and are proping Bey as “See,we’re not ALL like that!”,while unmarried Black women in our communties are stigmatised ,especially unmarried Black mothers. Please stop.
I will not find liberation in any celebrity—they are all hired pawns who often are Pro-Black,Pro-Woman today,and Blase Blah tomorrow. I think we engulf ourselves in a culture of Celebrity Worship ,and it makes us live vicariously or see ourselves in these celebrities if they say or do one little thing and we run with it. It makes us defend them ferociously. It’s how so many get away with things everyday people would be questioned for unapologetically.
Honestly Feminism these days is just a buzzword to me as far as Hollyweird goes. Everyone’s a Feminist as long as you get to do whatever you want and never question anything ever. Honestly mainstream American Feminism looks exactly like patriarchy. Even outside of Hollyweird,the concept of “everything a woman does is Feminist” is ridiculous. I farted while being a woman,therefore,farting is a Feminist act. It’s just like a bag of chips filled with half air…to be consumed and absolutely lacking. Like,if Feminism is about “doing w/e you want”,then why be one…were you not doing w/e you wanted before adopting the title Feminist?
The same “academical jargon” you folks accuse the OP of are the same things you support if someone tries to turn everything your favorite celeb does as a political act so you can feel (more) comfortable with consuming their work.
I stand between a rock and a hard place,where Mainstream American Feminism and “Black (American) Feminism” look like two sides of the same patriarchal coin with each excuse why we should emotionally fellate today’s Black Female,or Any Female because she sometimes pays medium-light lipservice to patriarchy (and the majority of the time these women are definitely patriarchy approved in the media beforehand,which makes their pro-woman deliveries easy to ) and makes prepackaged “You Go Girl” anthems. And honestly? They are so limited and silenced because it’d give them bad PR. I appreciate the Ann Hathaways of Hollyweird for what little they are allowed to say,but I am not going to be easily bought and sold by people with limited freedom of speech and a big wallet —and I for sure aint going to them for answers on how to liberate myself. Bless them and all,but nah. Pass.
thank you. there are such few sober responses in the ethers.
[…] with films like “Pimps Up Hoes Down” and “American Pimp.” Now it is being resurrected by #realcoloredgirls in a recent article analyzing Beyonce’s new […]
I just find it really interesting that if you look at the comments, majority of the pro-Beyonce responses are laced with hatred, insults and close mindedness. I was actually on the fence about the article itself until I read these comments. If the Beyonce experience truly inspired a positive femininity, Beyonce followers would be an example of this. Instead, even though some of her music is quite nice, it makes me avoid and dread the day I may turn into one of those over-sensitive, defensive and hateful women, protecting Beyonce as if they will ever have a share in her wealth and success. I believe a true feminist might inspire us to achieve the same for ourselves instead of create an army of die hards to protect herself. On either side of the discussion we must remember that Beyonce is just a symbol for something else. Whatever it is, it has defeated us. It is so sad for me to watch black women hate each other this way for one symbol. We should really know better.
[…] you are racist. Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake, Action Bronson, James Brooks, Chris Ott, Beyonce, and also everyone who has negative thoughts about Beyonce: you’re sexist. And R. Kelly? […]
[…] The Problem With BeyHive Bottom Bitch Feminism […]
[…] and those contributed by Beyoncé’s husband referring to himself as Ike Turner, casting her as Tina, and referencing a well-known episode of domestic abuse between them, debate […]
So in order to be a true feminist we must conform to an alternative cultist view of feminism. Isn’t this the same thing you are being critical of in this post? I agree with the portion of this criticizing JayZ’s lyrics about rough sex between him and his wife, and linking it to a movie scene representing domestic abuse. However this song is not a full representation of Beyonce’s new album or her life. There is a such thing as having individuality in feminism. If she wants to own her body, celebrate her body(that is viewed by some to be fat, or unbeautiful) this is her prerogative. There are other cultures that celebrate women’s bodies in ways that seem hyper sexual to the west. This is her season of life, and that’s how she feels. This post suggesting that she is Jay-z’s bottom bitch or just his little wife is actually the antithesis of feminism and reminds me of the crabs in a barrel adage. We are far to critical of other women.
[…] I can’t step aside from “eat the cake.” I’m hardly alone. First, as has been well-documented, it references a scene of partner violence in the Tina Turner […]
[…] the words in the video and echoing vocally on stage when the song is performed live. To myself and others, this demonstrates a lack of respect toward Tina Turner, who she previously described as an […]
Love this. I have been sending this article to all the oung women I know. Very well written, even the commentary was very dignified and thought provoking. I PERSONALLY think the “Olivia Pope-ing” of new generation Black girls should be addressed in a similar discourse to this one as well, the Sally Hemmings 2014 and the subliminal affirming that a successful Black Woman is always still UNDER literally, sexually) a white male, the real “pimp” of us all, even the “pimping” of our Black men who “pimp” and exploit our Black Feminine Image