Beyonce- The Feminist Has Spoken.

For those of you who weren't aware, Beyonce  has just dropped her new album entitled Lemonade and released it as an hour length film on HBO. 

The story behind Lemonade is about her issues with infidelity and the power of black womanhood.
Like any story, it was sectioned off into the following chapters.

" Intuition, Denial, Anger, Apathy, Emptiness, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection, Hope, Redemption "

Black Womanhood

One thing the film captured was the idea of black womanhood, which I felt was the most powerful thing, I have seen throughout the film.

As Beyonce is a feminist, I knew from when she released Flawless,  she was going to show something else more powerful to all women and that we are strong, hard working people.

The part in Flawless, that I am talking about is the part where Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's speech said the following;

" We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.

We say to girls: "You can have ambition, but not too much
You should aim to be successful, but not too successful
Otherwise, you will threaten the man"

Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices.Always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important.
Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage
And we don't teach boys the same?

We raise girls to see each other as competitors.
Not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thingBut for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are
Feminist: a person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes"

I took note that for each chapter features,  Beyonce was reciting poetry by Warsan Shire. 
Take a listen to Warsan Shire's poetry.



Warsan Shire - "For Women Who Are Difficult To Love" from MovingOn on Vimeo.

I would also like to add that in one part, a section from  Malcolm X speech was included and stated;

"The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman."

Special Guests and Features

Some guest appearances in the HBO film included Serena Williams, Zendaya, Winnie Harlow, and Amandla Stenberg and Quvenzhane Wallis.

As well as that, she has also targeted the Black Lives Matter movement by including mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, who were victims of police brutality in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

On the album,  The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, James Blake, and Jack White. Just Blaze, Diplo, Mike WiLL Made-It, Hit-Boy, and more were featured, as well.

If you haven't heard it or seen the full film, it is available on Tidal. 
Check the link bellow.

tidal.com/playlist/cb4d7b94-b0fd-4e77-b3ae-cdc32138bd53

Posted By Urbanista ( Azza Gasim)
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram (@azza_urbanista)