Elizabeth Crenshaw

       One of the most common reasons people say Beyoncé is not a feminist, is that in an interview for an issue of British Vogue, Beyoncé “hesitated to call herself a feminist” (Hare). Yes, she did steer away from that specific word, and start her answer with, “I don’t know,” but she follows that with, “I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality, and that we have a ways to go and it's something that's pushed aside and something that we have been conditioned to accept” (Ellison). You can see that she absolutely holds feminist ideals and goals. Unfortunately Beyoncé, like many others, are turned off from feminism because, “that word can be very extreme” (Ellison). The word has been used by many feminist radicals and has gotten twisted into something it’s not. Feminism is not a man bashing, all-powerful women uprising, it’s simply a strive for equality between the two sexes. Beyoncé is not the only who steers clear of that word in interviews, many other celebrity women avoid it because of the negative connotations that can be associated with it. So in this quote Beyoncé doesn’t say she is not a feminist, she actually calls herself, “a modern-day feminist.” (Ellison). I think it is clear here that Beyoncé is promoting and desiring equality, which adds to the pro-feminist side of this debate. 

      Another critical point to make on the pro-feminist side would be the short article for “The Shriver Report” that she wrote. You can see a copy of this article to the right in red. In this article there is no question that she is writing about the yearning for equality while acknowledging that, “it isn’t a reality yet” (Knowles-Carter). She poses a couple solutions from men demanding women get equal pay and being taught equal principals from young ages (Knowles-Carter). The article is focused around inequality in the workplace, so it leaves many unanswered questions for Beyoncé herself. It seems like another miss-match where her words say one thing but her actions say another (more info about that in the other categories). She leaves out anything about body image or wardrobe, something that is both very important in the debate over feminism and the debate over whether or not Beyoncé is a feminist. She is saying these words in this article, but do they really match up with her actions, wardrobe, and lyrics?

Looking at her quotes, it seems that Beyoncé is someone who is frightened by the negative connotations of the word “feminist” but holds the ideals of feminism close and promotes them because she believes in them.