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Newfoundland

• Jay-Z
• Tina Knowles
• Matthew Knowles
• Solange

Beyoncé performed "America the Beautiful" at the 2009 presidential inauguration, as well as "At Last" during the first inaugural dance at the Neighborhood Ball two days later. They held a fundraiser at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan for Obama's 2012 presidential campaign which raised $4 million. In the 2012 Presidential election, Beyoncé voted for Obama. She performed the American national anthem at his second inauguration. The Washington Post reported in May 2015, that Beyoncé attended a major celebrity fundraiser for 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. She also headlined for Hillary Clinton in a 2016 concert held the weekend before Election Day, according to CNN. In this performance, Beyoncé and her entourage of backup dancers wore pantsuits; a clear illusion to Clinton's frequent dress-of-choice. The backup dancers also wore, "I'm with her," tee shirts, which was the primary campaign slogan for Hillary Clinton.

Annotated Bibliography:

Bennett, Jessica. "To be 'Mom' is to be Queen." New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast) ed.Dec 04 2016. ProQuest. Web. 18 Oct. 2017 

This article from the New York Times discuses the internet term "mom," using Beyonce along with other female celebrities as points of comparison. The article makes the argument that celebrities like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian, who have published their real-life role as a mother via the inter webs, have revolutionized the term "mom." According to the article, the dual presentation of motherhood along side sex appeal has given the word "mom" a more positive connotation, especially among teenagers. In this respect, that being a mom isn't lame or anti-feminist or subduing to the patriarchy is some way - but rather the complete opposite. This is relevant to my contributions as Beyonce's highly public presence as a mother is intertwined with her highly public presence as a feminist. Beyond this, I feel motherhood is a touchy subject in feminism, as there is the ongoing idea of motherhood preventing women from reaching their full career potential.

Thompson, Cheryl. “The sweet taste of lemonade: Beyonce serves up black feminist history.” Herizons, vol. 30, no. 40, 2016. Contemporary Women's Issues, Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

This article, published in the feminist magazine “Herizons” analyzes Beyonce’s most recent album “Lemonade” and the intersecting themes of feminism and black empowerment in it. The author asserts that embracing her identity as not only a woman, but a black woman, has been something that Beyonce - like many other black female artists - has struggled to make evident in her work for the sake of appealing to the masses. In my contributions to Beyonce’s article I intend to add a section on intersectionality. That is, not only Beyonce as a woman or as black but as a black woman, and the different ways she has used her platform to empower that specific demogrpahic of people, and the very specific challenges they face.

Kumari, A. (2016), “Yoü and I”: Identity and the Performance of Self in Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. J Pop Cult, 49: 403–416. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12405

This article focuses on the alter-egos used by both Lady Gaga and Beyonce in their performances, and how their stage names reflect a concept that is entirely separate from the actual person behind it. The articles explains, using the idea of Aristole as a point of comparison, that Beyonce Giselle Carter and Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta are not the same as the carefully crafted identies of Beyonce and Lady Gaga - household names that evoke a specific connotation and meaning when said. Beyonce, for example, is to many people synonymous with feminism, black empowerment and female sexuality. This is relevant to my article on Beyonce as a feminist, because as a public figure in the entertainment industry, her "alter-ego/stage name" is central to that feminism.

Kornhaber, Spencer. "FLAWLESS." Atlantic, vol. 313, no. 6, Jul/Aug2014, p. 91. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login

This Q & A style article is from the perspective of the creative director of "Flawless," Beyonce's debatably most forwardly-feminist song. The director explains the use of a clip from Nigerian writer Chiamanda Ngozi Achidie on feminism, and how her words articulated exactly how Beyonce feels about her own feminism. This is relevant to my contributions, as this 2014 song and it's visual album have become the apex of Beyonce's long-cultivated image as a feminist, in a way that was bolder than ever. Beyonce has performed this song in front of a giant backdrop reading "FEMINIST.

Levande, Meredith. “Women, Pop Music, and Pornography.” Meridians, vol. 8, no. 1, 2008, pp. 293–321. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40338921.

This article analyzes the different ways women have been hyper sexualized in the pop music industry since the 1990's, largely in sync with the explosion of the porn industry. The author explains the striking similarities between the evolution of mainstream porn to mainstream pop music. She delves into the 2004 Pepsi commercial which features Beyonce, Pink and Britney Spears as slaves under Enrique Iglesias. To set them free, a can of Pepsi lands on Iglesias' throne, knocking him into the gladiator-lke pit. This commercial uses common pornographic themes of bondage and nudity, also while conveying the message that women obtain power and sexual freedom when their body is on display. Beyond this, she argues that the camera in the streamed performances and music videos where these women are getting all sexy for whatever reason, is symbolic of the male gaze. This can be used in my contribution as both an argument and counter-argument, talking about the fine line Beyonce walks between female sexual empowerment and hyper sexualization.

POMERANTZ, SHAUNA, et al. “GIRLS RUN THE WORLD? Caught between Sexism and Postfeminism in School.” Gender and Society, vol. 27, no. 2, 2013, pp. 185–207. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23486664.

The author in this this article focuses on what would be a counter point to my main argument. Instead of Beyonce as a feminist, she analyzes the celebrity status of Queen Bey (along with many other modern female artists) as fueling a culture of postfeminism. Using Beyonce song "Girls (Who Run the World)" as a point of example, she asserts that this celebrity culture of girls outdoing boys in every aspect creates the idea of postfeminism, especially among teenage girls. Where they may be aware of the inequities in their life, this inaccurate postfeminist view makes them lack the language to label it as sexism. In making the argument that Beyonce is a feminist (something she has been very outspoken about), I also have to consider the possibility that her "brand of feminism" may not be good for girls and society as she advertises.

Utley, Ebony A. "What Does Beyoncé Mean to Young Girls?." Journal of Popular Music Studies, vol. 29, no. 2, June 2017. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/jpms.12212.

This article documents the process, goal and results of a research study looking into how young girls perceive Beyonce. After being showed Beyonce's music videos "Girls (Run the World)" and "Flawless" - 2 of Beyonce's most controversial and forwardly-feminist songs - they were asked questions about how they felt about Beyonce's representation of women. The researcher behind the study analyzes their responses in correspondence with their different races, socioeconomic statues and cultural backgrounds. She theorizes how these different lived experiences effect their perception of Beyonce as a feminist (or not a feminist). In my contribution, I can use this source as a counter-argument point for Beyonce as not a real feminist, as her image of a black woman that strives for "white standards of beauty" with blond wigs and bleached skin. Beyond this, how her flaunting of her body creates body insecurity in young girls who feel like they need to look that way.

Feminism

While undertones of feminism can be found throughout most of her career, Beyonce was initially hesitant to publicly align herself with the movement. In a 2013 interview with Vogue she responded, "That word can be very extreme..." when asked whether she considers herself a feminist. [1]This hesitation is in stark contrast to her release of "Flawless" later that year, sampling from the TED talk by feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Achidie "We should all be feminists."

Beyonce has crafted her brand around embracing femininity and female sexuality. Although as Dr. Cheryl Thompson explains in her article “The sweet taste of lemonade: Beyonce serves up black feminist history most recent album,”[2] Beyonce is only recently exploring the intersecting themes of feminism and black empowerment in her work. According to Thompson, Beyonce - like many other black female artists - has held back with her identity as a black woman for the sake of appealing to the masses. Like the SNL skit that pokes fun at white Beyonce fans that listened to “Lemonade” and realized for the first time that Beyonce is indeed a black woman [3], it is only very recently that the artist has transformed her feminist image into something more specific to the issues black women face. As Thompson explains, all of Beyonce’s previous albums were about feminism.“Lemonade” is about black feminism. The importance of having artistry like “Lemonade” in the mainstream is critical to examining the lived experiences of black women, and the racial and gender-based oppression that intersect to create a unique set of obstacles.

Even so, there is no shortage of criticism against Beyonce's particular brand of feminism. Many critics argue that Beyonce is part of the hyper sexualization of women in the pop industry since the 90's, something that occurred largely in sync with the explosion of the porn industry. Beyond this, some feminist critics argue that Beyonce fuels a culture of post-feminism. With songs like Girls (Who Run the World), Beyonce creates a mindset - particularly among teenage girls - that women are already outdoing men in every aspect of life. When the reality is, these critics say, there are still vast gender inequalities that keep them from doing so. The danger of post-feminism is that while they still exist, young people lack the language to label these inequalities as sexism.