Before I dive in, I’d like to preface my article with this. Regardless of the points I make and the things I say, Beyoncé is very talented, very beautiful, and a great businesswoman. This article’s sole purpose is to inform and provoke thought on significant topics that tend to be forgotten or barely represented. Side Note: These points are not limited to Beyoncé.
1. Beyonce Bleaches Her Skin
Like many other famous black women, including Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé is rumored to have bleached her skin. And I believe this to be true. Gradually throughout her carrier her skin has become significantly lighter. What she has done is taken on the role as society’s “ideal black woman” by bleaching her skin. By being “black but not too black”. Throughout history we’ve seen the favoritism of fair skin over darker complexions and this is still very prominent in the world today. If you are unaware of the controversy in the black community involving “light-skinned” and “dark-skinned” people, let me explain. There is a favoritism and borderline fetishization of “light skins” over “dark skins” and even “brown skins” in the black community. Light skinned people are considered better and more desirable because of the mere fact that they have lighter skin. Famous (natural born) light skins would include Halle Berry, Will Smith, Barack Obama, etc. Lets not forget that Beyoncé was once a dark skinned woman. What kind of message is she conveying to her black audience?
2. When does she support the Black Community?
She is often portrayed as a symbol for strong women and for successful black people. But have we heard her speak in depth about either of these things? First off, she rarely does interviews. How are we supposed to know what your opinion is if you rarely vocalize it. Every so often she mentions that she’s a woman in a man’s world (duh) and that the world needs equality (also duh). But once Beyoncé has spoken, we have to wait another couple of years for an update? To actively be a part of a movement, you have to be, well, active.With all the money and power she so evidently has, shouldn't she be doing more for these communities she feels so passionate about? Instead of getting unflattering super bowl pictures removed off the Internet and paying 1mil to have a hospital floor to herself?
3. She lacks actual passion for the black female community
She realizes that right now is a convenient time to make an artistic statement about topics that are making headlines everywhere. She incorporates mainstream things to get attention (by including Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Mike Brown’s parents in one of her music videos).While Lemonade was very artistic and aesthetically pleasing, what were her key messages? Was it as substantial as people make it out to be? To attack the side chick and not the cheating husband. To stay with a man who was unfaithful to you because of your undeniable kind-heartedness and ability to forgive? Her super Afrocentric sister Solange Knowles has been preaching and actively participating in the black women movements for years, where’s her credit?
