In this blog, I have explored Beyoncé’s music videos with a focus on how she challenges  stereotypical roles associated with Black women in society, culture and music.

Here is a bibliography of the works cited :

Adorno, Theodor, and Horkheimer, Max. “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.” Dialectic of Enlightenment, New York: Continuum, 1993, pp. 1-24.

Beyoncé. “If I Were A Boy.” Retrieved from https://genius.com/Beyonce-if-i-were-a-boy-lyrics, pp. 1-2.

Cohen, Sara. “Sounding out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 20, No. 4, 1995, pp. 434-446.

Fleetwood, Nicole R. “Giving Face: Diana Ross and the Black Celebrity as Icon, (Chapter 3). In On Racial Icons: Blackness and the Public Imagination. New York, NY: Rutgers University Press, 2015, pp. 55-80.

Harris-Perry, Melissa. “A Call and Response with Melissa Harris-Perry: The Pain and the Power of ‘Lemonade.’” Elle, 2016, pp. 1-12.

Hobson, Janell. “’Batty’ Politic: Toward an Aesthetic of the Black Female Body.” Hypatia, 18, no. 4, 2003, pp. 87-105.

McFarland, Melanie. “Beyoncé’s Lemonade Tears Apart The Most Demeaning Stereotype of Black Women,” Vox, 2016, pp. 1-10.

Rybacki, Karyn Charles, and Rybacki, Donald Jay. “Cultural Approaches to the Rhetorical Analysis of Selected Music Videos.” Trans, 4, 1999, pp. 1-17.

Van Dijck, Jose. “Record and Hold: Popular Music between Personal and Collective Memory.” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23, No. 5, 2006, pp. 357-374.

Vernallis, Carol. “Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’, Avant-Garde Aesthetics, and Music Video: ‘The Past and the Future Merge to Meet Us Here.’” Film Criticism, 40 no. 3, 2016, pp. 1-5.

Waksman, Steve. “Black Sound, Black Body: Jimi Hendrix, the Electric Guitar, and the Meanings of Blackness,” pp. 75-113. 

In this video, Beyonce holds nothing back in expressing her sexuality, actually writing rather raunchy lyrics such as “I kiss you and you lick your lips / You like it wet and so do I / I know you never waste a drip / I wonder how it feels sometimes,” and “Can you lick my Skittles, it’s the sweetest in the middle / Pink is the flavor, solve the riddle.”  In this manner, Beyoncé harkens back to the era of Jimi Hendrix and the “Black is Beautiful” maxim that helped dismantle notions of blackness as ugly, depraved, and evil (Waksman 81).  Waksman writes of the Black Arts Movement that the black aesthetic “comes to stand for the collective conscious and unconscious of Black America-the real impulse in back of the Black Power movement, which is the will toward self-determination…a radical reordering of the nature and function of both art and the artist” (82).  Clearly, Beyoncé’s blatant self-expression of sexuality is part of the legacy of this effort in the video “Blow.”  

“Blow’s” lyrics get quite sexually graphic in many instances in this video, such as “I can’t wait till I get home so you can turn that cherry out / I want you to turn that cherry out, turn that cherry out,” and “Gimme that daddy-long stroke.”  This also relates to Hobson’s views that centuries of oppression have painted the black female body as something undesirable, unfeminine, grotesque, lascivious and obscene (87).  Without shame and with full out sexuality expressed, Beyonce refuses to accept this notion and instead shatters such cultural stereotypes.

In this commercial video for Pepsi, Beyonce engages in consumerism in ways that help move oppositional culture toward dominant social institutions.  This is reflective of the views of Rybacki and Rybacki who write of MTV videos:

While the MTV format performs a « bardic » function of converging before its audience an array of possible (competing) youth subcultures and lifestyle options, at the same time it negotiates these subcultures and channels any reflective or participatory energy on the part of the audience into the act of consumerism. In this sense MTV functions as a negotiator in the hegemonic process by amplifying and absorbing elements of oppositional culture, while ultimately legitimizing and naturalizing their relationship to the dominant institutions of a consumer society (2).

This commercial does an excellent job of not only promoting Pepsi but of Beyoncé showcasing all of her younger and different selves.  She sees herself in many of her different incarnations, from “Single Ladies” to her created persona of “Sasha Fierce.”  The video sends a lot of messages, such as who Beyoncé is now is a culmination of many different identities of Beyoncé through the years and in different music videos.

Beyonce pushes the envelope in this commercial.  When she sees Sasha Fierce, she looks like she is ready to brawl.  When she sees her image for “Single Ladies,” she’s like “This hoe right here.”  Many messages are being sent.  It is Beyoncé saying she has had to defeat or transcend beyond all of here former selves to be the alpha authentic self she is now.  More importantly, she seems to be sending the message that there is nobody that represents competition for Beyoncé except for Beyoncé.  Nobody gives Beyoncé attitude except for Beyoncé.  This same message helps drive home the message that those who are authentic, fierce, survivors like Beyoncé choose to drink Pepsi.  In this way, she is she is negotiating all of her former sub-selves into participating in her current self via an act of consumerism.  Rybacki and Rybacki reference this process when they maintain of an artist that sells a product through video: “They must gain and hold the viewer’s attention amidst other videos; help establish, visualize, or maintain the artist’s image and the products associated with it; and perhaps, carry one or several direct and indirect messages” (3).  The video for the Pepsi commercial achieves every one of these goals in a powerful way.

“Bow Down/I Been On” (« Flawless « music video) may be Beyoncé’s strongest effort of all to assert herself as a powerful force in and of her own right and of her own choosing and self-making.  Beyoncé is the most-awarded artist in MTV Video Music Award history (Beyoncé 1).  Rybacki and Rybacki comment on the ability of music videos to shape identity and forge community: “Music videos are authentic expressions of a populist industrial society. For young people struggling to find a place in communities dotted with shopping malls but with few community centers, in an economy whose major product is information, music videos play to the search for identity and an improvised community” (2).  In this video, Beyoncé makes it clear who she is and what identity she holds.  She writes: “I know when you were little girls / You dreamt of being in my world / Don’t forget it, don’t forget it / Respect that, bow down bitches / I took some time to live my life / But don’t think I’m just his little wife / Don’t get it twisted, get it twisted / This my shit, bow down bitches.”  Beyoncé declares her identity above and apart from the other girls she knew when young, while also asserting the fact that she is the Queen, above and apart from her famous husband, Jay-Z.  

In this video, Beyoncé is determined to tell us there is no one who can take her off of her game, performance, or identity.  She is her own woman, self-identified as Queen Bey and at the top of her or anyone’s game.  She writes: « I’m bigger than life, my name in the lights / I’m the number one chick, I don’t need no hype / The capital B means, I’m ’bout that life / The capital B means, I’m ’bout that life .”  The video and lyric is a direct challenge to anyone who thinks they can best Beyoncé or keep her down when she is determined to fully express her “fierce” self. 

Truly transcending anything uniquely identified as “black” and using rhetoric to take on divisions regarding gender, the “If I Were A Boy” video is Beyoncé’s take on being male rather than female.  The song is a commentary on the double standards that often exist between men and women.  The woman in the song has been taken for granted by her man.  Beyoncé writes: “If I were a boy / I think I could understand / How it feels to love a girl / I swear I’d be a better man / I’d listen to her / ‘Cause I know how it hurts / When you lose the one you wanted / ‘Cause he’s taken you for granted.”  Literally, Beyoncé becomes the oppressor in this song as a means of liberating women as men are liberated.  Melissa Harris-Perry explains the message for her of the pain and anger expressed by Beyoncé in her videos:

I believe wholeheartedly that Beyoncé makes her videos and music for all women.  For all of us that are expected to deal with our open wounds quietly while society keeps ripping them open again and again, by killing our sons, raping our daughters, making us invisible.  Beyoncé with her music doesn’t just say “I see you,” she says “I am you,” (10).

For this reason Beyoncé remains a groundbreaking icon for millions of black women and other fans around the world.  Her message is that of self-acceptance in all its forms, from sexuality to anger.  This is liberation for Beyoncé, giving one’s self the permission to embrace one’s authentic self in all its hues.

“If I Were A Boy” uses rhetoric and imagery to demonstrate that all human beings are, at heart, the same.  We all feel, love, hurt, get angry, get oppressed and attempt to be free.  Commenting on the video for “If I Were A Boy,” Beyoncé explains: “It’s difficult to grow and to break out and do new things because people have strong expectations. I feel like at this point, I wanted people to hear songs with stronger lyrics and songs that made you feel” (2). In this capacity, Beyoncé is able to unit all people, not just women or women of color, by the way she expresses feelings and emotions that go against normative standards or expectations and make us think more deeply about exactly who we are, as human beings. 

This video is Beyoncé’s expression of her crazy love for a man.  She sings of just how deeply she loves a particular man.  Despite this, she acknowledges that the power of her love has made her do things she might not otherwise, including acting somewhat “crazy.”  She sings: “Got me looking so crazy, my baby / I’m not myself; lately I’m foolish, I don’t do this / I’ve been playing myself; baby, I don’t care / ‘Cause your love’s got the best of me / And, baby, you’re making a fool of me / You got me sprung and I don’t care who sees / ‘Cause, baby, you got me, you got me so crazy, baby.”  In contrast to some of the other videos analyzed here, Beyoncé is exploring how we can all be someone other than who we truly are when we let our feelings or emotions get involved with someone who does not treat us with respect or fairness.

Despite this, in “Crazy In Love” Beyoncé ensures that listeners understand she does not suffer phonies or those who would try to make her be inauthentic lightly.  She sings: “I shake phonies, man; you can’t get next to /
The genuine article; I do not sing though / I sling though; if anything, I bling yo.”  Adorno and Horkheimer are that “From every sound film and every broadcast program the social effect can be inferred which is exclusive to none but is shared by all alike” (4).  Videos are similar to a short film and by moving beyond stereotypical images of black women in culture and society, Beyoncé is able to transcend the impact of such impression.  Instead her work engages viewers and listeners in ways that cut through those stereotypes and appeal to the basic instincts of all human beings of any color.  Even so, it cannot be denied that in many videos, such as “Hold Up,” Beyoncé does send a message to women of color that she feels their hurt and pain and understands the desire to get a piece of their own back.

In this video, Beyoncé demands that any man who desires her had better be prepared to commit to her and respect her by putting a ring on her finger.  She demands this respect for all single ladies.  She is taking back power from years of racial and female oppression, explaining who she is on her own terms without the need for anyone else’s permission: “Acting up, drink in my cup / I can care less what you think / I need no permission, did I mention? / Don’t pay him any attention / ‘Cause you had your turn, but now you goin’ learn / What it really feels like to miss me.”  Beyoncé is sending powerful messages of self-empowerment and liberation to black and white women to throw off the chains of prejudice, discrimination and oppression by men. Janell Hobson writes that the legacy of eras of oppression of black woman have painted the black female body as “grotesque,” “strange,” “unfeminine,” “lascivious,” and “obscene,” (87).  However, it is more than just black women’s bodies that have been oppressed.  It is also their thoughts, feelings, emotions and freedom of expression.  Beyoncé expands rather than restricts women’s liberation, in that she knows it has as much to do with the inside as the outside where black female  or female oppression is concerned.  

Waksman discusses the contentions discourse on the nature of black music in his discussion of Jimi Hendrix (80).  In his essay, Waxman maintains “Hendrix exists as a threshold figure who marks the point at which black music comes into contact with other forms, other traditions, and other audiences to the extent that it risks losing its status as a singularly or identifiably ‘black’ phenomenon” (80).  Beyoncé’s videos and music achieve the same thing, transcending anything that can be labeled identifiably black and, instead, reflecting the dignity and respect of all people.  There is nothing singularly “black” in “All The Single Ladies,” just Beyonce’s call for men to treat women with respect: “’Cause I cried my tears for three good years / You can’t be mad at me.”  

Rybacki and Rybacki argue that the Social Values Model “examines the way in which society resolves conflicts between basic values through rhetorical activity, either synthesizing or transforming incompatible values” (1).  In “Run The World,” Beyoncé provides rhetorical activity that aims to reveal the force and power of the feminine, a concept at odds with years of patriarchal control where women were relegated to second-class and subordinate individuals.  In the video, a blonde Beyoncé is surrounded by a gang of girls of all colors, at one point with a lion at her feet.  This is not an insignificant image, as it is the female lion who kills and provides food for the family.  One lyric goes “Some of them men think / They freak this like we do / But no they don’t.”

Eras of oppression of women and black women are being thrown off like shackles in Beyoncé’s moves and lyrics.  Yet Beyoncé is not just rhetorically contesting black oppression.  She also singles out black males as oppressors of black females.  She writes “I think I need a barber / None of these niggas can fight with me / I’m so good with this, / I remind you I’m so hood with this.”  The “hood” is traditionally associated with black males who rule the “hood,” but in this song Beyoncé contests that power and rule.  This illustrates Sara Cohen’s contention that “music plays a role in producing place as a material setting comprising the physical and built environment.”  Beyoncé’s video and lyric is part homage to black artists who came before her, such as Diana Ross, who’s “I’m Coming Out” and other videos challenged “normative assumptions about black female desirability and strength,” promoting a world where “we are all people” (Fleetwood 77, 73).  This is evident in one of the lyrics of “Run The World”, “Get on your grind / To the other men / That respect what I do / Please accept my shine.”

Jose van Dijck argues that “recorded music is vital to the construction of personal and collective cultural memory” (357).  The lyrics for “Hold Up” play off of the cultural trope of the angry black woman.  Beyoncé writes “I’mma fuck me up a bitch” in reference to a man she loves having cheated on her.  The angry black woman trope includes the idea that “black female emotional expression is considered by the dominant culture to be unsettling, unfeminine, and scary…Let it out for a hot minute, and one might earn the dreaded Angry Black Woman trope” (McFarland 2).  This trope also includes a stereotype of the angry black woman as crazy.  Beyoncé sings, “What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy? Jealous or crazy? / Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately / I’d rather be crazy.”  Beyoncé lets us know she accepts even these angry and slightly crazy parts of herself in her effort to define herself and be true to who she is despite the views of those who might oppress, hurt or otherwise define her. In the lyrics for songs such as “Hold Up,” Beyoncé is forging a link between her black heritage and her female self-acceptance.  She is embracing the self in all of its forms and modes.  Carol Vernallis argues that in such songs “Beyoncé is asking us to not separate her from her cultural lineage because she has embraced her sexual self (or her angry self, her hurt self, her forgiving self) but to challenge ourselves to rewrite our understanding of our ancestors,” (2).  We see that Beyoncé’s anger and threat of violence in the song lyric emanates from her own emotional hurt.  She writes of her cheating partner: “I smell your secrets, and I’m not too perfect / To ever feel this worthless.”  It is centuries of pain and hurt and oppression of authentic expression that drives black women’s anger and thoughts of violence, even Beyoncé herself.