The purpose of this study sought to examine the influences of Beyoncé’s brand of Black Feminism on the sexual decision making among African American millennials. The research questions explore how the lyrical content and sexual imagery of Beyoncé as an African
American female performer, influence the perspective of millennials on Black female sexuality, Black female identity, and agency juxtaposed against white supremacy, Black male patriarchy, and disembodied Black Feminism. The broader thematic research questions guiding this study were as follows:
1. Does Beyoncé’s brand of feminism resonate more with young African American women than previous iterations of feminism?
2. How does Beyoncé’s treatment of race, class, gender, white supremacy, and Black male patriarchy influence her audience’s awareness of Black female identity?
3. How do young African American women interpret messages about Beyoncé, Black male patriarchy, and feminism?
Fourteen African American women between the ages of 18 and 25 were purposefully recruited and interviewed. All participants were screened prior to selection to gather
inclusionary data, such as, gender, race, age, and favorite Beyoncé performance. Prior to the interviews, the participants all watched their favorite Beyoncé performance with the researcher. A qualitative research design was used to explore the factors that influence how are why
Beyoncé’s brand of feminism resonates more with young African American women; how Beyoncé’s treatment of race, class, gender, white supremacy, and Black patriarchy influence her
interpret messages about Beyoncé, Black male patriarchy, and feminism. The data were analyzed by using two cycles of coding: values coding, and thematic coding. Face to face interviews were conducted. Participants were recruited from the undergraduate departments of African American Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexualities Studies at Georgia State University.
An analysis of the data revealed two categories related to the way participants resonate with Beyoncé’s brand of feminism: ideal Black womanhood and Black feminist messages in lyrics. In regards to Beyoncé’s treatment of sites of oppression, race generated two categories: action
based and self-evident. Only one category emerged from Beyoncé’s treatment of class:
aspirations to be upper class. Only one category emerged from Beyoncé’s treatment of gender: support struggles for equality regardless of gender or sexual orientation. In regards to Beyoncé’s
treatment of white male supremacy, only one category emerged: support issues, ideas, and people who reflect the needs of the African American community. Only one category emerged from Beyoncé’s treatment of Black patriarchy: Black women are necessary in the Black
community and to Black men.
In regards to how young African American women interpret messages about Beyoncé, Black male patriarchy, and feminism; for messages about Beyoncé, only two categories emerged: Beyoncé being considered an icon, or a role model. The data analysis revealed two emerging categories in regards to how participants interpret Black male patriarchy: Black women are worthy of love, equality and appreciation, and Black women are self-reliant, self-sufficient, and independent. For how participants interpret messages about feminism, two categories emerged: Black female unity, and performance based feminism. This chapter includes detailed discussion regarding conclusions of the study implications for theory any practice in the field of African
American Studies, and limitations of this study. It also includes recommendations for future research.
For the first conclusion, the literature speaks to three determining factors in regards to the success of early Black female blues performers. The three factors are the way they spoke and used their voices in performances; their themes; and how they recognized the new opportunities for the highly elusive concept of freedom (Davis, 1998). All three of these can be applied to Beyoncé. She performs and speaks in to African American women in her lyrics; she speaks to themes that directly impact the African American community; and she recognizes new
opportunities for the evolution of societal norms and expectations for women of color. These factors are why her brand of Feminism resonates more with your African American women.
As it pertains to the second conclusion, the researcher thought that class and white
supremacy would be overlooked by many of the participants. The literature speaks to a historical negation of class in regards to African American communities. African American communities are not monolithic, and therefore have varying degrees of socioeconomic status. However, it is typically the opinions and struggles of those of means and opportunities, like Beyoncé, and Anna Julia Cooper, and not Bessie Smith that gets told. In regards to white supremacy, the researcher believed that the system of white supremacy would be too complex of a concept to analyze through the lens of a five-minute performance. Although, the researcher argues that white supremacy is always evident in discussion issues pertaining to equality, because white
supremacy is a part of the global systems of oppression, it could be difficult to readily identify. Race, gender and Black male patriarchy have also been the most common themes in Beyoncé’s most recent album release, Lemonade. Seventy-one percent of the participants
the participants mentioned the album when asked about questions regarding Beyoncé’s treatment or the portrayal or race, gender and Black male patriarchy. With these three themes being the most recent and current messages from Beyoncé, it is clear why the participants recognized these three sites of oppression over class and white supremacy. The images and lyrics of Lemonade
solidifies her audiences’ awareness of Black female identity by speaking to race, gender, and
Black male patriarchy.
Although the third conclusion is founded in the participants’ response to Black male
patriarchy, it speaks directly to the theoretical framework that is the foundation of the data analysis. Womanism speaks to the experience of the average African American woman. This theory speaks to elevating communities of color from all sites of oppression, and maintains that women of color are worthy of love, equality, and appreciation (Phillips, 1991). This theory also recognizes that African American women have been to some degree, self-reliant, self-sufficient, and independent, more so than any other minority group (Collins, 1996).
In retrospect, there are things that the researcher wished she could have done differently. The scope of the study is rooted in issues of public health in regards to the high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted contagion among African American women. The researcher’s background is not in public health, but she did seek the advice of social workers and
those who work in public health to assess the foundation, direction, and methodology of the study. A researcher in the field of public health or social work could have had more insight into appropriate lines of questioning and methodology that will speak to the nature of the public health issue. The researcher would have also liked to have included questions about the participants’ understanding or experience with STD or STI contagion, and how they reconcile
those experiences with messages of Black female sexuality and agency. However, that would have changed the scope of the study and the findings.
The researcher also regrets that she did not get a chance to have a detailed discussion about how they think African American women are perceived. She would have liked to have been able to add interview questions regarding how they see themselves and if that perceptions ever change. The constructivism foundation of the study speaks to the participant’s reality being
a product of their experiences. With that being acknowledged, the researcher would have liked to have heard more about those experiences and what helped them grasp the concept of Black female identity and how they perform it.
The research did not get the opportunity to fully develop arguments on the concept of Western beauty and what has been argued as the idyllic standard of beauty for African American women. The researcher would have liked to have included data on colorism, data from the Clarke Doll Experiment, statistics in hair straightening products, and the international rise of popularity of skin bleaching products. These topics would have supported some the themes identified in the findings.