Anytime Queen Bey gives us any insight into how she thinks or feels, we’re scrambling to glean every little bit of information out of it to bask in her light. Her recent “Ask Me Anything” Interview with Elle magazine that went viral yesterday felt like that for me.
As a Black woman, I can’t help but read her words with the experience of my Blackness wrapped around them like a cocoon. Everything she says comes with melanin-richness, curly hair magic, and big booty swag, jumping off of the pages just for me and my Black and female identity.
It forges a bond with the singer that allows me to feel seen by her, understood by her, close to her. And in the below quotes, she spoke to me and my Black beauty, the beauty of my sisters, and the power that we have as an entity that will undoubtedly run the world.
“My mother instilled in me the idea that creativity starts with taking a leap of faith—telling your fears they are not allowed where you are headed.”
As Black women we are taught many lessons from our mothers as it pertains to our beauty and how our presence as Black women dictates how we’re treated in the world. The fear of being the only Black girl in the boardroom, the Black woman with the natural kinky hair on Wall Street, or the dark-skinned beauty on TV is not allowed to follow us towards our dreams anymore.
“We all have more power than we realize.”
Black women are seeing, through women like Beyoncé, Cicely Tyson, Rihanna, Lena Waithe, Ava Duvernay, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o and more, that our melanin can move mountains—and campaigns. And the world has realized it too.
“Most women have been conditioned to ignore symptoms and just ‘tough it out’ and focus on taking care of everyone else before themselves. I am no longer one of those people.”
Beauty and self-care go hand in hand. Whether it’s a weekend routine that involves a massage, pedicure and facial, or whether you like treating yourself to CBD bath bombs and false eyelashes, Black women have to make themselves a priority. Treat yourself became a popular phrase for a reason. Black women are great at catering to everyone before we care for ourselves. Beyoncé is no longer doing that and neither should the rest of us.
“You can create your own style by experimenting and taking chances and continually reinventing your look [with all of these pieces].”
While the singer might have been referencing Ivy Park pieces specifically, this translates when it comes to our distinct beauty. Black women are the purveyors of makeup transformations, and we win the hair chameleon award in every circle. The biggest thing to note is that there’s no right or wrong way. If you like a sew-in or wig, do you. If your coils make you feel like a queen, rock them. And let no one tell you that blue eyeshadow and red lips are not right for your skin tone ever again.
“We are living in a beautiful time of real progression towards acceptance.”
The steps are small, but we’re seeing them. In 2019 Miss Universe, Miss America, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA are all Black women. And that’s just where it begins. We’ve already reached a point of little acceptance for less than, which has propelled diversity and inclusion into true tenets of businesses that get it. And we’ve told the companies that haven’t shown that they get it that they don’t get to benefit from our support, monetary or otherwise.
“I am more than enough no matter what stage I’m at in life.”
“Enough” is a trigger word for many Black women because for so long we were fed false propaganda that we could never be enough. Black women in all their beauty—curls, kinks, coils, full lips, hyperpigmentation, cellulite, scars—are, and always will be, more than enough.
“As long as I take, I better look like Halle Berry.”
We’re joking when we say this (Beyoncé was clearly quoting a line from Jay-Z’s interlude “Beach Is Better” off his Magna Carter Holy Grail album), but Halle is still a beauty we admire. At 53 years old she continues to work on herself and take care of herself, holding court with any woman half her age. She continues to be the starlet that’s referenced as the holy grail of beauty and it’s inspirational because she is a proud Black woman.