bell hooks has added her voice to the ongoing dialogue about Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade. The beloved author and activist published an essay on her website yesterday where she takes a examines Beyoncé, feminism, capitalism, and her role in it all.
While hooks praises Lemonade for it’s visualize elements and portraying positive body images, she criticizes the role of the woman Beyoncé sings about on the album.
“Even though Beyoncé and her creative collaborators daringly offer multidimensional images of Black female life, much of the album stays within a conventional stereotypical framework, where the Black woman is always a victim.” hooks later adds, “It is only as Black women and all women resist patriarchal romanticization of domination in relationships can a healthy self-love emerge that allows every Black female, and all females, to refuse to be a victim. Ultimately Lemonade glamorizes a world of gendered cultural paradox and contradiction.”
The Undeniable Connection Between ‘Lemonade’ and the Literary Narrative Around Black Women
hooks goes on to say that despite Lemonade’s visuals and lyrics, it still lacks the ability to fully understand the emotional trauma Black women face in a patriarchal society.
Whether you agree or disagree, hooks’ essay is definitely worth a read. Let us know how you feel about her assessment of Lemonade.
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