I really could have gone with just about any song on this album and found some sort of connection to this chapter. Out of all the songs though, I found myself making the most connections in Partition. Partition is probably the most sexual song on this album. Beyonce’s focus in this song is really all about this fantasy she has about her and her husband. She wants to be everything that he wants in a girl.
In the hook of this song Beyonce is making it clear that she wants to be possessed by Jay. She says “take all of me I just wanna be the girl you like, girl you like The kinda girl you like, girl you like.” She wants to be everything that he could ever want, so that he would never want another girl. Which goes back to what is said in the chapter about the role of women in media being “to satisfy the male gaze and, ultimately, to be possessed.” This entire music video is for the viewing pleasure of men. Especially at 2:01 where she is seen basically naked on a reflective table. There is not one part of this music video that isn’t showing her trying to seduce her husband.
This song could also represent Beyonce being, what the book calls, a post-feminist: “more independent, assertive versions of femininity - something that can sometimes include a proud and explicit quest for sex.” Beyonce is definitely on a quest for sex in this song. Which could be seen as her just wanting to get Jays attention, or you can look at it as her just being more assertive. She starts the song off by saying “Driver roll up the partition please/Driver roll up the partition please/I don't need you seeing yoncé on her knees/Took 45 minutes to get all dressed up/We ain't even gonna make it to this club.” If you're watching the music video, she makes it clear to her audience that she’s on a quest for sex before the lyrics even begin. At around: 20 seconds she starts making gestures towards what we can assume is her husband. Also towards the end of the song Beyonce adds a part thats spoken in French but when translated to English it says “Do you like sex?/Sex, I mean : physical activity, coitus. You like it?/Are you not interested in sex?/Men think that feminists hate sex but it’s an exciting and natural activity that women love.” She wants to be assertive and sexual but still wants everyone to see her as a feminist. She adds these little reminders at the end of quite a few of her songs to put the idea out there that you can be sexual, you can be open about it, and you can still be considered a feminist or what the books describes as post-feminist. 
I think post-feminists can be a few things, not just being sexual. Post-feminists are any women who change the view of women for the better.
ReplyDeleteYou give good description of the song and Beyonce's sexual feelings throughout the song. Also, connecting her attitude to what our book calls a post-feminist gives good description to the reader and a more clear vision of Beyonce's deeper meanings behind her song and even the overall album. The idea of a post-feminist is a good label to put on Beyonce and her actions within this song.
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ReplyDeleteBeyoncé is a creative artist. She was able to show and sing her love to her husband through a song. Her lyrics let people to know that she relies on her husband for sex and pleasure while being finically stable. She is clear example that lets people to know that no matter how independent a woman may be she still relies on a man to make her feel good.
ReplyDeleteI actually watched Beyoncé's entire visual album over the weekend, and almost every single one of her videos seemed sexual to me. While I agree that there is something progressive about a woman taking control of her sexuality and deciding when she does or does not have sex, it is almost like taking a step back when women are over-sexualized. Her representation was almost always as a sexual being only, and rarely ever anything else. For women to be represented in a positive light, there has to be an element of well-roundedness.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, that french quote at the end is something Maude says to "the Dude" in The Big Lebowski (in English), and now I'm wishing I would've done my latest entry on her, because my text is the Coen Brothers, and her character is great! I love Beyoncé even more for making a reference to that movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV_0PzeZRs8
DeleteYou did a great job of capturing the image of Beyonce in this post. I think woman are already oversexualized enough in the media today. Beyonce while being sexual I believe is only feeding this image of oversexuality in media today. While this isn't a step back it certainly isn't a step forward.
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