Monday, February 8, 2016


THE BEYONCE BOWL

Though I did not get to watch the Super Bowl this year as my power went out, I did have a conversation with a good friend of mine about Beyoncé's halftime performance. She told me about how pro-black it was and about the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther's formation. It struck me that this was not being celebrated, that most people, including myself, probably did not even know this was going on because we were so focused on the Super Bowl that recognizes and awards men.

During one section of her halftime show, she and all 50 of her dancers were dressed in an outfit representing the Black Panthers uniform. They marched down part of the field while Beyoncé led the formation and paid homage to their formation that nobody was paying attention to. This performance was incredibly important in promoting a pro-black stance if only for a few minutes. 50 years ago, the Black Panther Party (for Self Defense) was created in Oakland, California and was one of the greatest efforts by Blacks to fight for freedom in the United States.

Her entire entourage of back up dancers was black, which is not something that many famous artists can say.  All of the instrumental performers on stage were also women, for example there was a guitar solo played completely by a female. Nine times out of ten when people are referring to any type of instrumental artist, their minds automatically associate men to instruments of most genres.

While her performance was extremely powerful in so many ways, I cannot discount the sexualization of not only Beyoncé, but all of her dancers as well. Even while making a statement about the Black Panthers, not even a minute into the performance, they were twerking. Their outfits were short and incredibly tight. So the question becomes: why do all female performers have to wear short and tight clothing while dancing sexually all over the stage in order to be praised?

 


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6 comments:

  1. Because women, black women especially, are seen as libidinal commodities. Their sexualzation is still pleasurable to society. Even in the context of the BPP, where the messianic, patriarchal structure was prominent. Not many know about Cathleen Cleever ran many of the programs, or that Chaka Khan was involved with the Panthers. But almost everyone knows Huey P Newton or Eldridge Cleaver. It is disheartening to see that the conversation arouse from overt sexualization

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  2. Im really glad that you brought this up because I for one had not known what the Black Panthers was. I too did not watch the Super Bowl but I did happen to watch Beyonce's performance online later on and notice the pro-black and pro-women messages, but I knew nothing of the Black Panthers so that did not stand out to me. Now that you brought this up I was able to look up more information on the Black Panthers and learn more about a history that I was never taught.

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  3. I loved the halftime performance but too, do agree that the outfits women wear are a little over the top. It is always the outfits that catch our eyes during performances or the Grammy's, etc- why? What are they trying to prove? I never understood that-and I am a girl. I guess they are all about image and "proving" themselves to people. I wasn't familiar with the Black Panthers and had no prior knowledge as to why they were all wearing black. You would think they would be a little more conservative while representing something so serious?

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  4. The question of sexuality in these things (the performance, music videos, etc.) is a confusing topic. The Black Panther representation is awesome, and the pro-black imagery is amazing for Beyonce to bring to the performance, but the sexualization caught me off guard as well.

    It reminds me of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video. I know a lot feminist/gender studies people liked it because Nicki's idea was that she was claiming her own sexuality, and being sexual for herself, but it serves the same function as other music videos through its visual rhetoric. I think the same problem (I think it's a problem, at least) occurred here. Beyonce and her dancers looked strong and tough, but regardless of whether or not the dancing was celebrating their sexuality or their "blackness," it kind of serves the function of "eye candy" regardless.

    But then it just comes back to policing women's sexuality and the whole argument becomes tough to have; it's hard to know where to fall on the subject.

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  5. Great discussion and questions, particularly,

    So the question becomes: why do all female performers have to wear short and tight clothing while dancing sexually all over the stage in order to be praised?

    But then it just comes back to policing women's sexuality and the whole argument becomes tough to have; it's hard to know where to fall on the subject.

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  6. I discussed the same thing as you in my blog! Beyonce really did find a very creative platform for her performance because the first time I watched I really hadn't caught all of the imagery she was trying to convey. It took until I watched it a second time to catch the Black Panthers tribute. I thought it was so interesting that she was taking this opportunity at the biggest event in America to promote her cause. The fact that all of her dancers were black was really a giant statement to representation because it's not often when an artist will have so much representation. And her song was such an awesome message to add to the performance. Though I do agree that the uniforms were definitely sexualized and it calls into question whether it was necessary or whether it was empowering.

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