On a scale of 1 to Outrage, I’m struggling to care too much about this one.
Beyonce is on the cover of TIME magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 Most Influential People.
And all by itself, this is a big deal. A big great deal.
She is a black woman who is nobody’s puppet. She is a mother. She is the boss of herself and her empire and I can’t think of too many other female pop stars who could say the same.
She is an empire ruled by Queen Bey and the fact that it is being recognised by one of the oldest and most credible publications in the world is a cause for celebration.
As Beyonce would say: Bow down bitchez.
Some people aren’t happy though, because on the cover Beyonce is wearing undies. Or possibly a white swimsuit. But most people agree it’s undies. Either way, the result is super sexy, lots of flesh. The usual way women appear in pop culture.
Interestingly, in the other published photos from her TIME shoot you can see that originally Beyonce was wearing a white dress while sitting on a stool. Now, who knows when the dress came off or who made the decision that it should.
What we do know – for sure – is that Beyonce’s cover is very different to the other three covers that were printed for the same issue of TIME:
And this is what has prompted a whole lot of negative reaction. As the magazine is celebrating Beyonce’s business achievements and successes which have led to her influence on our society, many are questioning if underwear was an appropriate way to illustrate that. Or celebrate it.
Top Comments
".........And this is where I start arguing with myself about Beyonce’s undies because I’m not sure exactly how I feel about this cover..........."
I know how I feel about it - she looks great, she's hot, she's in control and she's and admirable and ethical woman. No amount of feminist ire and rhetoric is going to change my opinion. Maybe you should ask yourself if you are too easily influenced.
I like this photo. I think she looks very raw and is not hiding behind lots of make-up and fancy clothing. I think she would look better if she smiled but perhaps that's not the look they were going for and I can understand that.
On another note, I'm pretty tired of people often commenting about feminism and what does and does not constitute feminism. As a woman, I'm a feminist because I believe women deserve the same rights as men. But, having said this, I believe men deserve the same rights as women. I think the feminist movement may be getting out of control with respect to what it is setting out to achieve, therefore, we should think about moving towards gender equality.