#beyonce's

Misogyny is casual and common in American society. But black women face the double blow of both inter and intra-racial sexism and racism. Indeed, many of the highest profile black male entertainers have built careers on the public shaming of black women. And Jay-Z is one of them.

While fans and critics continue to debate just how much of Beyonce’s latest album Lemonade is based on Jay’s infidelities, the fact remains that he is the architect of ‘Big Pimpin’ and has often referred to women as disposable possessions in his lyrics.

After viewing Lemonade, which takes a deep dive into the pain black women experience for being, in the words of Malcolm X, “the most disrespected person in America”, Chicago-based poet Kwabena Foli wrote a Facebook post, now shared more than 3,700 times, coming to terms with how damaging the ‘pimpin’ mentality has been to black women.

He starts by laying out his love for Jay-Z.

Those that know me KNOW I’m a Jay-Z head. I wrote my final research report on Jay-Z and blk masculinity for my master’s degree. This man literally gave me the exact cool and mentality that I have based my own life decisions on growing up – how I would act, talk, rap, conduct business – all of it. In fact, Jay-Z was the first artist that introduced poetry to me.

He goes on to explain how Jay-Z’s ‘Big Pimpin’ philosophy is embedded in many black men’s dealings with black women.

Jay-Z made pimp culture cool (not to mention the older men in my life who modeled it before me). Pimp culture can be summed up pretty much in this – i believe women need me and exist for me. Like, a woman’s value is only as much as you can use her for. It’s such an embedded thing in my manhood especially as the very culture runs like this (rape culture I’m referring to as well). “Big Pimpin’” was my anthem. “I’m a pimp by blood / not relation / ya’ll be chasin’ / I replace them” was one of my favorite verses of his (though he was quoting BIG I liked it in his swag). Another thing about pimp culture is image. Image is important above all. Image to whom? To all the other men – the other pimps, hustlers, etc. It’s a respect thing, and nothing is more respected than power. The more power you have, the more respect you get, the better your image is – and blk women are just pawns in that whole game; insignificant, only as good as I can use them to be the king. Even in “conscious” scenes like activism and the arts does this play out so viscerally.“Got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain” is another one of my favs of his because it was still pimp culture – just more seasoned. I’ve personally always wondered if marrying Beyonce was a love thang or a power move. Either way, Jay-Z was still The Pimp. The Hustler to me.

However, seeing the effects of Jay Z’s pimping — whether real or fictionalized — play out in Lemonade made clear to Foli how misguided pimp culture really is.

the way he appeared to breathe all that in as he laid at her feet had my mind blown. This is the creator of Big Pimpin! This is the guy with the hottest chick in the game wearing his chain! Now the dude I’m looking at is vulnerable – yet not embarrassed by it. He looks straight into the camera at one point like, “Yea. I got it all wrong. She doesn’t need or exist for me. I need and exist for her.” Send all the shade to Jay Z as you’d like, but as a blk man he just portrayed a side of masculinity that fellas everywhere will be talking about and hopefully, will emulate. Definitely not the complete picture of what many are looking for, but definitely an amazing step in the right direction. Seeing the king of pimp culture humbled like that out of love for a blk woman was just…inspirational.

You can read the full post here, or below.

Ladies, what are your thoughts?

Black Men on Twitter Use Beyonce’s Seeming Airing of Jay-Z’s Cheating on Lemonade to Drag Black Women

On Saturday Beyonce released her new visual album, Lemonade, and it’s already being lauded as her most transparent work yet. Although it’s described on Tidal as “based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing”, many are speculating that it is an indictment of husband Jay-Z’s infidelities. While Beyonce’s camp was silent after the infamous ‘elevator incident’ of 2014, which saw protective younger sister Solange giving Jay-Z a full on beat down, fans are connecting dots and concluding that the “Becky” with “good hair” mentioned on Lemonade is responsible. Add to the mix designer Rachel Roy’s messy Instagram photo captioned “good hair don’t care” shortly after Lemonade’s release, and the case seems to be clear.

For many black women Beyonce represents an unattainable standard of wealth, beauty, fame and prestige. We are proud of her and see ourselves in her, even as we struggle against the very standard that elevates her while slighting us for being too dark, too poor, not curvy enough or not talented enough. In the past Beyonce has hinted that she, too, struggles with this standard. In 2013 she sang “Pretty Hurts“, and in 2016 she declared that she loves her Negro Nose and Blue Ivy’s afro. But with Lemonade, Beyonce completely banishes the idea that she is an untouchable. In publicizing her own humiliation and disappointment, she connects with black women who too often experience infidelity and emotional abuse at the hands of the men around them.

Our own Lisa Jean-Francois spoke poignantly about this;

someone in my facebook group asked why Beyonce revealed so much of her marital business in ?#?lemonade?. My answer: I can understand the need for privacy, but i think Beyonce knows she’s no longer her own person. She’s become so much more than a wife and owes so much more to the world than holding jay-z’s secrets. I think when you speak the truth there is nothing that can harm you. Nothing. if their relationship doesn’t survive this, what can she say but, “I told the truth.” Far too often, in black culture, we keep things secret in an effort to protect and we can say we are protecting “our families,” when in truth we are often protecting the men in our lives. When a girl is raped in black families, by a man in the family, how often is she made to then sit across from him at thanksgiving dinner? We keep quiet, but who benefits from our silence? When ebony magazine released the cover of cosby with the shattered glass across his face, black people were pissed. how dare “we” “air our dirty laundry” to the world? The reality is life is dirty. Marriage can be ugly. And women get hurt. We, black women, are not soldiers. It’s time we let the armor down and show what’s real. and what better way to do so than this album? She has this plaftorm, and she owes it to the world and to herself to use her talent to 1. heal herself and 2. change the way in which the world perceives black women. We are complex, we are flawed, but we are not work mules. fucking you, cooking for you, birthing your children, and keeping your secrets?!

And yet, a solemn moment of humanization for black women was quickly seized upon by many black men as an opportunity for public humiliation.

The deep, deep misogyny in these tweets is, in some ways, exactly what Lemonade is about — the notion that black women should be complacent in the face of constant humiliation. Hopefully all these men will get a sound social media dragging, because enough is enough.