Focusing on Rachel Roy Diminishes The Power Of ...

Over the weekend Queen Bey blessed us with the release of her one-hour concept film for “Lemonade,” a breathtaking album that, at its core, is a love letter to black women everywhere.

There is so much to unpack, from the images of the mothers of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner silently holding portraits of their slain sons, to the Malcolm X soundbite that declares, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman.”

And yet, despite all the intricacies and truths about black womanhood laid bare in “Lemonade,” an overwhelming amount of the conversation surrounding the video and album has hinged on speculation about Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s relationship and, more specifically, trying to identify a woman he allegedly cheated on Beyoncé with, identified in the song “Sorry” as “Becky with the good hair.” Well, if you’re focusing on Becky, then you’re completely missing the point. The point being: “Lemonade” isn’t about who Jay Z cheated on Beyoncé with. It’s about Beyoncé’s strength — and the enduring resilience of black women everywhere.


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But one thing is clear: The vitriolic reaction to Roy and the focus on this drama overall says a lot about our tendency to make infidelity, betrayal, and sexual transgressions more about the “other women” with no mention of the men involved — and in Beyoncé’s case, no mention of the work she turned this very specific type of pain into. What’s more interesting: The fact that Jay Z may or may not have cheated on Beyoncé? Or the fact that she turned the pain of his infidelity into a breathtaking work of art?

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“Lemonade” is a celebration of the resilience and the fortitude of black women, in spite of everything. “Lemonade” is an exercise in moving on.

Intuition. Denial. Anger. Apathy. Emptiness. Accountability. Reformation. Forgiveness. Resurrection. Hope. Redemption. These are the themes of “Lemonade.” And they are so much bigger, so much more compelling than “Becky.”




More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/focusing-on-rachel-roy-diminishes-the-power-of-lemonade_us_571e1924e4b0d912d5ff0ff2?ir=Women§ion=us_women

Sorry if this has already been posted. I did a quick check and did not see it here.