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In the 21st century, there is perhaps no other more polarizing figure in discussions of feminism than millionaire actress, pop icon and international music superstar Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. She is both accepted and rejected as a feminist; her behavior is both applauded and criticized; she is viewed as both empowering and disempowering; and she is both credited with bringing women’s issues to the attention of a larger audience and accused of being a “terrorist” to the feminist movement of the day. Beyoncé occupies a space earlier generations may have never imagined–-a singing, dancing, acting, Black woman who is an entertainment mogul (Griffin 2011). Nonetheless, she is a part of a long lineage of Black women who use their voices to describe their feelings about being Black women and, through this process, give other Black women power from their messages (Whittington & Jordan 2014).

Today, her messages are said to be feminist. However, she gives “feminism” a “makeover”(Zimmerman 2014). She does not fit the usual physical form or behave in the ways of the “Feminazi”(Bennett 2014). As an entertainer, Beyoncé is “universally loved, virtually unquestioned, and flawless,” and as a wife, she is not a “man-hater”(Bennett 2014). During a media interview with Jane Gordon in 2010, Beyoncé initially said,“I think I am a feminist in a way.” Three years later in a Rolling Stone interview, she embraced her identity and called herself a “modern-day feminist”(Cubarrubia 2013). In addition to her declaration, there are other connections to feminism. She was on the cover of the Spring 2013 issue of Ms.