Is Beyonce lemonade the most powerful black feminist piece of work?

[GetInFormationLadies]

I'm barely over the death of prince but this album as made me shed a lake ful of tears in the last day.

It's such a powerful, strong love filled album that will help all black women get through even their darkest days.

She has left behind her sugar pop to try something very risky but to follow her heart.

I can not recommend it enough.

Oh Raffles, be quiet. Black women are marginalised in a way white people absolutely are not, and you know it. The default character setting anywhere in the western world is white and you're not being oppressed because a black woman made an album to speak to black women.

I'm intrigued and can't wait to hear this album. I think Beyonce is fantastic.

Raffles, being 'pro black' doesn't make you anti-white, so I have no idea why you would think anyone would find it insulting.

I haven't heard/seen it but I'm glad she's produced something that clearly resonates so strongly with black women and particularly black feminists. I'm white so can only offer an opinion from a feminist perspective but the fact that the media are selling this work on the claim that it is about JayZ says everything doesn't it .

I see absolutely nothing feminist about Beyonce - please tell me when she has ever been a feminist because so far I've only ever seen a money hungry singer who was more than willing to forgive her husband his affairs in exchange for him being a vehicle to fame.
Now she feels that her bank account and image are secure, she can release an album that's supposed to be a huge revelation. Yes, my husband is a cheater, yes, my sister slapped him because of that. Pity she didn't mention her fake pregnancy while being honest and all-revealing.

There is about three videos on Twitter. I watched it on periscope on Sunday. I would assume other website are there too. It's best to watch it as a whole then it would make sense.

I must say some of the words seemed so simple yet they can tell a thousand words.

Yes she does in trans at the end of the video. She includes everybody and every relationship. Gay, straight, old and young.

willing to forgive her husband his affairs in exchange for him being a vehicle to fame.

She had arrived at fame long before JayZ pulled up.

She had a video of herself pregnant too

Interesting discussion about the album just now on Woman's Hour.

As a non Beyonce fan, who saw all of her political work to be nothing more than a publicity stunt, I really expected the backlash from formation to silence her all the way back into meaningless old pop.

I have to say I have been proved wrong, and I will actually now make an effort to listen to, and stand behind her work.

She WILL upset a large majority of her fan base, which WILL effect her sales, but forgoing finances to 'speak' is something I didn't expect from her, or any artist at the top of the industry, under her level of spotlight.

I urge all black women, or anyone else interested in learning about the experiences of the black woman, to not let these discussions become about infidelity, and white fragility, as has already happened in this thread.

It is not up to oppressed to educate. There is so much literature on this topic, people are more than capable of seeking it if they choose. Quite often people are more concerned with arguing or protecting thier own fragility than they are about learning and lending a voice to black feminism. We are ignored enough as it is. Lets not use our space to give to others, as always!

I have always wanted to start a 'general' chat thread for black women to discuss race, feminism, child raring, and whatever. It would be great if this could be the start of something positive.

So are she and jay-z breaking up now or has she released this and still staying with him?

Hmmm, I think she's massively overrated. But I'm clearly in a minority with that view! Queen of the world? Meh.

It is so raw, so real

I watched it in awe.

I would imagine Clandestino, that Beyoncé hasn't had a huge amount of control over her career as tends to be the way. I also think people change with age and responsibility.

I know it was having a daughter that made me open my eyes to a lot. I used to be very ignorant - no reason to think she could be any different.

Many women accept affairs, tolerate abuse, make poor decisions etc...it doesn't mean they still don't have something to say.

You might be right, and this could all be about publicity but if even one young black woman feels empowered and that her story is being told I think it's reductive to dismiss it.

urge all black women, or anyone else interested in learning about the experiences of the black woman, to not let these discussions become about infidelity, and white fragility, as has already happened in this thread.

It is not up to oppressed to educate. There is so much literature on this topic, people are more than capable of seeking it if they choose. Quite often people are more concerned with arguing or protecting thier own fragility than they are about learning and lending a voice to black feminism. We are ignored enough as it is. Lets not use our space to give to others, as always!

Totally agree.

I'm intrigued to hear this after reading a few reviews. Brilliant to see a mainstream artist write about something beyond love and heartbreak.

Anyone still blithering things like 'why does her colour have to come into it?' needs to watch the Saturday Night Live clip 'The Day Beyonce Turned Black'. Fantastic satire of this bullshit.

When White people get 'insulted' by something because it isn't specifically made for them I want to scream.

Don't blame you one bit.

Its also worth bearing in mind that beyonce was groomed for her fame from before she could even form an opinion on who she should be and what she wanted to say. She was driven to her fame by her father, she had no say for a very long time in where he took her and when she achieved her success it was based on a what she had done to get there. so, sensibly, she kept doing it.

The word being branded about when Beyoncé mentions "becky with the good hair ". The media has taken the affair route. If I was to write an article about that I would have taken the feminist route for black women. The racism that embodies the whole of those words. It speaks volume.

The African art and the perspective it took was incredible. The use of it was so much better than the Hollywood bull and portrayal of black Africans as barbaric.

By the way, serena Williams was proving a point in that video and I loved it. I also cringed at the same time. sorry is my favourite song so far.

Freedom made me cry.

Let's also remember that this album is from Beyoncé parkwood and not Sony. It says a lot.

I thought it would affect her sales but it gone through the roof. Even though it was free to view on Saturday and Sunday with HBO.

and Beyoncé is finally promoting herself as unapologetically black and that is something huge for black women everywhere

Hmm. This is the part that makes me frustrated for her and for black women who feel silenced by society.

She played the game until she got her money and success and then decided to make the statement.

But if she hadn't done so, she wouldn't have a voice loud enough to matter.

White people in Murica lost their shit about Formation, it was ridiculous. Their Queen was suddenly unashamedly black and I don't think they knew what to do with it.

In a world of Donald Trumps, you need a Beyonce.

Her early work will have been what she had been trained to produce, we arent born knowing what we want to say, it takes time to sift through what are other people's expectations of us and what are our own thoughts and opinions.

It may well affect her sales. I think i might just buy my first ever beyonce album.

The word being branded about when Beyoncé mentions "becky with the good hair ". The media has taken the affair route. If I was to write an article about that I would have taken the feminist route for black women. The racism that embodies the whole of those words. It speaks volume

YY to this.

Everyone spotlighting Rachel Rey who lost no time jumping on the bandwagon, instead of seeing it for what it was; a reference to white girls and how they're (we're) held up as the holy grail of women.

There's a lot of important messages in these lyrics.

I haven't heard it but I've read the lyrics and articles about it.

I don't think the affair references are a bad thing either. She's taking ownership of the rumours that have plagued her.

To me she's saying, quite clearly, that he cheated (though some say it's about her father, not JayZ) but she's not allowing herself to be painted as some fragile victim of his behaviour. I like that.

I had a brilliant friend at university who was a black American woman, we once had a conversation about black women being considered the lowest in society, being both black and female. It appalled me at the time as I could see in the world around me, that it was very true. It makes me so sad that in the 30 years since we had that conversation that so little has actually happened to change it.

I applaud Beyoncé if she is using her art to try to make a difference. Although I'm not a fan of her songs.