Daija Spaulding

Flawless Feminist
I Woke Up Like This.
It is 2014, and these are the words on the lips of girls all over the world. Words that
brings to media the new craze of this new age FEMINISM !!!
We all know that in fact Feminism is not really new in fact early signs of Feminism
was during the Womens Rights Movement back in the 19th century. While the movement
concentrated on gaining women suffrage, the History, Art & Archives notes that initially women
argued against social and institutional barriers that limited womens rights. Well women
gained suffrage back in 1920. So the big question is what has the Feminist movement become
today. There are a lot of stereotypes about the feminist movement. One of the biggest told by
Eun Kim, saying that feminism casts women as victims and men as adversaries and predators.
There was a big need for some clarification.
Beyoncs Flawless, a song that was on her surprise album of 2014, has made clear
what it means to be a Feminist. Especially, the idea that it is just to raise women up and bring
men down. Feminism is the push for the equality of the sexes socially, politically and
economically.
When the songs starts you get a quick blast from the past, audio from an episode of Star
Search where Girls Tyme is being introduced, Beyoncs first girl group. Beyonc starts her
verse which is all about how she has been in the game a long time, and no one has paralleled
her success. Basically claiming her name Queen B, and asking all others to Bow Down. Now
instantly you think this is another mainstream song by a mainstream artist. A song where the
artist claims that there is something different or special about them, and that they are better than
all of the rest of the carbon copies.
Then your life is forever changed. The music goes to the background, then out comes the
strong, eloquent, and slightly accented voice of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is a good
method because, you feel the change from informal to formal. The switch tells you that This is
serious now. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an acclaimed author from Nigeria. The excerpt
inserted into the song is from a Tedx Talk that she gave entitled, We Should All Be Feminist.
Where she dispels the rumors about what it means to be a feminist.
Adichies part in the song is the heart of the message. You get this from the speech being
in the middle but also the message. She starts off by saying, We teach girls to shrink
themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls: "You can have ambition, but not too
much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise, you will threaten the
man. Here she discusses how girls are taught to basically make themselves invisible. Studies
conducted by the Yale Law Women state that males are more likely to volunteer their answers
than women. Here she appealing to your pathos and ethos. When she speaks, you feel a
sympathy for girls, because when you think of the words shrink and small, you think
insignificance. The middle gets into more detail of how women are specifically targeted to be
different. As in this expectation of marriage and the way society has made us compete with
each other to reach this goal. Next she really hits home, with a topic that has been argued at least
once by everyone, boys and girls alike. She says, We teach girls that they cannot be sexual
beings in the way that boys are. There are plenty of words to describe a sexual female. You
have whore, slut and now we have the thot. However, there are no words to describe a
sexual man. In fact, society tends to praise a man who is hypersexual. Finally the excerpt ends
with the textbook definition of a feminist: Feminist: a person who believes in the social,
political, and economic equality of the sexes. Here she appeals to your logos. The point of this

Daija Spaulding
Flawless Feminist
to show how the definition does not include a gender. It doesnt say that it is only women who
have to push for equality a person is anyone, its universal.
Beyonc then finishes the song up with everyones favorite call and response. When the
music comes back to the forefront. When you hear the words, You wake up you already know
to shout FLAWLESS. Flawless is the perfect word because it implies perfection, and who
doesnt want to be perfect?
Beyoncs Flawless, with her being a pop superstar, has a wide range when
considering audience. The point of the song is to be universal. So the message of Flawlessness
can be directed to an 11 years old girl to a 34 years old man, and anyone in between. While
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie part in the song, was originally directed to a more mature audience,
her word choice is so accessible that a younger audience is able to understand. While I love the
language, my favorite aspect of the song is the tone. While Beyonc is known for her vocals, this
song is spoken to you. It adds to the seriousness of the message. Beyonc uses this song to
establish herself as a leader instead of just a pop star. She becomes not just a performer but a role
model.
Feminism may have started out focusing only on the improvement of women in society.
However, it is so much bigger than that now. To be successful the feminist movement needs
men. In meaning, we need them to recognize the societal chains that has been placed around
both genders. In her Tedx Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says, The problem with gender is
that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Our gender sets certain
expectations for us, expectations that make us feel constricted and stuck. The feminist
movements goal is for society to recognize the individual instead of our gender. The movement
is there to liberate the individuals of both sexes, to be their authentic selves. And you havent
heard the song or the Tedx Talk, let me bring you up to speed, here are the links. Enjoy !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc (Tedx Talk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm3D3D-xSKE (Flawless Music Video)

Daija Spaulding
Flawless Feminist
Bibliograpghy
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian,
Women in Congress, 19172006. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 2007. The Womens Rights Movement, 18481920,
http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/NoLady/Womens-Rights/
Kim, Eun K. "Is Feminism Still Relevant? Some Women Saying They Don't Need
It."TODAY. Today News, 30 July 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Yale Law Women, Yale Law School Faculty and Students Speak Up about Gender: Ten
Years Later. YLW, April 2012. PDF file.
Adichie, Chimamanda N. "We Should All Be Feminists: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at
TEDxEuston." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.