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A Biography Beyonc?? Knowles was originally born in Houston, Texas in 1981. She rose to fame at only sixteen years old when her R&B group, more commonly known as Destinies Child, signed their first record deal. Since then, Beyonc?? has embarked on numerous different experiences such as acting along side of Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, and most importantly the take off of her solo career in 2004. Her first solo album sold millions of copies, won her five Grammy awards and was certified platinum four times.
Her second solo album, released in 2006, held two of her most famous songs, Irreplaceable nd Beautiful Liar, which some would say were the songs that really created a name for her. At the 201 0 Grammy awards, Beyonc?? walked away with 6 Grammy’s. Since then, she has released her self-titled album, Beyonc??, without any promotion for it. Surprisingly, she still sold over 800,000 copied of this album in the first weekend that it hit shelves (Beyonc?? 2015). Since the release of this album she holds 1 9 total career Grammy awards, putting her on the list of top 20 artists with the most Grammy awards, alongside of her husband Jay-Z (Grein 2014).
Since the takeoff of her career, Beyonc?? has arried Jay-Z, more formally known as Shawn Carter. Jay-Z not only runs his own record label, but also is famous in his own right with twelve of his own albums reaching the top of the charts and earning him 17 Grammy awards (Grein 2014). In addition to music and acting, Beyonc?? also runs a clothing line called House of Dereon, and has her own fragrance line called Heat. Not only is she involved in her own million dollar business empire, but she also makes millions by endorsing companies such as H and Pepsi (Beyonc?? 2015).
Through the rise of her fame, Beyonc?? has become on of the most ecognized faces in todays society. According to Forbes, she is the number one most powerful celebrity, surpassing even celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres (Pomerantz 2015). Over the past century women have earned many of the same rights that men have held. Since there are still some things that are unfair, such as the pay gap between men and women, many women have spoken of their opinions in the public eye.
Beyonc?? is not shy about expressing her opinion in the topic of feminism, which is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men (Feminism 2010). She has been discussing her opinions for years, but her opinion became controversial to the public when she released a twelve-minute short documentary discussing her opinions on the matter. In a video called Yours and Mine, Beyonc?? talks about what fame means to her, what her marriage means to her, and most importantly what equality Of the sexes means to her.
Receiving more than twelve million views, it has become one of the most influential videos in the world of feminism (Boardman 2014). Right after the release of this short film, Beyonc?? performed live at the 2014 Video Music Awards with a giant backdrop that aid, “FEMINISM,” which has since made Beyonc?? one of the first female celebrities to express her opinions on the matter. Beyonc?? is now recognized as an active feminist. “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. ‘ Because am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors – not for jobs or for accomplishments, which think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men.
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes” (Knowles 2014). When Beyonc?? Knowles came out with her self-titled album, Beyonc??, it created quite the controversy. The most controversial track, ** *FLAWLESS, sends a powerful message to the world about gender inequality. Though it may seem equal on the outside, Beyonc?? tries to reach the world through music to come to the realization that it is not equal. Girls are taught to stand behind the man and to never show ambition.
Along side of her famous song pretty Hurts, which holds the powerful line “pretty hurts, you shine a light on whatever is worse, perfection is a disease of a nation,” Beyonc?? aims to stop girls from trying to make their bodies look different to fit the needs of a man and society (Boardman 2014). Beyonc?? considers herself a modern day feminist in the sense that she still took on the name of her husband, feels she hould respect and obey her husband, but should get the same treatment in return. She says that she has always considered herself a feminist, but was extremely afraid of that word because people put so much on it.
Really though, all it means is a person who wants exact equality for men and women. Men and women balance each other out and there wouldn’t be one without the other. In an interview with US Weekly, Beyonc?? states, ‘We need to come to a point where there is no competition about what the man can do and the woman can’t, but find appreciation for what the man and women are both capable of doing together” (Boardman 2014). Beyonc?? says she does have a lot of empathy for men and the pressures they do go through to be the best they can be. They have to make it to the top to provide for their family.
They have to be seen as strong, independent leaders. She also has empathy for the pressures women go through. The women have to provide so many things for their children. Through her empathy for each gender, Beyonc?? holds a humanist perspective. No one is good at everything and that is the point of finding a partner in life. You need someone to help find balance. It is important to find someone that will help ou when you need it, but also someone who needs your help. You need someone who will bring out the best in you and feed you with love. Our society needs to break away from the roles that are assigned to the gender.
The man and women should work together to raise the best children, put food on the table, build a home, do yard work, and love each other. That is what a humanist is. Love and respect your partner in the ways that they deserve. Most importantly, teach your kids to not fall into a role. Teach your sons to realize that women are capable of all things that men are. Power does not equal man. Power equals strength, courage, respect, responsibility, triumph, motivation, and equality. Happiness comes from you; no one else can make you happy. Equality starts with love (Hare 2015).
Perhaps Beyonc??’s most influential statements came with her recent joining of “Ban Bossy campaign. ” Sheryl Sandberg primarily sponsors this campaign, but Beyonc?? has been seen as the most influential face in the campaign with her famous line, “I’m not bossy, I’m the boss. ” “When a little boy asserts himself, he’s called a “leader. ” Yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being branded “bossy. ” Words like bossy send a message don’t raise your and or speak up. By middle school, girls are less interested in leading than boys. This trend continues into adulthood.
Together we can encourage girls to lead” (Ban Bossy 2015). Research shows that girls are twice as likely than boys to worry that leadership roles will make them seem ‘bossy. ‘ It has also been shown that between elementary school and high school, girls confidence levels drop 3. 5 times more than that of a boys (Ban Bossy 2015). This is where the problem lies. It is clear that the differences between boys and girls start in elementary school. Beyonc??, along with other well-recognized faces such as Jennifer Gardner, work together to encourage girls to not fear power.