Unto us a star is born

As we all know by now, Beyoncé Knowles gave birth to a daughter early Sunday morning.

The heir to the pop queen’s throne is Blue Ivy Carter, surname courtesy of father Jay-Z (Shawn Carter).

So many seem excited about the newborn who is already a celebrity. Celebrity gossip sites are buzzing with activity. Twitter is atwitter with Illuminati conspiracy theories.

The Internet has halted for the spectacularly named celebrity progeny. Maybe surprisingly, I think the conspiracy theorists are the most on-point.

The Illuminati have nothing to do with it. A more insidious, well-hidden institution has peaked my interest: Patriarchy.

I’m no hater, but it’s time to discuss Beyoncé’s problematic feminism, the media’s glorification of her specific femininity and the ideas behind all of this that no one questions.

Queen B has appointed herself as an empowered woman who can inspire fans to seek the kind of independence and success she has achieved.

Her story is one that fuels the faulty American Dream: She started out in a “normal” family, rose to fame thanks to her talents, married a successful man and is now a proud mother.

I do not mean to say any of these things are bad at all, but they obscure structural inequalities that do exist in this nation.

What worries me is the implied insistence in her music that standing by your man is a feminist pursuit.

Don’t get me wrong, “Countdown” is one of my favorite songs ever. I sang and danced to it in the shower this morning.

However, it reduces the powerful figure Beyoncé embodies to someone solely dedicated to her husband, for whom she proudly dresses up and cooks. Her devotion becomes a model for her fans to emulate.

Likewise, “Run The World (Girls)” is a hollow feminist non-anthem. After so deliberately normalizing gender difference and dominance throughout the album, she closes with a tribute to women (or rather, “girls”).

Needless to say, simply shouting that girls run the world hardly makes it true. It qualifies her as another supposedly empowered pop star who has done little to challenge existing standards for women.

Of course, I doubt anyone expected real feminist politics to emerge from a mainstream pop idol.

This is the problem.

Too few people question the status quo. Too few people wonder why the media is so wrapped up in Beyoncé giving birth.

Too few people think there is a space for re-imagining heterosexist norms in pop culture. What if we celebrated Beyoncé not changing her last name when she
married Jay-Z?

I doubt many people will congratulate a celebrity for staying single or entering a polyamorous relationship or choosing not to have children.

Nevertheless, congratulations, Beyoncé. I really do love your music, and I really am happy you have a healthy child. I’m sure baby Blue will be producing hit singles by 2020.

Maybe she’ll be a part of the generation to really help girls run the world.

­— ptbeane@indiana.edu