Anonymous wrote:Beyoncé doesn't have a great voice...she has great computer technology and mixers. Listen to the difference in her "voice" from her early years and recent stuff...that's technology.

She is a great dancer. She's like Madonna in that regard: so-so voice, but a great performer.

She can't play an instrument, so she really isn't a musician. She's a performer.

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Anonymous wrote:So you guys would be fine if Taylor Swift sang "You better call Shaneequa with the afro" and all the white women retorted "this is not about you or your experience, you have no place to comment"?

I doubt that. You'd be screaming it was racist and how dare she.... and all of your loud voices would have plenty to say.

Please don't forget this album is not Beyonce's experience as a black woman. She grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, both parents had excellent jobs, she had the best of everything, went to private school, and her dad quit his job to manage her budding career after she went to a school for the performing arts. I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman. Some other poetic visionary genius whittled this together and is using Bey as their vehicle.

Totally agree with everything the previous poster said about enjoying the album while it is not necessarily about "you".

Wow, that's shockingly ignorant. Since when does class privilege erase Blackness? I'm upper middle class, my parents had excellent jobs, and I went to private school. That doesn't make me any less Black.

You're an outsider. You're seriously overstepping your boundaries by trying to define Beyoncés Blackness.

Nobody's "erasing Blackness". That's not even possible, because "Blackness" isn't just one thing, or one experience. PP is pointing out, somewhat ham-handedly, that the stereotypical idea of "blackness" and Beyonce's inarguably privileged upbringing are at odds. That doesn't make Beyonce any less black (there's a whole spectrum of "black"), but intersectionality matters. Beyonce's class privilege alters, somewhat radically, her experience of "blackness". Rich, privileged people don't know life the way poor, underprivileged people in underserved communities do.

When rich, privileged people start singing about/to the stereotype of blackness outside their experience, we should be aware of it. Can she, as an artist, channel the experience(s) of others, and represent things outside her own personal culture and upbringing? Sure. Are those things authentically hers? No. Do the people to whom those things authentically belong have a right, and responsibility, to shed some light on how she has appropriated their culture/experience for profit? Yes. That is an actual thing that #notjustwhitepeople do.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, because Taylor Swift can't sing, can't dance, and has no stage presence. Beyonce is arguably the best pop singer of all time. She can also dance and perform.

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Anonymous wrote:So you guys would be fine if Taylor Swift sang "You better call Shaneequa with the afro" and all the white women retorted "this is not about you or your experience, you have no place to comment"?

I doubt that. You'd be screaming it was racist and how dare she.... and all of your loud voices would have plenty to say.

Please don't forget this album is not Beyonce's experience as a black woman. She grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, both parents had excellent jobs, she had the best of everything, went to private school, and her dad quit his job to manage her budding career after she went to a school for the performing arts. I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman. Some other poetic visionary genius whittled this together and is using Bey as their vehicle.

Totally agree with everything the previous poster said about enjoying the album while it is not necessarily about "you".

Wow, that's shockingly ignorant. Since when does class privilege erase Blackness? I'm upper middle class, my parents had excellent jobs, and I went to private school. That doesn't make me any less Black.

You're an outsider. You're seriously overstepping your boundaries by trying to define Beyoncés Blackness.

+1, and I'm white.

+2. Middle class (half black and half white)

Where does it say anywhere that her Blackness is erased or that she is any less Black? It does not say that. It says her experience growing up is not the experience she is singing about in relations to the struggles of the Black woman in her visual album.

This wasn't written by a struggling, poor, unprivileged, disrespected, discriminated against suffering Black woman... more like Beyonce and a bunch of white men.

That's exactly what pp said. Her exact words were "I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman".

Does not say her Blackness is erased, says she probably hasn't experienced the struggles of most Black women. You know exactly what was meant. She has led a privileged, charmed life.

? You really don't think that she has had to work harder and be better than EVERYBODY to become who she is? I mean, look at Taylor Swift. Talentless.

So you're going to put down Taylor Swift in order to raise Beyonce up? Different genres, but similar experiences growing up. Neither grew up poor or underprivileged and both had outstanding parents who advocated for them. Of course Beyonce had to work hard and be better, but I'm pretty sure in the music industry that is what you do. This is not so much the experience of the woman or black woman but of a SINGER.

At age 16 she was hanging out with JayZ. Not so sure it was a crazy struggle for her once she made it...

Yes, because IN MY OPINION Taylor Swift can't sing, can't dance, and has no stage presence DESPITE SELLING OUT EVERY STADIUM SHE PLAYED. Beyonce is arguably the best pop singer in her genre . She can also dance and perform.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you guys would be fine if Taylor Swift sang "You better call Shaneequa with the afro" and all the white women retorted "this is not about you or your experience, you have no place to comment"?

I doubt that. You'd be screaming it was racist and how dare she.... and all of your loud voices would have plenty to say.

Please don't forget this album is not Beyonce's experience as a black woman. She grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, both parents had excellent jobs, she had the best of everything, went to private school, and her dad quit his job to manage her budding career after she went to a school for the performing arts. I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman. Some other poetic visionary genius whittled this together and is using Bey as their vehicle.

Totally agree with everything the previous poster said about enjoying the album while it is not necessarily about "you".

Wow, that's shockingly ignorant. Since when does class privilege erase Blackness? I'm upper middle class, my parents had excellent jobs, and I went to private school. That doesn't make me any less Black.

You're an outsider. You're seriously overstepping your boundaries by trying to define Beyoncés Blackness.

+1, and I'm white.

+2. Middle class (half black and half white)

Where does it say anywhere that her Blackness is erased or that she is any less Black? It does not say that. It says her experience growing up is not the experience she is singing about in relations to the struggles of the Black woman in her visual album.

This wasn't written by a struggling, poor, unprivileged, disrespected, discriminated against suffering Black woman... more like Beyonce and a bunch of white men.

That's exactly what pp said. Her exact words were "I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman".

Does not say her Blackness is erased, says she probably hasn't experienced the struggles of most Black women. You know exactly what was meant. She has led a privileged, charmed life.

? You really don't think that she has had to work harder and be better than EVERYBODY to become who she is? I mean, look at Taylor Swift. Talentless.

So you're going to put down Taylor Swift in order to raise Beyonce up? Different genres, but similar experiences growing up. Neither grew up poor or underprivileged and both had outstanding parents who advocated for them. Of course Beyonce had to work hard and be better, but I'm pretty sure in the music industry that is what you do. This is not so much the experience of the woman or black woman but of a SINGER.

At age 16 she was hanging out with JayZ. Not so sure it was a crazy struggle for her once she made it...

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you guys would be fine if Taylor Swift sang "You better call Shaneequa with the afro" and all the white women retorted "this is not about you or your experience, you have no place to comment"?

I doubt that. You'd be screaming it was racist and how dare she.... and all of your loud voices would have plenty to say.

Please don't forget this album is not Beyonce's experience as a black woman. She grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, both parents had excellent jobs, she had the best of everything, went to private school, and her dad quit his job to manage her budding career after she went to a school for the performing arts. I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman. Some other poetic visionary genius whittled this together and is using Bey as their vehicle.

Totally agree with everything the previous poster said about enjoying the album while it is not necessarily about "you".

Wow, that's shockingly ignorant. Since when does class privilege erase Blackness? I'm upper middle class, my parents had excellent jobs, and I went to private school. That doesn't make me any less Black.

You're an outsider. You're seriously overstepping your boundaries by trying to define Beyoncés Blackness.

+1, and I'm white.

+2. Middle class (half black and half white)

Where does it say anywhere that her Blackness is erased or that she is any less Black? It does not say that. It says her experience growing up is not the experience she is singing about in relations to the struggles of the Black woman in her visual album.

This wasn't written by a struggling, poor, unprivileged, disrespected, discriminated against suffering Black woman... more like Beyonce and a bunch of white men.

That's exactly what pp said. Her exact words were "I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman".

Does not say her Blackness is erased, says she probably hasn't experienced the struggles of most Black women. You know exactly what was meant. She has led a privileged, charmed life.

? You really don't think that she has had to work harder and be better than EVERYBODY to become who she is? I mean, look at Taylor Swift. Talentless.

Anonymous wrote:? You really don't think that she has had to work harder and be better than EVERYBODY to become who she is? I mean, look at Taylor Swift. Talentless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you guys would be fine if Taylor Swift sang "You better call Shaneequa with the afro" and all the white women retorted "this is not about you or your experience, you have no place to comment"?

I doubt that. You'd be screaming it was racist and how dare she.... and all of your loud voices would have plenty to say.

Please don't forget this album is not Beyonce's experience as a black woman. She grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood, both parents had excellent jobs, she had the best of everything, went to private school, and her dad quit his job to manage her budding career after she went to a school for the performing arts. I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman. Some other poetic visionary genius whittled this together and is using Bey as their vehicle.

Totally agree with everything the previous poster said about enjoying the album while it is not necessarily about "you".

Wow, that's shockingly ignorant. Since when does class privilege erase Blackness? I'm upper middle class, my parents had excellent jobs, and I went to private school. That doesn't make me any less Black.

You're an outsider. You're seriously overstepping your boundaries by trying to define Beyoncés Blackness.

+1, and I'm white.

+2. Middle class (half black and half white)

Where does it say anywhere that her Blackness is erased or that she is any less Black? It does not say that. It says her experience growing up is not the experience she is singing about in relations to the struggles of the Black woman in her visual album.

This wasn't written by a struggling, poor, unprivileged, disrespected, discriminated against suffering Black woman... more like Beyonce and a bunch of white men.

That's exactly what pp said. Her exact words were "I doubt SHE knows what it's like to be a black woman".

Does not say her Blackness is erased, says she probably hasn't experienced the struggles of most Black women. You know exactly what was meant. She has led a privileged, charmed life.