If you follow me on any social media platform or were anywhere near me IRL on Sunday, you probably heard me say something about Beyoncé that may have tended toward idolatry.
And for good reason!
Here is a round-up of articles that explain far better than I could why the performance (and Beyoncé as a person) is so wonderful.
A Defiant Dance of Power, Not Sex: Beyoncé, the Super Bowl and Durga by David Henson
In that moment, it seemed Beyoncé was dancing on the fresh graves of sexism, male supremacy, all her talking-head concern troll critics that sought to reduce her to anything other than the powerful woman and artist she is. She dared them to think of her as something less than beautiful, something less than talented, something less than powerful, something less than a woman.What Beyonce’s Halftime Show Reveals About The Evangelical Love/Hate Relationship With Human Sexuality by Joy Bennett
Why are we more comfortable with displays of masculinity and sexuality than we are with displays of femininity and sexuality? Why do we not have a problem watching football with our kids, but we attack and belittle the halftime show. Why is female sexuality so offensive? Why is male sexuality NOT offensive?Beyonce & Policing Female Sexuality by Suzannah Paul
Dancing or dressing a certain way--or simply existing in the world in a female body with breasts and feminine curves--does not turn a woman into a sexual object...Our bodies are part of our humanity, and our sexuality is, too. In creating people in the image dei and having Jesus live a fully embodied life, God affirmed the goodness in human bodies and humanity. Female bodies are not to be feared, hidden, or ashamed of--and it's not the place of Christians to cast shame upon them either.
Why Beyoncé is my kind of feminist by Emma Gannon
Maybe, just maybe, it’s OK to want to be attractive to men AND be considered a feminist....A woman’s own standard of how she wishes to look or conduct a relationship with a man or woman is a personal thing and should not pervert any definition of feminism.Super Bowl XLVII: Why Beyoncé’s Appeal Crosses Gender Lines by Rachel Grate
And this is why Beyoncé’s music crosses gender lines: It asserts female power while proving female empowerment does not exclude men. This is what feminists have been trying to convince men of for ages – that we are not anti-men, we are pro-equality. Beyoncé is pro-equality and questions gender roles, and her spreading that message to the Super Bowl – to a space largely defined by those roles – is in many ways a feminist victory.
What do you all think? Please tell me you are now all members in the Cult of Beyoncé.