This was a artistic masterpiece. Beyonce is bigger than hip hop.. The selection of color.. The abstract backgrounds were flawless. I think the booty-shaking was typical beyonce.. But teamed up with Gaga- olive it nonetheless . I thin this was one of her best productions. Kudos to Hype and team.

I have noticed throughout the years of her solo career, Beyonce has become more raunchy and sexually explicit in her music content and performance dress. After a conversation with friends on this topic, the fact that she is now married (to the 'hottest rapper in the game') gives her leeway that others do not have. *Feel me on this one* if she was single and carrying on how she is currently, she would catch more flack about how she's portrayed. Because she is one part of a high powered couple, many do not comment negatively of her shenanigans. For example, when she gave T. Howard that lap dance, he (and every other man present) tried NOT to look at her rump because Jay was there. Being spoken for gives her a freedom to 'express' herself creatively in her 'professional life' without the risk of being some average R&B chick.

You were right on the money when you said that Bey cleans up better than Kim and Trina combined. Kim had to dance with the stars in order for America to see that she was even capable of cleaning up well. I, like you, am not a Bouncy fan but her music stays in my car and I can't knock her hustle. I am confused as well as to why people love her so. It's not like they secretly wish to covet all her bedazzled goodies hanging in her closet. And I doubt folk envy her for snagging Jay. I really think it has a lot to do with all you've said. She sings her raunch which makes it a little easier for folks to digest. AND she's a prime target for crossover popularity. White folks like her bc she's not one of them but doesn't look that much like us because she's lighter. I hate to take it there but its the truth. People isnt surprised by much anymore. If she can sugar coat singing about big sticks, then she can probably sing about anything and no one would think twice about it.

I'm a long-time Beyonce fan. I think a few things are at play here:

1) "Beyonce" of Destiny's Child and "Beyonce" the solo artist were out a lot longer than "Sasha Fierce," so most people's perception of Beyonce is positive, and they probably aren't focusing on the act.

2) Beyonce's music has progressively gotten worse. I don't think people really even listen to what she's saying. Like most songs out now, it's about catchy hooks and beats. Lil Wayne's "Every Girl" is one of the most disrespectful songs of this decade. I find it totally offensive, yet I bob my head and sing to it every time it comes on the radio. We are a passive media audience on all fronts.

3) Like it or not, Beyonce is pretty untouchable. She could do almost anything she wants and have it excused. She is still high on that pedestal. Though many try, none have taken her down yet. And it will be the media who will do this.

4) All that being said...Beyonce is still faaaaar from Trina and Lil Kim's league.

Context.

it's the difference between burlesque and porn.

And yes - saying Ego vs. D*ck makes a BIG difference.

Yes - it's classicism. Bey is from an "upstanding" black bourgeois family - Trina and Kim are known "hood rats."

It's sexism - Trina and Kim regularly brag about how many men their bagging - for all the general public knows Jay-Z is the only man Beyonce has slept with - though I know some folk who run in those circles who say Beyonce put the ho in ho.

Context.

It makes the world of difference..

in my opinion, there IS no difference, but that's not something you can express without immediately being called a hater. i could only take about 30 secs of this latest video before the hyper-sexualized gyrating got to me. i'm in awe that this is the same girl who said the "uh-oh" dance was too sexy for her when she first saw it. i'm all for women taking ownership of their sexuality (this is my body. i sleep only with whom i please, etc) but i am sick to death of some objectifying themselves and then branding it "women's empowerment." i'm also confused that someone who has had the level of success that she has still feels the need to roll around on the floor half naked to sell records. the more albums she drops, the less clothing she wears.

la negrita hit the nail on the head w/her music getting progressively worse. i call the last album "i am sasha... eff this" b/c imo she put little to no effort into it b/c she knows she can crap on a track and people will still eat it up. that mess was an insult to me as a music fan. her fans are nothing to play with, either. i don't know if she has some kind of creole crack i'm immune to, but they will argue you to death. i had one girl tell me that etta james is no legend and she should be happy beyonce decided to play her in a movie. *rolls eyes*

quite frankly, i think a lot of people defend and support beyonce so staunchly because they want to BE her. seemingly she has it all: beauty, talent (just as a singer/dancer, imo), a successful career, a marriage to an equally successful man, all the beautiful shiny EXPENSIVE things you can imagine, the media and the masses eating from the palm of her hand. if she has all that going for her, then she can do no wrong. nevermind she is a "role model" for impressionable young girls who will think that hyper-sexuality is linked to power and prestige and use the former as a means to get to the latter and be SORELY disappointed!

it is very possible that b/c of her socioeconomic background, marital status, and "ideal" attractiveness (light skin, long hair blowing in the fan) she will forever be seen as a "good girl" regardless of how "bad" she goes.

Beyonce is a BUSINESS. A commercial business and like any other business her goal is to make PROFIT. Everything that she does is with intent of making (huge amounts of) money. It is not her job to be a role model. It is not her job to tell young girls to feel good about their selves or do well in school. She leaves that job for Michele Obama.

With regard to the content of her work, I agree it is definitely getting worse or maybe I am just growing up and her target audience hasn’t changed, even though she is getting older too. 16-22 year olds are going to love the new video. What do they care about lyrics? When I was 16 I used to spend hours behind MTV, looking at video clips, trying to imitate the moves. That age range also cares a lot about expensive clothes, cars, looking good etc…Stuff that they cant really acquire at that age, but that makes the desire even stronger.

Why she gets away with it being a grown a$$ woman, has already been mentioned in previous posts. (Light skin, two parent home, married, singing skills, alter ego, and innocent interview appearances).

Madonna got away with it, Lady Gaga gets away with it and RiRi doesn’t wear that much clothes on stage either.

As a Beyonce fan, I would like her to take some more time for her next album and put out something strong. She definitely has the talent (and the money). Will this happen? Probably not. Because she might…
…like the hustle and making more and more money
…genuinely like her own music
…be restricted by her label as to what she can put out to her target audience.

I personally don't think there is any difference between the 3 - they are all selling sex regardless of the medium. When you watch that video, what are you ultimately thinking about? Of course it's sex! It's amazing what our young girls are being subjected to nowadays and the scary thing is the fact that it's everywhere. Unfortunately, Beyonce has succumbed and has become a product of our existing environment whether as a willing subject or not.

Then we get astonished when our young girls start having sex with their boyfriends and getting pregnant - after being fed with so much sex of course they are going to want to go out there and get "Beyonce-ified" on their men!

I just watched the videophone video and Belle if you weren't all up in my head!
That Ave Maria number for the Michael Jackson tribute put me over the edge.

I personally put them all in the same category in terms of vulgarity. The tweets you mentioned were on point as were many commenters. But there is a difference in female Pop music. I think the raps were considered over the top raunch,sex, (even some violence/gun play) on every song. Bey doesn't do violence or explicit and spreads the raunch throughout the CD. She tries to disguise it more and be "suggestive" in terms of lyrics. In addition, she keeps her private life so private that no one sees it as a portrayal of who she really is. As mentioned previously, Bey has an army behind her (the real gangstas) who make sure she is only shown in the most positive light off stage, so she can excuse away all the nekkidness and fluff on stage. Bey has called this "new" her "becoming a woman" and being more mature, etc. which we all know is BS, but that's how she keeps the gimmick machine rolling along. Repackaging. Her music has been a progressive decline (!) from the lolliPOP songs to more sexualized songs about fluff. I give her credit for the 1st solo project, but I think that was the creativity of many others at play. I think these most recent projects (CDs and videos) are more "her" voice which screams poor taste and unimaginative. And the power of a good dance routine is really REAL. When people are so interested in checking for the dance steps, one can get away with far fewer quality everything. (Hammer, how you do it?)

Kim and Trina's shock value was 24/7 from the very beginning. They showed up everywhere (on and off stage) with no clothes on, dated and hung out with all kinds of rappers (with rap sheets), ballers, etc and got reputations outside of the music. Crossover has to appeal to the masses and females can't look "dangerous" at all times. There's gotta be balance and the female rap game just doesn't really allow that.

But I think if Kim never changed her appearance (surgery) and didn't get herself locked up she would still be very relevant, at least in hip-hop.

I'm not a Bey fan, was only a semi Trina fan, but loved Kim. Kim couldn't keep her business straight enough to stay on top.

I haven't seen the video but you had it right with the management and direction she's had since the start. I have a few friends in "the biz" and I'm a marketer/publicist by trade and I can tell you all from a product standpoint, it's all about positioning. Bey has had top management (like best in the biz, the Jews/old White men) behind her which decided early on that she would be a crossover artist (thats why she has so many "anthems" and very little lyrical range across her albums) while Trina and Lil Kim have been managed by lets say less than top talent (marginal at best) and were positioned to be hood super stars, which of course as people mature and get older, that customer base actually shrinks, think who get out the hood to college, etc and wants to go back, so women are afraid to publicly identify with Lil Kim/Trina (what 33 yr/old women wants to sing out loud about getting back shots and swallowing cum, cool in college, no so much after) while its socially acceptable to play dance-a-long to a Bey song in the club (single ladies, ego, ring on it, etc).

Bey is positioned during Super Bowls, Kim/Trina, Smooth magazine between the rims and fake fronts.. See the difference.. Jay said it best, "your single is .99 cent, mine is $4 bucks" (this was not because his music was better than Big's or 'Pac's at the time, but he understood if he could make it a novelty, people would jump to have a piece of exclusivity)... African-American seek to identify with depreciative value items (rims, bling, $500 jeans, $700 sunglasses, $1200 purses, etc) because if we have them, then were supposedly of high value as well (this goes back to the slave trade.. people for jewelry.. we didnt want the guns till much later) and since Beyonce gives the "illusion" (through brand positioning) that she is of a higher caliber/value, (when as you stated Belle, she's no different than the rest) women gravitate to her and try to immolate her.. Sad but true...

Men just wished women knew that Beyonce is an artist and what she sings about isn't really how she lives or should live her life... I.E.... "It's only entertainment"... but many women (especially young) try to copy her style and attitude which would be the equivalent of me living my life like Jay off American Gangster, it's art, it's entertainment, there even a few lessons, and at best a glance back to old environments, but definitely not something to be glorified and replicated in daily life. I feel she's another ploy in the game to further divide the Black Family.. The more she says that unless dude has X,Y,Z and acts like A,B,C, the more the divide, because in actuality its unrealistic for a guy to be taking you on $5000 vacations, picking you up in a Maybach, and letting you blow $10k in the mall unless he's a dope man, or athlete, each representing less than .5% of the population... She gives people false expectations and the people are just drinking the kool aid.

@Dutch

>>>Madonna got away with it, Lady Gaga gets away with it and RiRi doesn’t wear that much clothes on stage either.<<<

madonna didn't get away with it. she got called every kinda whore you can imagine. i mean, they found new words to call madonna- the Sex book? the documentary? Like A Virgin? Like A Prayer? She caught hell for selling sex.

Point taken on Gaga-- i think folks are too distracted by her fashion and her killing herself on stage to be concerned about sex. folks don't know what to do with a woman who won't confirm or deny, she's a hypocrite. plus, she's aligned herself with "the gays" and they are as powerful as the conservatives, oddly enough.

and Rhi? C'mon they go "in" on that girl.

Brittney got it too. You can't even make the Black/white comparison. Bey trumps that too.

I think NIC makes an excellent point about the long term beau/ now-husband angle. With all the bend over popping in Video Phone the overarching comment from dudes wasn't "I'd hit that!" it was "Jay must be killing that" or "She's killing Jay!" She is very associated with only three men-- her husband, her father, and her bodyguard-- all protectors.

belle, this post is pure brilliance and the points that you make are often overlooked by the masses. :sigh:

as an undergraduate student and women's studies major, attending an all women's college (which largely shapes my perspective on this topic), the only difference between bey vc. trina/kim is the degree of feminism/womanism in their works.

as you stated "maybe it’s that she caters to the fellas. let’s face it, a lot of backlash to kim and trina was because they cared too much about getting theirs. and they did it with a bravado that mirrored a man’s," which ultimately makes them favorites to a select few/specific audience as opposed to an entire genre of music/audience. kim and trina are unapologetic in their presence, needs, wants and desires from the heterosexual male, which is shown through their lyrics, and quite honestly, that is female empowerment. interestingly enough, when the man is handled as another object or means to material needs on the behalf of women, the masses, including women, do not want to hear it and definitely not the men. kim/trina dont regress back to women's evolutionary purpose, reproduction, as much as they are about simply getting "theirs" out of men. they both do this without a societal explanation and devoid of the overrated notion to female happiness: a husband, house and babies. kim/trina do not follow the mainstream "this is how you get a man" stance, like beyonce, as much as they promote their "get yours and be fulfilled" stance.

furthermore, kim/trina are the "whores" of the virgin/whore (public/private)dichotomy, whereas beyonce capitalizes on it and magically transgresses between the two without reprimand. beyonce ultimately and simultaneously is the "virgin and whore," which most women aspire to due to societal pressures, while she maintains the virginal persona in the public, ie beyonce in interviews. it is through the media, which is the public sphere of her life, that beyonce's hymen and halo quickly reappears, placing everyone in a subtle trance. whereas the stage serves as the private sphere of her life, where the whore emerges and the "bedroom b" becomes acceptable, while she makes the lingerie get-up/leotard her standard performing uniform with her crotch practically all up in your face. "im confused" too belle, seeing that this is then deemed "amazing and phenomenal," as i envision little brown girls searching for pink ballerina leotards to mock "b" in front of their televisions. :smh:

the mere fact that beyonce has this ultimate dance between the two (virgin/whore dichotomy) on lock, she will readily reap in the benefits, whereas kim/trina will forever be deemed as the stagnant whores who can never cross over to the virgin side. therefore both their private and public lives are viewed as "hoish."

thats why i give many kudos to kim/trina, despite their raunchiness, because most audiences cannot handle when a woman explicitly discusses her personal and sexual needs at the expense of a male, where he becomes a mere tool.

in all honesty, i practically have all destiny child cds and do like beyonce, but i take up issues with how/why she has become so successful in terms of how she markets herself, so that green dollars just flow in. the conclusion ive come to is beyonce is the music culture's heroine, people just keep injecting, regardless of the context and cost.

"hymen and halo"

GOLLY, I wish I'd thought of that. Brilliant. When you write a book, and you will, it's practically mandatory for every women's studies major, THAT IS YOUR TITLE

Sorry, I'm gushing. But that was brilliant.

Carry on.

Belle, didn't Madonna get more ostracized in the beginning years of her career? But now she's praised & legendary (except when she's showing off her scary arms). She, like Trina, Kim & Gaga, came out the gates as "shock value." While Beyonce didn't begin her career like that, and I wouldn't even say she is going for "shock value" now. She's just wearing some costumes.

I agree with a lot of the first comments made. Beyonce's more sexual vulgar lyrics are easier to swallow (heh) because it's r&b and because it's masked (ego). She doesn't keep it only to the sexual content (II Am..., as well as her much of her discography). She's got an awesome team. She's tied to a long-term relationship. Also the sexuality grew as she matured.

I think NIC makes an excellent point about the long term beau/ now-husband angle. With all the bend over popping in Video Phone the overarching comment from dudes wasn't "I'd hit that!" it was "Jay must be killing that" or "She's killing Jay!" She is very associated with only three men-- her husband, her father, and her bodyguard-- all protectors.

That's the bottom line.

For the record i like the video - it's burlesque esqe and I like burlesque.

AND being an "old married" woman allows you to play dress up and be raunchy - everyone knows you're going home to your husband - i saw Bey as playing dress up - nothing more.

To all the folk who think Bey shouldn't do certain things b/c she's a "role mode," I think that's a HORRIBLE argument. She's 28 and married. She gets to talk about "grown woman" things...her music isn't for children. I don't let The Girls listen to or watch Beyonce music or videos - but I stand firmly in the belief that she should be a able to make the music she wants - she's grown.

hymen and halo

Yeah...that was pretty fabulous.

Belle - The song title you couldn't recall is "Nasty Girl" which I recall was rumored to be about LeToya Luckett - another topic for another day.

Anywho...

I think chief among what Beyonce has that Kim and Trina don't (which you and others hit on) is a "wholesome" background. Even though Destiny's Child was knocked early on for their scantily clad style (I remember the episode of TRL where Carson Daly asked how old they were, it set off a brief mini-firestorm because people thought they were much older than 16/17) they got a pass because while they dressed the part, their early songs didn't play the part. AND it was a family affair -- daddy manager, mother stylist. The collective thought back in 1999 seemed to be could we really judge a bunch of girls if one of their mothers was dressing them? Oh and DC's debut album actually came out in 1996. They had the lone hit with a remix done by Wyclef and then we forgot about them. They showed up in 1999 with a more aggressive R&B and less clothes and we paid attention. Then they kicked out 2 girls and we kept paying attention... I mean it's been a gimmick from day 3 and it's worked.

Sasha Fierce is THE way Beyonce gets away with it. She has always been backed by very smart people, namely her daddy. She has a great story for how she came up with Ms. Fierce, but I think the truth is Matty (Lord I can't stand him -- another topic for another day) came up with Sasha as the way to allow her to "grow" without a lot of criticism. How many artists who started out young have struggled to express their sexuality? Brandy comes to mind first -- if she'd had an alter ego, maybe Full Moon and Afrodisiac wouldn't have been flops (because they were great albums). It's a shame that such mind games are required, but ::shrug:: Matty figured it out.

Meanwhile, Kim showed up on the scene and was raunchy straight out of the gate, Trina too (though I think the real reason Trina gets flack is very different from why Kim does...) She was also out with her raunchiness right around (perhaps a few years after) the full-on assault of explicit music by the government. Tipper Gore had just successfully accomplished her goal of requiring a rating system on music and so from the word go, Lil' Kim has always required parental advisory. First impressions are everything. I think Kim tried to capitalize on her "raunchy persona" but it didn't quite pan out the way she had hoped/planned. She got to be too much (not necessarily too raunchy, just too much) for even her fans.

As for Trina -- I think she was discounted as a rapper on a national stage from the word go, mostly because of where she's from. Southern rappers, during the mid-to late 90s, struggled to achieve the same national level of noteriety as west coast and east coast rappers and please nevermind a female southern rapper. Can anyone name one who was out (and popular outside of the South) during that time aside from Trina? Anywho, the easiest way to discount Trina was that she was too raunchy. And from there, it's the same problem as Kim. First impressions are everything.

It's ironic: people never talk about the skills of either Kim or Trina, just about how they dress; meanwhile people never talk about how Ay Bey Bey dresses, just how great of an entertainer she is.

Beyonce fulfills the ultimate dichotomy: lady in the streets but a freak in the bed.

But most importantly, she's a blank screen so anybody can project their perception on her. Camille Paglia made the same observation about Paris Hilton in Vanity Fair a few years back. Beyonce has to be sexy because she doesn't have any depth, a signature sound or look (except for that House of Damn It's Wrong...okay, okay! I couldn't resist!), or a strong personality...therefore, she's palatable and inoffensive. She doesn't really stand for anything (what are these strong female empowerment anthems people wax so profusely about?) so you can't really criticize her.

And I, too, am fascinated about why she needs a whole 'nother personality to express her sexuality. I can't help but see such videos like "Video Phone" as an unsuccessful way to rebel.

I want Bey to get a new wig, but thats another discussion.

I'm co-signing 100% with ThatGuy. All three women are equally nekkid, and I can not understand why Bey refuses to wear pants anymore and is considered fashionable, on or off the stage. I've even seen chicks at the club in swimsuits without pants! How'd they get in? But who wears clothes anymore anyway? They're all guilty. Imo the main difference between them is perception and context. Its like when someone says something in spanish it sounds sexier.

Bey is starting to catch some backlash, some of her concerts have been banned somewhere because of her lack of clothes and booty poppin'. She is hyper sexual, but she is still not lyrically as bad as the Trina/Kim. Imagine if Bey opened a performance with, "All I wanna do is get my pu$$y sucked, count a million bucks in the back of armored truck" (i love that song!)

first, i love this video, and i think that bey really is expanding with gaga in this. however, i agree with you belle, and all of these other comments... but i do love kim.

Belle, have you listened to every Beyonce album...?

It's clear that you haven't since on twitter you didn't know what "video phone" was and that song had been out for over a year.

I think before you JUDGE B, maybe you should listen to the album (all of them perhaps) as a whole. As much as I love your blog...on this post you really just sound like a hater.

Let B be great..because well...she is.

I absolutely love this!!!! I didn't have time to read all the comments and explain why I agree but I just had to say I love it!

Wait. Lady Gaga is a musical genius what do you mean she didn't bring it?? Are you kidding me?? her vocals are out of this world. Did you not see her live on SNL??? WOW. I totally disagree with the Gaga statement.

I do ,however, agree with the rest of the article. But a big difference is each of the women's upbringing. WE are more accepting of Bey because she did come from a two parent home in the suburbs and she didn't have to sleep with a man to get on top (Kim meesin around with Big and Trina was STRIPPER COME ON!!!.) Her father handled that. Also the raunchy lyrics didn't come until she hit the top. You KNOW she didn't start off with those lyrics!!!

Beyonce is a lady in the street and a ___ in the bed. The other two are freaks 24/& and NEVER ladies.

AND WHAT MAGAZINE DO YOU WORK FOR???? BECAUSE THIS ARTICLE WAS THE BEST ARTICLE I HAVE EVER READ WHEN IT COMES TO TOPICS LIKE THIS....I DIDN'T EVEN PAUSE ONCE...BUT I AGREE WITH YOU 100%