Beyoncé on Being a Feminist: "I Don't Like or Embrace Any Label"
Beyoncé, who has embraced the word "feminist" in the past (most notably at the 2014 MTV VMAs and her Mrs. Carter Show tour), tells Elle magazine in an exclusive cover story that she is not a fan of any label. According to Queen Bey, working with philanthropic organizations like Chime for Change and Global Citizen to alleviate inequality may make her a feminist, "but more importantly, it makes me a humanist." Bey goes on to say: I don't like or embrace any label. I don't want calling myself a feminist to make it feel like that's my one priority, over racism or sexism or anything else. I'm just exhausted by labels and tired of being boxed in. If you believe in equal rights, the same way society allows a man to express his darkness, to express his pain, to express his sexuality, to express his opinion—I feel that women have the same rights.
By the way, Bey also says that being a feminist has nothing to do with one's femininity or masculinity.
Everyone who believes in equal rights for men and women doesn't speak the same, or dress the same, or think the same. If a man can do it, a woman should be able to. It's that simple. If your son can do it, your daughter should be able to. Some of the things that we teach our daughters—allowing them to express their emotions, their pain and vulnerability—we need to allow and support our men and boys to do as well.
Got that?
