Beychella

On April 17th, 2019 Beyoncé released a Netflix documentary on her historic Coachella performance. The now 37-year-old mother of three showcased her talent, work ethic, and love of HBCUs with Homecoming. Queen Bey had complete creative control over her performance from the stage design to the custom Balmain outfits. Olivier Roustein is the first Black head of Balmain and of a French Fashion House. Every decision made was meant to showcase Black culture and more importantly Black people. Beyonce had no intent on assimilating into Festival Culture. At one point in the documentary, she mentions that she had no desire to wear a flower crown. Along with flower crowns and influencers snapping pictures for their Instagram feeds; music festivals have become an environment filled with the constant appropriation of various cultures with white girls rocking cornrows, box braids, and headdresses. Her refusal to follow the trend of "festival wear" and use her platform to make a statement and use a space meant to profit off of black culture in order to showcase the people Coachella and festival culture has exploited is just another example of her using her platform in order to: break the glass ceiling, support black creatives, and ultimately help bring various dialogues to the main stage. 

 Though her performance brought attention to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, her father is an alum of Fisk University, and Black-American culture there were several other large conversations presented about Black women and women in general that were unrelated to steppers and drumlines. While carrying her twins Beyoncé experienced complications with her pregnancy which caused her to give birth to Sir and Rumi prematurely via emergency C-section. Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes and the preterm birth rate is about 49% higher. Though Beyoncé is Queen Bey and she and husband Jay-Z have a combined net worth of over a billion dollars, money and fame did not protect her and her twins from these alarming stats. Though her life and the life of her twins were at risk, she needed to return to what she references as home: the stage and performing. After giving birth she was 218 pounds and still recovering from her C-section and high-risk pregnancy. She went on a strict vegan diet and ate no carbs or sugar, along with breastfeeding, six-hour long rehearsals, and soul cycle classes in order to lose the baby weight and prepare for her performance. The film subtly hinted at the amount of pressure society places on mothers, especially new moms, to return back to their old selves both mentally, physically, and socially regardless of how life-threatening their pregnancy or birth experiences were. Even Beyoncé was put under the pressure to “snapback”. But what about the Black women experiencing high-risk pregnancies who don't have the financial resources to support them and their children? What about the women who gained weight during their pregnancies and cannot afford a trainer and nutritionist? Women, especially Black women, are inherently strong and conditioned to endure more than they should. However, should we alter our assumptions about "snapping back" and returning to work post-baby? Should we engage in more dialogue about the risk Black women face during pregnancy even when they aren't famous? The documentary left me with both admirations for Beyonce but also curiosity surrounding everyday women. 

As usual thank you for keeping up with Kat.