Dear Straight Men: Listening To Beyonce Is NOT A Threat To Your Masculinity
There are two types of men in this world: those that are comfortable with listening to music created by a woman without feeling any sense of threat to their masculinity, and the alternative—a neanderthal that assumes the second you listen to the sound of a woman singing or rapping, your penis longs for a sword fight.
This is not a new concept, but like most things triggered by the biggest pop star in the world, Beyoncé, it only becomes more prominent once she releases something. Insecure men scatter out like roaches in a RAID-less house the second the light flickers on.
One message that responded to this stuck out to me.
I'm embarrassed for any man who thinks listening to a woman's music is a test of his sexuality or masculinity.
This would include numerous tweets sent out over days following the release of Lemonade.
And last year.
And the year before that.
Of course, I’ve heard this over time in classrooms, locker rooms, and barbershops. I mean, there are men who worship Future the same way gay men and Adele worship Beyoncé. Or name any superstar athlete of the past half century here.
I appreciate videos like this because more times than not, you have to make light of the idiocy suffocating you. However, this addiction to hypermasculinity is vile no matter the form. Even if it’s as silly as a Beyoncé song, the root issue still hinges on the idea that, to some, you are less of a man for appreciating the art of woman. Well, a certain kind of woman. One is ultra feminine (yet strong), one who caters specifically to Black women (yet has proven again and again she can literally go as hard as her male contemporaries).
And it’s not just Beyoncé. It’s Rihanna, too. Before that, Madonna and Janet Jackson.
It’s a part of a strange pattern of those who play far too much with patriarchy to police the sexuality and masculinity of men. Appreciating a woman artist doesn’t make you anything but knowing a good thing when you hear it. It is not liking every single song like “Freakum Dress.” Even if one did, so what? I wouldn't assume a straight man liking some Destiny’s Child tunes means he secretly longs for the affectionate touch of a man or wishes he could perform a drag set of Patti LaBelle’s rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
This is not a complicated concept to understand, but since I’m in the mood to play the role of kindergarten teacher, here are a few life lessons to take with you. There is no such as a girl toy and a boy toy. Likewise, boys can like girls’ songs and it does not mean they like the boys or want to be one of the girls, though even if that were the case, they can still be a big strong man.
So, everyone should be able to like an artist like Beyoncé and it mean nothing more than this: you find it good. Imagine that. Don’t be a simpleton, beloveds.
In other Bey news, we tried a few items from her Ivy Park collection and loved them! Get the details in the video below.