Guides: Herstory Luncheon: Influential Womxn at the Table: Beyonce

Beyonce

Beyoncé (born September 4, 1981, Houston, Texas, U.S.) American singer-songwriter and actress who achieved fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B group Destiny’s Child and then launched a hugely successful solo career. She won a record-setting 32 Grammy Awards.

(Source: Brittanica)

Menu item: Chili con Carne

We selected chili con carne because of its ties to Texas. As Beyoncé is one of many H-Town divas (shout out to Megan thee Stallion!), we wanted a food item that spoke to the heat of Texas and the powerful culinary contributions of the indigenous people and Mexicans who have always called the land home.

Beyoncé in Formation by Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley
ISBN: 9781477318393
Publication Date: 2018-11-06
Making headlines when it was launched in 2015, Omise'eke Tinsley's undergraduate course "Beyoncé Feminism, Rihanna Womanism" has inspired students from all walks of life. In Beyoncé in Formation, Tinsley now takes her rich observations beyond the classroom, using the blockbuster album and video Lemonade as a soundtrack for vital new-millennium narratives. Woven with candid observations about her life as a feminist scholar of African studies and a cisgender femme married to a trans spouse, Tinsley's "Femme-onade" mixtape explores myriad facets of black women's sexuality and gender. Turning to Beyoncé's "Don't Hurt Yourself," Tinsley assesses black feminist critiques of marriage and then considers the models of motherhood offered in "Daddy Lessons," interspersing these passages with memories from Tinsley's multiracial family history. Her chapters on nontraditional bonds culminate in a discussion of contemporary LGBT politics through the lens of the internet-breaking video "Formation," underscoring why Beyoncé's black femme-inism isn't only for ciswomen. From pleasure politics and the struggle for black women's reproductive justice to the subtext of blues and country music traditions, the landscape in this tour is populated by activists and artists (including Loretta Lynn) and infused with vibrant interpretations of Queen Bey's provocative, peerless imagery and lyrics. In the tradition of Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist and Jill Lepore's best-selling cultural histories, Beyoncé in Formation is the work of a daring intellectual who is poised to spark a new conversation about freedom and identity in America.