Beyonce just released a self-titled “visual album”, the 5th in her solo career, today – Friday December 13, 2013 exclusively sold on iTunes.
Nigeria’s esteemed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie features on track 11, called ‘Flawless’. It starts with a snippet of track Bow Down, before transitioning into a rousing feminist speech by the author, then the new song.
Chimamanda says,
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller
We say to girls – you can have ambition, but not too much
You should aim to be successful but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man
Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important
A marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support
We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or for accomplishments,
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are
Feminist: A person who believes in the economic, social and political equality of the sexes.”
FYI: They didn’t spell her last name right! Boooo.
