Baltimore Ravens — 34
San Francisco 49ers — 31
Beyoncé — 10,000,000….hands down stole the night.
Beyoncé is a female musical icon and she was literally so hot that she blew a fuse in the Superdome.
This being said…I decided to write today’s post about the halftime show when a friend of mine read a Facebook status of some male genius that she’s friends with. The wonderful misogynistic thought that he decided to publicize was “don’t they know that most of the people watching the Super Bowl are men?” Well first to answer his question, no “they” don’t because last year of the 111 million viewers 46 percent were women and trust me it was not due to the sexist ads or Madonna’s mediocre performance. But also what man did not at least remotely enjoy Beyoncé’s performance? You don’t even have to be an avid Beyoncé fan or listener to understand how monumental that performance was in Super Bowl history. I personally do not have a separate Beyoncé playlist like I do for Lady Gaga or Britney Spears but I loved everything about her performance and I love everything about this particular pop star.
Beyoncé is not only a singer, dancer and performer but also a role model for young girls everywhere…granted she’s no Gloria Steinem or Bell Hooks but she is someone that girls are constantly exposed to in the media. I’m not saying that all her music sends the right message, especially Naughty Girl or Freakum Dress but on the other hand she has Me Myself & I. And let’s not forget every single girl’s anthem which, overall, promotes female strength and independence. There’s also my personal favorite Who Run the World (Girls), even the title is presented as if women are the obvious answer to that question…if only it was accepted that easily but this song has a very positive message.
We can dissect and analyze any female artist’s songs that is producing music within the patriarchal hierarchy, that is, the media industry but I think Beyoncé as an individual is much more important. Despite the tabloids’ conspiracies, Beyoncé claims to have never gotten any form of plastic surgery. I like to think this is true because it means that she embraces her natural curves and is not ashamed. She may not be stick think but the acceptance of her body, the way it is, encourages a healthy body image to the younger generations of women that are being exposed to unrealistic examples of how women should look. She is beautiful, talented, a devoted Christian, she made a name for herself before getting married which makes her a strong independent African American woman. In our culture, it’s especially hard for women of color to receive recognition in the mass media industry and she is one of few who girls can look up to.
Now that I’ve advocated for Beyoncé, let’s get back to the actual performance. First of all, I don’t know why they didn’t expect a power surge…the stage was a lit outline of her face; she started with a silhouette of her beginning pose behind her that was made of lights. There were bursts of fire, fog, screens that created optical illusions and mirror images…Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams popped out of the ground! Oh and let’s not forget that during her Halo finale, her makeshift hair connected to the stage began to blow in the wind…I don’t even want to know how much that performance cost. Also, another big kudos to her costume designer because they were able to keep her strapped into that leather body suit and kept her surprisingly well-clothed. I would personally consider Beyoncé to be far from ‘scantily clad.’ Her cleavage is not outrageous, she’s wearing stockings to her knees, her butt is covered and, in all honesty, if I had her beautiful long legs, I would want to show them off also.
The main thing I would like to point out is that there was not a single male on that stage. I think this is the aspect of the performance that pleased me the most, even the solo guitarist was a female. I think this speaks volumes about what kind of woman Beyoncé truly is; she could have had men grinding on her background dancers for Bootylicious or she could have had a man dancing with her in the fun-house of mirrors to Baby Boy and yet there were no cocks in the henhouse, so to speak. Ignoring the songs and the outfits, which may reinforce our patriarchal values and the objectification of women…is there an image more empowering and influential than a stage full strong independent women, of all different race and ethnicity, dancing and expressing themselves in the center of the epitome of masculinity?
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
I’m so glad you mentioned that Beyonce uses an all girl ensemble! This has always stood out to me, and I think these actions back up the lyrics of her songs.
LikeLike
I agree!
LikeLike
Well put! I was psyched about Beyonce’s performance. It was the best damn part of the night! Btw, I also heard groans from some dudes at a superbowl party I was at that “there were NO men up on that stage!” Oh, the horror. To that, I mentioned that they wouldn’t be mentioning it if it was all men……then it got quiet. 😉
LikeLike
I did like (and was surprised by!) the all-girl band – the outfit I think is (unsurprisingly) quite sexualized. The music and the image is hard to ignore because I wouldn’t want my (theoritical) daughter to be influenced by it (because I don’t think sending the message to our children that to be a successful women in the music industry you have to be sexy is okay), but for adult audiences I think her performance was great! However, lots of kids and families watch the superbowl, and overall, I think her image is contributing to what we see every day in the media – the sexualization of women and focus on their bodies, not their talent. It’s not that there’s no place for this kind of image/performace, but is still a problem because there is a serious lack of female voices in the media providing an alternative view of women.
LikeLike
I definitely agree (don’t think I phrased it correctly or passed over it) that her performance primarily spoke volumes to adults that were watching. Overall, it was still presenting young girls with the concepts of female sexuality and objectification. But I think that from the smorgasbord of women that young girls are being exposed to in the media these days, Beyonce is definitely the lesser of many evils, if you know what I mean.
LikeLike
I also noticed the female ensemble, and I, like you, thought that that spoke volumes. So often in the music industry women are rarely seen as being capable to play an instrument, or at the very least are not the desired band mate. Although, I have to agree with Hannah Grace in that I do believe that the performance was very sexualized. From being at my own Superbowl party I know one of the guys there groaned when he found out that he had missed the Single Ladies danced because it’s just so “damn sexy”. I love Beyonce and agree that she is a strong independent female, however, she is constrained, as many female artist are, in the patriarchal music industry where sex sells.
LikeLike
I definitely agree. I think I was primarily focusing on her outside of the music industry because within the industry women are definitely shoved into one direction, towards sex. Sadly they all do it because they want to make money and reach top on the charts and even if the songs are empowering or about female independence they are being hosed down with water or barely wearing clothes and their bodies are being dissected by the camera.
LikeLike
Monday morning after Superbowl I was in an office listening to people chat about the game and the show. One woman said, “Did you see Beyonce? All that was missing was the stripper poll.” I was totally bummed to hear this comment. While I may wish that we could have a strong female performer downplay her body to let talent stand on its own – I certainly don’t support this kind of slut shaming. It’s too common and almost expected that “good girls” will shame and act aghast at any confident sexual display of the body. I wish that women would feel more comfortable supporting each other and keeping comments focused on talent – but also making space for respectful critique of the social environment that ties female sexuality to entertainment.
LikeLike
I definitely agree! It is a shame that some women out there are comparing her to a stripper because this is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I think it’s awesome when women confidently claim their sexuality but it isn’t right that sexuality is the only way women can truly make it in the music industry or media in general.
LikeLike
I think it is a VERY thin line to call a comment like that slut shaming – I’ve been to a strip club before and the dancing taking place on stage Superbowl night was quite similar to what I saw there. It’s definitely inappropriate for family viewing, especially when this kind of media is ALL that exists! I think sexy is awesome, I think Beyonce is awesome, but I think that until there is a balance of different types of women represented in the media that this type of image (esp at a high profile event like the Superbowl) is working to reinforce sexist stereotypes. As much as we might be able to appreciate Beyonce’s performace through our own feminist lenses, most audiences aren’t doing that! It’s because of this reason that I would hope that women would push to see more acts centering on talent – it’s impossible to focus comments on Beyonce’s act on talent – the image she projects is way to fraught with implications.
LikeLike
I actually vacillated on using the term slut-shaming in association with the comment I referenced. However, I felt ok with it since slut-shaming can refer to implying that a woman should feel guilty/ashamed for acting or dressing in a way that is excessively sexual – and I think this applies to the conversation I observed.
I do agree that the performance was problematic and that people should absolutely engage in critique and consideration of the influences and consequences of such a performance — but that wasn’t the tone of what I heard.
I appreciate your comment, but for me, I think it’s a leap to liken the performance to stripping. Do I wish she wore something more than a glorified one-piece? Yes. But, I’m not sure the call to “cover up” will necessarily get women closer to empowerment. I guess what I’m struggling with is that I agree that the focus of conversations on her performance have been about her looks. But, is the burden on her to change the conversation by dressing modestly? During the 2008 election both Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton were dressed modestly and that didn’t stop the media & others from directing the conversation to their appearance & sexuality. It feels like telling female performers like Beyonce to “be less sexual” is a bit like telling women to stay in at night so they don’t get raped (a stretch, I know).
Mostly what I wish is that we were talking more about her all-female cast and how rare and cool that is vs. her outfit. And, I’m not sure the burden is just on the performer, political figure, or individual woman to modify their appearance to try and make that happen.
LikeLike
It’s taken me a while to respond – sorry! It’s been a busy week. That said, Beyonce literally DID STRIP at the begining of the performance, right when her dancers joined her on stage. It was a wrap-around and didn’t reveal much, but I do not think it is a stretch to “liken this to stripping” – it’s actually what happened. And I think what bothers me about Beyonce’s performance is this quality – the taking off clothing, touching self, winking, licking lips – to me that seems all very in line with what male gaze expectations AND with the ongoing sexualization of women in the media. In fact, every guy I have asked about the performance (except our 2 wonderful male bloggers!!) have had one thing to say – “I’d fuck her.” To me, this is not a win. However, this does not make me a slut shamer! Women DO NOT have to cover up to be “acceptable” performrs – I love sexy women and sexy performances – one of my favorites is Amanda Palmer and she generally performs in a bra and skirt (or less). She also sings about some topics that few other women artists touch on, like street harassment, abortion, even vibrators! There are MANY women performers with way better message and images than Beyonce, and I am saddened that this is what was on every TV screen superbowl night – I hope that women and feminists everywhere start demanding better representation from the media! And speaking of that, did you know a Beyonce rep has been trying to pull “unattractive” photos of her from that night – photos where she is sweating, dancing, working HER ASS OFF to put on a good job, but she doesn’t look “pretty enough.” I think she looks like a powerful women doing hardcore cardio live and killing it – admirable – and I hate that this now has to be part of the conversation too.
LikeLike