A Black Girl’s Song Misogynoir, Love, and Beyoncé’s Lemonade

This article examines Beyoncé’s 2016 album Lemonade in the context of black feminist theory, misogynoir, and issues of black self-love. After a brief overview of the initial response to Beyoncé’s album, this essay explores the deeper, metaphorical implication of Lemonade. This essay demonstrates that while Lemonade is ostensibly about marital infidelity, the trope of unfaithfulness is used to make a more profound commentary on the ontological crisis around blackness and black womanhood in American culture. Through close readings of several important scenes and tracks in Lemonade, this essay demonstrates that this album constitutes a masterwork by Beyoncé and should be understood as an important intervention against racist and patriarchal representations of black womanhood. Ultimately, Lemonade articulates a black feminist aesthetic that embraces the tenacity and cultural originality of the black woman