Celebrating Beyonce Aesthetically

Beyonce Knowles is an extremely beautiful woman. Even if you are not sexually excited or stimulated by her curvaceous and near-perfect body, surely you can see the aesthetic attraction of it. If I had the body of this woman, I would certainly want the world to know how proud I was of its form and would happily wear some of the outfits that she seems likely to be criticised for wearing.

An article in the Guardian newspaper last week explores the issue of Beyonce’s sartorial choices and says that, "You have to wonder what one of Beyoncé's biggest fans, Michelle Obama, would tell her daughters about this outfit."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/apr/19/beyonce-risque-world-tour-outfits

Well, here’s my helping hand should the conversation arise between Michelle, Malia and Sasha.

Girls: Mummy! Beyonce is showing her nipples!

Michelle: Well, actually girls, she isn’t showing her nipples at all. There’s no nudity and there’s no raunchy cleavage. What we can see is a demonstration of the female form, which many deem to be extremely attractive.

Girls: But isn’t it rude?

Michelle: Well, unfortunately society has seen fit to make us believe that women’s breasts are rude when in actual fact, they should be celebrated, enjoyed and not perpetually hidden away in secrecy pretending they don’t exist. What Beyonce is doing here is showing that she’s all woman, and that’s something that we should definitely celebrate. This outfit is only “rude” because we aren’t accustomed to women being so forthright about the beauty of their own bodies. I applaud Beyonce for furthering the cause and empowering young women to feel positive about their bodies, especially when they are naturally curvaceous rather than slim beyond healthiness.

And so the conversation might continue with references to sexuality that Michelle, as a sensible woman, would respond to in accordance with the two girls’ maturity - guided by their questions just as all sensible responses to questions on sex should be.

The image of Beyonce here is sexual but it’s only sexual because our society has made it so. Why shouldn’t beautiful women be free to display their beauty, within reason, without the rest of the world thinking they are making an explicit statement about their sexuality? And even if she was making an explicit statement about her sexuality, then what precisely is wrong with that?

We all know that Beyonce has had sex. She has a daughter to “prove” that is the case. We can see, whether she is fully-clad or not, that she has a certain sexual presence and is aware of her sexuality but that doesn’t make her immoral or prone to promiscuity. She is as she is!

If I’m perfectly honest, I like looking at this photograph of Beyonce. I love the fullness of her form. I adore the shapeliness of her breasts and the rather unsubtle insinuation of the size and extent of her nipples. I love her big hips, accentuated by the cut of the piece across the top of her thighs. But none of this makes me want to jump on the nearest man or woman to have full-blown intercourse. It doesn’t make me reach out for the nearest vibrator. I just love the eroticism of it, for its own sake, and whilst in a moment of quiet, I might refer back to such a picture, that is not the point of my enjoyment. It’s just a very beautiful photograph of a very beautiful woman wearing a very beautiful outfit that emphasises her very beautiful body.

I also love the idea that the costume is a sort of 21^st Century piece of art that Klimt himself could have drawn. I like the idea that this is something that he might have used in an updated version of his infamous “The Kiss” drawing, with Jay Z Carter, Beyonce’s partner, clad in a matching robe of glistening gold. In fact, I think I might suggest to the couple that, as a glorious celebration of their togetherness, their personal sexuality and their private intimacy with one another, they should commission someone to do a portrait in the style of Klimt with Beyonce wearing this very outfit.

I’m sick and tired of people criticising beautiful women for being proud of their bodies. It’s so hypocritical too. They put on their puritanical blacks and espouse the trouble for society with an influx of these sorts of images whilst simultaneously delighting in them, possibly enviously looking at every part of the woman’s body, and selling their papers in the process.

When we will realise that female empowerment will never be realised until we are comfortable with the female form? We shouldn’t shy away from our own beauty. We shouldn’t hide our assets for the sake of the comfort of others if we ourselves would like to display them more prominently. We should be able to display our assets more prominently without fear of misinterpretation, without the possibility of someone saying we are only doing this to attract attention from a potentially sexually aroused onlooker.

As a woman, I want to dress in a way that makes me feel comfortable with who I am. In my most sexual days, I guess I wanted people to know that I was happily, sexually active and if that meant I wore a top that was slightly more revealing, then that was up to me – and FOR me! If I choose to wear a top that exposes more of my cleavage when I am without a sexual partner, it doesn’t mean that I’m trying to attract attention in a fit of desperation. I’m merely wearing something that I feel comfortable in. I’ve got big tits. I celebrate the fact. End of.

Beyonce is absolutely right to wear this outfit, and if Michelle Obama wants to talk to her girls about such an outfit, then I hope she might refer to the short piece of advice that I’ve provided.

Let women be women. Let women adore their own bodies irrespective of what it does to other people. Let women choose whether they display more of their wares than some feel is appropriate. Let’s not confuse the joy of eroticism with the joy of sex. (They are different, and I shall explain my opinion on that at another time.) Let’s enjoy aestheticism more readily without being criticised for being a voyeur.

And on a final note, to the author of the attached piece, please don’t continually refer to Beyonce as “Mrs Carter” when you are addressing the issue of her clothing. Whether it was intended or not, it suggests that she “belongs” to someone else and that it’s unfitting of a married woman to bring her sexuality to the forefront of minds other than her husbands.