Bootylicious Bey! Aren’t you the best?

Hosting and glamorising something as obscure as a Push Party. This, after she had released the most iconic of pregnancy reveal photos. The flower crown theme not only feeding into her “African narrative” but also carrying along the young and Snap-obsessed.

Then she did this:

Oh dear, Mother of Wowzas!

Lest we start from the most recent of Beyoncé‘s achievements and forget everything else she has contributed to modernism, let’s bring in that time when Rutgers University considered Beyoncé a subject profound enough for college students to study?

“Feminist Perspectives: Politicising Beyoncé” was a course developed by PhD student Kevin Allred, who created the concept for a Rutgers class in 2010. In a chat with the University newspaper, Allred explained that it wasn’t “a course about Beyoncé’s political engagement or how many times she performed during President Obama’s inauguration weekend. Rather, the performer’s music and career are used as lenses to explore American race, gender, and sexual politics”.

Just like that, Bey was confirmed as the subject of an experiment to get students to think “more critically about what they’re engaging in on a regular basis”. Because Bey is all that and some more!

And then came the feminist wave. She took over a portion of Chimamanda’s TED talk and sampled it on her Flawless. Giving us not only a great message that cut across cultures, academic backgrounds but also got the most reach at home and abroad. Even Christian Dior picked it up!

Now she’s done something new. A Push party!

Before we get pushed over by the wave of Push Parties about to hit the world America to Nigeria, let’s talk about how important what this Queen of pop culture has just done. Because it’s so important, it has caused this Refinery 29 writer to delve into the realm of ideological comparison, saying “a push party is to a baby shower what womanism is to feminism”.

“It’s more intersectional and community-driven.”

Still too complicated?

Beyoncé decided that she was not going to go with the usual baby showers that only admits women; where the idea of a great time is women fawning over the pregnant woman’s growing tummy. She chose instead, something “we’re tempted to give Queen B credit for inventing herself after hosting an African-themed version with friends and family on May 20“. A welcome party in anticipation of her new babies that admits all genders and even the baby daddy. In Bey’s case, she went even further to enhance the idea of celebration by creating a theme – one that has endured through this pregnancy – an African theme. How cool!?!?

Very – judging by the amazingness of the photos that came out of that party.

 

Yet, the fact that Beyoncé was able to pull off an African themed party – as she did her earlier photo shoot – in this age of cultural appropriation and the confusion that is Rachel Dolezal without enraging Africans like myself is the real win.

We are talking about how interesting it is; how cool; the sheer genius of her ability to bare something that many would consider “ugly” – a heavily pregnant woman’s stomach. We aren’t saying: “Thank you Beyoncé for shining the touch on Africa. Nor are we yelling: “get your filthy hands off our African prints”. And it’s because she managed to pull it off while raising our minds beyond the cynical state. We somehow know that she did it without ugly intentions. That she wanted to have fun and even if she meant to send some political message, it was not done to enrage anyone.

Now we understand why Adele got in her feels enough to deliver that godawful emotional speech at the Grammys, talking about she wasn;t deserving of the Best Album Award (she was; is; will always be).

We do not want to analyse how she pulled it off or if her status as Queen of the hive is the reason we are not pissed (and for good measure, it is not). We just thought to mention, in case anyone was counting, that Beyonce