I Got Hot Sauce In My Bag: Understanding Black Feminism Through The Lens of Beyoncé’s Pop Culture Performance

Author

Kathryn M. ButterworthFollow

Date of Award

Spring 6-7-2018

Document Type

Honors Project

University Scholars Director

Christine Chaney

First Advisor/Committee Member

Yelena Bailey

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Christine Chaney

Keywords

Beyonce, Cultural Studies, black feminist theory

Abstract

In this paper I argue that Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade, functions as a textual hybrid between poetry, surrealist aesthetics and popular culture—challenging the accepted understanding of cultural production within academia. Furthermore, Lemonade centers black life while presenting mainstream audiences with poetry and avant-garde imagery that challenge dominant views of black womanhood. Using theorists bell hooks, Stuart Hall, Patricia Hill-Collins and Audre Lorde, among others, I argue that Beyoncé’s work challenges the understanding of artistic production while simultaneously fitting within a long tradition of black feminist cultural production.

Recommended Citation

Butterworth, Kathryn M., "I Got Hot Sauce In My Bag: Understanding Black Feminism Through The Lens of Beyoncé’s Pop Culture Performance" (2018). Honors Projects. 81.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/81