Is the Album "Lemonade" Only for Money? (Scholarly Article)

In the peer reviewed article “Lemons or Lemonade? Beyoncé, Killjoy Style, and Neoliberalism”, Matthew Salzano argues against Bell Hook’s opinion on the influence that Beyoncé’s Lemonade album brings to society. In 2016, pop sensation and icon Beyoncé dropped the Lemonade album for the world to hear and see. According the article, many people said this album was a gift to black feminists everywhere. They also said that this album would empower women of color because of their lower socioeconomic status in society. Some people did not agree that this was the true purpose of Beyoncé’s album. A black feminist by the name of Bell Hook’s wrote a blog titled “Moving Beyond Pain” where she explained that the release of this album was not so much for the feminist stand point but for a neoliberalism agenda. Neoliberalism in easy terms is an economic idea about free market. Hooks says that Beyoncé is using the idea of neoliberalism in the way of releasing an album for the sake of money instead of the reason of woman empowerment for minorities. This type of opinion that Hooks expressed is named after Salzano as “killjoy rhetorical style”. Salzano says killjoy rhetoric takes away the happiness of feminism by diving deeper into the problem and realizing an underlying theme that critics feminism.

After reading this article in response to Hooks’ blog “Moving Beyond Pain”, I feel as though Hooks is right. I think that Lemonade was not released for the point of feminism, but rather the point of neoliberalism. Yes, this killjoy style rhetoric as Salzano would say takes away the happiness that it makes women feel when listening to Beyoncé’s music, but it also digs deeper into the real meaning of the album. Hooks said, “Viewers who like to suggest Lemonade was created solely or primarily for black female audiences are missing the point. Commodities irrespective of their subject matter, are made, produced, and marketed to entice any and all consumers. Beyoncé’s audience is the world and that world of business and money making has no color (Salzano, 46). When Hooks says this, she means that Beyoncé made the album for money, and feminism is placed on the back burner . Society does not typically see it this way because for years Beyoncé has been an popular icon for the feminist movement, and that image is ingrained in people’s minds-- including myself. Once Hooks starts her killjoy rhetoric it is clear to see that the release of Lemonade is not all about empowering black women, but a stunt to earn a boat load of money for her salary.

-HH :)

Salzano, Matthew. “Lemons or Lemonade? Beyoncé, Killjoy Style, and Neoliberalism.” Women’s Studies in Communication, vol. 43, no. 1, Feb. 2020, pp. 45–66. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/07491409.2019.1696434.