Did Beyoncé appropriate LGBT culture?

[faysalaaa 4,025]

Also, Beyonce is straight, shes not queer! Paying tribute to queer culture never made her queer, and she never claimed she is.

This is what happens when people analyze everything through identity politics. Identity politics is not bad, but clearly some people are brainwashed by this way of thinking.

[RenegAde 18,747]

Yall please, Beyoncé making dance music is not appropriation neither is it the great reclamation it's being marketed as. To me, It is a good marketing ploy at best. 

People butt's been itching since she dropped the new country singles and i dont understand why. She's allowed to explore genres and every other artist her caliber should be encouraged to do same.

[Bling 31,288]

31 minutes ago, Reality said:

if Carrie Underwood suddenly pivoted to house music and started promoting ballroom culture at her shows, that's a different story

[Natalia Kills 378]

Oh yeah, it's just pink capitalism at work 

[Reject False Icons 4,751]

But hasn’t she been in the LGBT culture for decades, her public and her influences, her team, her dancers, her aesthetics haven’t all of these been in the circles of LGBT people since almost her beginning

I remember there was a controversy around 2003 where some magazine claimed she was homophobic but she clarified it and everyone moved on 

[Mr Oak 7,563]

1 hour ago, Bronco said:

The whole purpose of Renaissance & it's upcoming 2nd part is to reclaim music genres that owe a great deal of their existence to Black musicians & Black culture

This got me thinking. Can a cis black woman reclaim the music that the queer Black scene evolved, when they were being shunned away even from the Black community? A double exclusion as queer and Black. Can straight Beyonce reclaim that? Did she overtly pay tribute to this music and those before her or is this an assumption based on her "trilogy"?

I am not a fan so I have no idea if she went openly about her paying tribute to the queer Black ballroom scene.

[River 112,745]

It's not appropriation, but I feel like this album took more away from queer black artists than it actually gave.

For example, Big Freeida's sample, Bey had to credit her as a feature and give her more exposure and more royalties.

I think only one of the features is actually queer (Tems).

The whole album is more about Bey at the ball than actually queers and especially black queers at the ball, which misses all the purpose of this album.

[LG666 1,930]

Two things can exist at the same time: it's all performative AND it's great music and a great era. Why get caught up in the politics of it all when you can simply enjoy the music, the craft, etc..? If we put a microscope on everything, then everything becomes problematic and exploitative. Everything has its elements of exploitation. The same argument could be said about virtually any pop star.

[Mr Oak 7,563]

8 minutes ago, LG666 said:

Two things can exist at the same time: it's all performative AND it's great music and a great era. Why get caught up in the politics of it all when you can simply enjoy the music, the craft, etc..?

Funny thing but I just noticed this other thread about Beyonce stealing rights from her songwriters. And this is just one of the reasons why we should question and scrutinize and "get caught up in the politics" of people making millions on the backs of others.

 

[lasagna 2,711]

No.

It's about reclaiming originally black and queer culture. Tbh I think there's a better argument to be made by saying LGBT culture was appropriated (albeit respectfully) by other pop girls. I think the best example of this is her break my soul/vogue remix where instead of Madonna's original bridge naming all white icons of the 20s-50s, she replaces them with all black women and houses from the ballroom scene.

I think it's much less appropriation and more a genuine heartfelt attempt at tributing the roots of house and dance music. It's even reflected in the samples in the tracks where she samples (mostly) black and LGBT musicians from the time period she's paying tribute to.

I'd argue the reason shes going the country route now is exactly why it makes you uncomfortable because country music has been kinda co-opted by right wing, conservative, anti black groups. I think it's important she leaves her mark on these genres and reminds people what the respective genres roots actually are

Did Gaga make you uncomfortable when she went from Born This Way and ARTPOP to country? Or does it just make you uncomfortable when Beyoncé does it?

[Gaga2645 2,192]

House music originated from Black and Latino people so no it is not cultural appropriation 

You also can’t appropriate “LGBT culture” unless it’s rooted in Black and Brown culture and you are non-black/Latino (example the general discussion over the years surrounding Madonna) 

I keep seeing this thrown around at Beyonce just for the sake of throwing it at her and it’s so cringe lol. A lot of people wanna have a “gotcha” with her over “appropriation” and 9 times out of 10 the claims are baseless and rooted in ignorance 

[Gaga2645 2,192]

23 minutes ago, River said:

It's not appropriation, but I feel like this album took more away from queer black artists than it actually gave.

For example, Big Freeida's sample, Bey had to credit her as a feature and give her more exposure and more royalties.

I think only one of the features is actually queer (Tems).

The whole album is more about Bey at the ball than actually queers and especially black queers at the ball, which misses all the purpose of this album.

I think we should also note that Kevin Aviance, Kevin JZ Prodigy, and TS Madison to name a few are credited in Renny and are indeed getting their Cheques

[River 112,745]

1 minute ago, Gaga2645 said:

I think we should also note that Kevin Aviance, Kevin JZ Prodigy, and TS Madison to name a few are credited in Renny and are indeed getting their Cheques

As samples, like Freeida, they all had to be features imo, they are sharing the checks with:

Beyoncé, Tucker, Scott, Michael Pollack, Andrews, Coney, Gesteelde-Diamant, Saadiq, Moi Renee, Eric Snead, Jerel Black, Michael Cox, Kevin Bellmon Richard Cowie, Count Maurice.

Crediting them as features is much more respectful, to them as artist and queers.

 

[Ouranos 771]

1 hour ago, Vincem said:

She might have not been the cook, but she sure was the chef. 

In hospitality we call those types of chefs “clipboard chefs”

[Gagaism 11,065]

Suggesting that a female POP star act is appropriating LGBT culture is