Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism

by Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley

Making headlines when it was launched in 2015, Omise'eke Tinsley's undergraduate course "Beyoncé Feminism, Rihanna Womanism" has inspired students from all walks of life. In Beyoncé in Formation, Tinsley now takes her rich observations beyond the classroom, using the blockbuster album and video Lemonade as a soundtrack for vital new-millennium narratives.

Woven with candid observations about her life as a feminist scholar of African studies and a cisgender femme married to a trans spouse, Tinsley's "Femme-onade" mixtape explores myriad facets of black women's sexuality and gender. Turning to Beyoncé's "Don't Hurt Yourself," Tinsley assesses black feminist critiques of marriage and then considers the models of motherhood offered in "Daddy Lessons," interspersing these passages with memories from Tinsley's multiracial family history. Her chapters on nontraditional bonds culminate in a discussion of contemporary LGBT politics through the lens of the internet-breaking video "Formation," underscoring why Beyoncé's black femme-inism isn't only for ciswomen. From pleasure politics and the struggle for black women's reproductive justice to the subtext of blues and country music traditions, the landscape in this tour is populated by activists and artists (including Loretta Lynn) and infused with vibrant interpretations of Queen Bey's provocative, peerless imagery and lyrics.

In the tradition of Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist and Jill Lepore's best-selling cultural histories, Beyoncé in Formation is the work of a daring intellectual who is poised to spark a new conversation about freedom and identity in America.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Essays, Race, Music, Memoir, Gender

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2018

About the author

Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley is Professor of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Motivated by love for boundless black femme creativity, her research focuses on queer and feminist, Caribbean and African American performance and literature. She recently completed a manuscript entitled The Color Pynk: Black Femme-inist Love and Criticism, which explores black femme aesthetics of resistance in the Trump era. Earlier monographs include Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism (2018); Ezili’s Mirrors: Black Queer Genders and the Work of the Imagination (2018), winner of the 2019 Barbara Christian Prize in Caribbean Studies; and Thiefing Sugar: Eroticism Between Women in Caribbean Literature (2010). She has published articles in journals including GLQ, Feminist Studies, Yale French Studies, and Small Axe and is a contributor to Time, Ebony, The Advocate, and Huffington Post.

Reviews

[Avigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. If you are considering reading it, do not be deterred by the criticisms left by other reviewers that because this is memoir a) it's not actually about Beyonce, and b) it can't be academic. (In addition to their critiques being queer/trans-phobic and peak white fragility, it completely misses that the memoiristic format is the book's greatest strength.) This book weaves the personal experience of being a femme, black, queer stan for Beyonce together with a close reading of Lemonade's songs and visual imagery (readings deeply informed by a rich intersectional literature of critical race, trans, and queer theory). This subjectivity, far from being non-academic, grounds theory in reality, showing just how effectively Beyonce's art reflects and speaks to the lived experience of black women.

The book clarified so much about Lemonade that I recognized as symbolic and important but did know how to interpret. The section on ratchet feminism (Love the Grind) had me going "ohhhhh I get it now" every other paragraph. I finished it with a deeper understanding and appreciation for a piece of art that I already loved. Tinsley reshaped my interpretation of Lemonade, leading me to see it as a celebration of Beyonce's love for black women more so than a narrative about her marriage (which it of course is, but not entirely).

Finally, I found the family story of Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley fascinating for how it did and did not conform to popular understandings of 20th century African American history. And I enjoyed reading about Tinsley's own life story, which is so different than my own (with the exception of a PhD in the humanities). The memoiristic sections deepened my investment in Tinsley's interpretation of Lemonade (and Beyonce's catalog more broadly) by revealing how black women, particularly, Southern black femme and trans, see themselves represented and revered in her art.

Honestly, this review doesn't do the book justice. I have no idea how Tinsley packed so many coherent ideas and arguments into 175. It's masterful--a really inspiring model for how to write creative nonfiction.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all things black, queer, and femme found in the epic production that is Lemonade, look no further! Part memoir, part critical analysis of what Tinsley argues is the "most widely distributed black feminist text of the current moment." Tinsley breaks it down by focusing on a handful of key parts of Lemonade (lucky for me, she touched on my exact favorite songs from the album). This was another book that I found myself spending a lot of time highlighting because there were SO many informative bits & pieces. I definitely recommend for any member of the Bey Hive as well as anyone looking to learn more about black feminism through the context of Lemonade. 💛🖤

[Scarlett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a seriously misleading title and I wish this book was just a half of what I needed it to be and what it promised. Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley decided that it was a good idea to ride the wave and hide her thesis under a famous name of Beyonce and lure people into her queer propaganda. In no way I am saying that I have something against LGBT community and I root for good writers to dedicate time to write quality books that explore those subjects, but this… this is a smoke curtain for a personal agenda and I am so disappointed in this author. I would suggest a change of title before publication to "Being queer and listening to Beyonce".

University of Texas is the chosen publisher. This was enough for me to see this book as a relevant material to read AND learn from, about what this last Beyonce’s album "Lemonade" meant for women and especially, black women (note: all terms that I am using in my review are the terms that author herself uses in the book). The biggest plus was that, supposedly, Omise’eke is an expert in teaching literature and being a self-expressed feminist. She fell right in the trap of giving too much of her own personal information and creating a memoir-like book. Not a lot of non-fiction writers can escape this, but this was beyond any decent measure.

Whether you like it or not, Beyonce’s visual album "Lemonade" created a huge impact on the world when it was released. It came just in time to be related to Black lives matter movement and the mass shootings happening in the South, while also staying relevant to the ever-existing issue of female empowerment and the position of a black woman in American culture. Never before has Beyonce presented herself as a true Texas-born black woman, not in this amount, so her embracing her roots made a point all across country, music industry and the world. The lyrics and her videos all had deeper meaning behind them and for me, it was difficult to understand all the bits and pieces of African-American culture, it was so foreign to me. That being said, imagine my happiness when I saw a title, using one of the most powerful songs from that album - Formation, that promises to explain all about black feminism. Sign me up right away! I am still struggling to understand in what amount am I a feminist and what does that all mean in my community, let alone get inside the head of a black women in USA. So, that’s what I wanted to know and here’s what I learned from this book.

The author is married to a transgender Matt and she has a daughter. Together, they live as a happy family in Texas. But, this is not just a mere information, we get a detailed odyssey of a queer person (that is the only term Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley uses, never calling herself lesbian or gay, so I’m just going to follow that) that gets to live and love in America, how the society comments on them having children, how her parents raised her, how her grandparents met and fell in love, what clothes does she wear, how she went to a twerk class and so on. For me, this is unwanted information, considering the title, but the author is very aware of what she’s doing. She repeatedly stays off topic and describes her own life.

I kept reading even though I got the general idea of what this story is going to be about right at the beginning. I finished the book even after reaching the boiling point that was the Blac Chyna - Kardashians reference. Apparently, Blac Chyna (who knows why this made it to the book) is a symbol for feminism here. I had to read this part twice to make sure that I understood what I read. I tried to justify even mentioning these people here, by thinking - OK, this is a book related to a celebrity, maybe she wants to make a point? No, actually, the author just wanted to tell us that the Kardashians are a filthy clan appropriating black culture and stealing black guys, while poor Blac Chyna, a talented stripper who embraced her career as an exotic dancer, served as a pillar of empowered women. So, just reading this part, for laughs, is enough recommendation. This is were all credibility went through the window.

At some point, the author mentions that Beyonce actually never stood for LGBT people because she never officially supported any of their movements, her songs are celebrating a straight man and woman union, motherhood and many values deemed "traditional". Nevertheless, Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley continues to interpret the songs and lyrics according to her own interests. There are so many Black Femme terms that I had to keep up to understand them and remember the difference between the real feminism and the meaning of fem(me)inine - everything related to a feminine lesbian.

In her last chapter, author finally reaches the song Formation and tries to explain it, again in terms that suit her:

As I watch and try to connect, I always wonder: are there any black trans women dancing in the parking lot as Beyonce declares "We slay"? None of the dancers have identified themselves as trans, to my knowledge, and probably none are. But there needs to be a black transwoman dancing to "I slay" to make good on the promise of black trans - and cisfeminine collaboration. It’s time to listen… it’s time to fight…

This just went on and on. I didn’t like it at all, but I can’t deny that the writing style was very good and easy to read. It was difficult to separate personal agenda from some new ideas about feminism, but still it was empowering to some point.

I want to thank to University of Texas Press for this reading opportunity, I got my edition through Edelweiss.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Monte Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely feels like an introduction to a lot of the ideas presented. It also reads very clunky at times. Overall though I did have a good tie and there were a lot of things that I hadn't expected to be touched on that were brought up and viewed through the lens of Beyoncé's album Lemonade. I also think it's pretty clear that this book might have worked better if read in conjunction with the class Tinsley teaches. Again, I did enjoy it and I would reread at some point in the future with an eye for annotating and interacting more with the text than I did on this go round.

[Ondine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't watched Lemonade all the way through --- I know, I know. I want to, I just keep forgetting that I want to, but I think this book is the catalyst for making that happen. While having familiarity with Lemonade definitely makes this book make more sense, you don't need to have seen it to gain a serious appreciation for the positive impact Beyoncé, her art and her life has had on so many folks, but specifically Black women and QTPOC. This is book is for Black women, which I am not. As I read through Beyoncé in Formation I felt like a guest in this space, but one who is not, and should not be centered-- it felt more like an honor to be given the opportunity to listen in on this conversation between Black Queer Femmes.

AND, I'd like to add for all the haters who are mad about this book not being academic enough -- the author SAID this was gonna be a mixtape. She SAID she was going to weave in and out of memoir, critical analysis, current events, etc. If you read that (which was in the beginning), and you're still mad. Well. I invite you to take all the seats.

[Amy Albinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omise’eke Tinsley uses Beyoncé’s music and visual art as a way to unravel and explore personal and political issues that matter in our lives, through a lens of Black femme-inism. Focusing primarily on Lemonade and interwoven with personal stories, the author unpacks themes like marriage, motherhood, blues and country music, sexuality, and social justice. An academic love letter to Beyoncé, this book is an enthralling read for Beyoncé fans and those wanting to learn more about Black fem(mme)ininity...and will make you wish Lemonade was still streamable!

[han · Rating 3 out of 5]

so incredibly interesting even if it did take me 3 months to go through it… i think that’s exactly why it’s good; reading a chapter at a time lets you really think about the points she’s making <3

fave chapter: most bomb pussy

[Kaelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep dive into Beyonce's Lemonade album. It explains all the symbols and references in the album (and the videos) itself and how it connects to feminist and queer theory, Black southern history, music history, and the author's own life. So there's a lot in here, but I liked the blend of academic theory, contemporary culture, and personal experience. Did I understand every single reference? Of course not, I'm a white girl from Canada. Lemonade wasn't made for me. In any case, I loved learning more about Beyonce, Black feminism, and developed an even greater respect for her artistry. And now I have to rewatch Lemonade.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the way this was written and the detailed account of the Lemonade experience. I have never looked into an album this was and it was very intriguing to weave it into the real concerns of today's black woman. Omise'eke's accounts and perspectives were uplifting to say the least. Great read.

[(Adri)ana | TenPieceLemonPepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is not what i expected. based off the title alone, i assumed it would explore Black feminism/womanism through the lens of beyoncé’s discography. so if that’s the book you’re looking for, this is not that.

this book is more-so written about what the author calls “femme-inism.” and is a book written in “defense” of (and mostly addressed to) Black queer femmes. as, according to the author, they are often left out of the feminism conversation, and not often seen as “real feminists” because they embrace stereotypical feminine aesthetics (makeup, heels, etc) , as opposed to more masc-presenting queer women.

as a cishet woman, about ten pages in, before the introduction chapter was even finished, i realized that this book was not written for me. 😂 however, it was still an enjoyable read, and i would recommend for any person who identifies as a woman. because apart of being a feminist is learning about and educating yourself on different types of feminism, as there isn’t one cookie cutter way to be a feminist.

and of course, if you’re a part of the Hive, go ahead and pick it up as well! because why not?! 🐝

[Rhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard about this class and had always felt jealous I couldn't take it. This book felt like the next best thing. Thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Beyonce's visual album and better understanding and taking the time to absorb the artistry and politics infused in every cut and bar.

[DeAja · Rating 3 out of 5]

It made me think about Lemonade in ways that I haven’t before. If it’s out there, I would also be interested in Tinsley’s analysis of Renaissance and Cowboy Carter

[Ife · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I listened to Lemonade three years late. One thing was clear to me then, that I was listening to a sonic masterpiece. Don't Hurt Yourself was my personal favourite on the album. There was something that was out of reach then, something about the album that felt vaguely political that I didn't have the language to express. I revisited Lemonade, watching the visual album for the first time, when I was writing an essay on Beyoncé's journey into Afrocentric imagery and I finally understood it perfectly. From "love God herself" to "I need freedom too" it became clear that I had witnessed, as Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley puts it, "(arguably) the most widely distributed black feminist text of the current moment". So when I found this book, ostensibly a Black feminist reading of Lemonade, I knew it was going to be a must-read. However, no piece of Black feminist literature I have read thus far has left me so divided.

To state Tinsley's aims in her own words:

Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism takes up Beyoncé's invitation to consider the US South as a fertile site for Black women to reimagine gender, sexuality, and personhood.

The book is in three main parts: Family Album which is about the marital and maternal politics of Lemonade, "Most Bomb Pussy" which is about how Lemonade reimagines pleasure politics for Black women and Calling For Freedom which is about reproductive justice and trans-femmes. The book is also decidedly a mix between a memoir and academic writing. Tinsley incorporates her own personal life to challenge the "femmephobic" assumption that talking about the self is "messy, over-the-top, or provocative".

I think Family Album is the strongest chapter. It is what you would expect from the book. There were really interesting ideas about the genres Beyoncé employs and references and how historically those genres (blues and country) have been used by Black women to push back against parochial ideas of Anglo-Saxon monogamous marriage. Tinsley leaving her studied field to discuss ethnomusicology was really interesting and well done. I don't always agree with her analysis. For example she says that Don't Hurt Yourself is the ultimate fuck-you song to Jay-Z, asserting her dominance as she sings that she will "bounce to the next dick" and throws her ring to the camera but I think that Lemonade chronicles the journey of different stages of heartbreak. I would argue the anger and rage embodied in Don't Hurt Yourself is a salve for pain. We know in real life Beyoncé does not bounce to the next dick. I also doubt sometimes that Tinsley's analysis was Beyoncé's intention as some of her analysis seems like a reach (this isn't a critique because I don't think the artist has to intend a reading to legitimise it) but it is fun to see where Tinsley's analysis goes.

In "Most Bomb Pussy" I think the structure Tinsley has opted for starts to stifle the ideas a bit. The breaks in between analysis to talk about her personal life feel very clunky and irrelevant to her argument. She also argues that Lemonade embodies a more "ratchet feminism" marked by a rejection of respectability politics, than she did before; I can see this being true for some images in Lemonade like the beauty store in Formation, but I think the quadroon parlour in 6 Inch Heels which Tinsley points to as an example of this is a more respectable model of Black pleasure politics than the overtly sexual nature of, for example, Blow on the previous self titled album.

The last chapter is kind of messy and I don't really see the link between transfemmes sharing space with reproductive justice which are lumped together under the same main header. When it doesn't feel clunky I feel like it doesn't say anything new.

I would have liked to see more work on the class politics of Beyoncé which she kind of alludes to in the introduction but never really touches again. How relevant is Beyoncé feminism to the average southern Black femme when her feminism is marked by demonstrations of wealth ("if he hit it right imma take him for a ride on my chopper") that most Black women don't have access to. These are questions I would have liked to see being addressed because they have been the biggest critique Black feminist Beyoncé detractors like bell hooks (rest in peace) have had.

Overall, I rated it 3.5 stars because it is the most ambitious piece of Black feminist literature I have read in a while. I think Tinsley reached into different fields of enquiry to string together a love letter to Beyoncé and Beyoncé fans. This book deepened my appreciation of Beyoncé's contribution to popular culture and her oeuvre as a whole. I think it goes a long way to be accessible and get people interested in Black feminist theory and I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to close the gap between their knowledge of Beyoncé as a celebrity figure and the politics Beyoncé is conveying.

[cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative nonfiction. An examination of Lemonade's cultural significance. Academic research. A Black queer femme-inist mix tape style homage. A needed cultural critique. This book is all that and so much more.

The reviews here that lambaste the book and author as not academic enough, not feminist enough, and even misleading in title, miss the point entirely.

DO not miss the point, friends. And don't miss out on this totally engaging, deeply personal AND deeply cultural love letter to Beyonce. The author writes about a new tradition of a trip with her daughter to Madewood, the plantation where Lemonade's visual album was filmed, but the words are equally relevant to the whole book - that it is, "an act of reverence for ourselves: for our black womanness, our Louisiananess, our sorry not sorry-ness, our baby hair Afro yellow bone-ness, our black mama-daughter love, our black femme magic. This is the Beyoncé feminism I want to pass on to my daughter: when life serves you Lemonade, celebrate yourself."

[Lennie Wynker]

I'm NOT planning to read this book, but I felt like I needed to comment. What nonsense is that? From reviews I've read , this is essentially a personal memoir masquerading as academia. It's disturbing. What is even more disturbing is that there are people who seriously believes that Beyonce is a feminist icon.

The question isn't what has Beyonce done for black women or the black community, but would Beyonce produce Afro-American centric art if she couldn't make money AND praise out of it?

However, to be perfectly honest, I don't think Lemonade or any of Beyonce's live performances brought any kind of benefit to the black community or were of any significance whatsoever. To me, it was just an entertainer doing her job: entertaining.

Beyonce and her husband are a corporation and at the moment social activism is a hot commodity. It's business as usual for these people and I wish more people would catch that.

[Akeiisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book contains some interesting ideas, but the last third resonated most for me and was more in line with what I was expecting. It definitely made me want to watch Lemonade, but aside from challenging some of the writings of bell hooks and clarifying/redefining femme identity, I didn't really learn anything new on black feminism. Overall 2.5 out of 5

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, but I did, and couldn't stop reading even while watching the NCAA tournament games, which usually dominate my time (even during the workday... shhhh, no telling). The book centered around the release of Lemonade, and the symbolism behind many of the video choices, and the choices in actor portrayals in the videos, and the significance of the star power of those choices, and the significance of the inclusion of non-stars in those videos, and the intersectionality of the woman featured in those videos, but it was also just an inclusionary statement on what acceptance and resolve mean for today's Black feminists of all identities. If the class the author teaches is even half as interesting as this book, it's no wonder it's always full.

[leireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

for Beyoncé's birthday, my little present to her was reading a book about her and her feminism, one that has been the topic of critic, some brilliantly important while others downright unhelpful. and omise'eke remixed it with her femme-inism, black, queer and overally nourishing. natasha invites us to acknowledge, learn from and appreciate Beyoncé's brand of feminism as one that matters in the wider movement that is feminism. and one thing that i passionately admire about my Queen is that she ain't sorry about her fem(me)inism.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I super enjoyed this book. The introduction reads VERY much like a university press book (which it is), and I got myself all suited up and ready for the challenge. But then the rest of it reads more like popular history or cultural criticism. Yay. I also recommend you rewatch Lemonade before reading this, as the close reads of the visual album are among the best things in here and--as ever--they make more sense if you have the images fresh in your mind.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completely DEVOURED this book, I didn't want to put it down! Umise'eke Tinsley adapted the class she teaches at the University of Texas at Austin into this book, and it's fascinating. Treating Lemonade as a feminist text, she analyzes the visual album's commentary on the experience of being a black woman, wife, and mother in the South, through a queer femme lense. As a black femme mother living in Texas, Tinsley includes many of her own experiences to flesh out and personalize her points. I was blown away by Tinsley's comparisons of certain images from Lemonade to older videos Beyoncé had done with Jay-Z, showing how Beyoncé has inverted images transferring strength and the position of power to herself. Tinsley shows how truly layored and visually complicated Lemonade is, rich with brilliant references I never had picked up on previously. It's a must-read not only for Beyoncé fans, but also for lovers of history, pop culture, and art.

For more reviews, check out my page at https://www.instagram.com/getlitbookc... or directly on Instagram @getlitbookclub

[Haerlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped broaden my sense of Black feminism. I was introduced to terms and concepts that I plan to integrate into my thinking. I also liked how Dr. Tinsley shared herself, her family, and her fandom. It just goes to show the brilliance that emerges when academia makes space for academics to shine in one's own truth.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd rate this as a 3.5. The writer clearly is educated and has a talent of putting word to paper. I will say though that the title is a little misleading. I thought I was going to read about black feminism and how the author related that to Beyonce's art. However, it ended up being more of the authors memoir.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot going on here. The different narratives are really loosely woven together, which makes it a bit of a challenge to read since it feels like you are jumping around a lot. I think any of the narratives would be interesting, but this particular presentation style just keeps pulling me out of the text.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tinsley is an excellent writer and audiobook narrator, and this book ties so much together around Beyoncé and particularly Lemonade. If I had access to the Lemonade film, I would absolutely be rewatching it several times right about now. I expected this book to be heavy and academic, but it was fascinating, hopeful, eloquent, and accessible.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely expanded my appreciation of Lemonade and helped me see the album's many layers. I reviewed Beyoncé in Formation for The Current.

[G-phy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because it doesn't really have that much to do with Beyoncé and it seems too self involved. But also 3 stars because I wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't said Beyoncé in the title and I learned a lot about ratchet feminism and black queer feminism.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Interesting read that I'll definitely have to come back to after repeatedly watching Lemonade again.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating. I gotta watch Lemonade again now that I know how many layers of meaning are in it.