The Tragedy of Heterosexuality

by Jane Ward

For instance, straight women’s suffering, and men’s redemption, played itself out on the national stage in 2016 with the release of Beyoncé’s opus Lemonade, which chronicled Jay-Z’s lying and infidelity and Beyoncé’s rage and ultimate forgiveness. Here again, popular discourse seized on the opportunity to position a Black woman as an exemplar of heteroromantic survival. The Ethiopian American writer Hannah Giorgis, writing for the Atlantic, explains that very little was required of Jay-Z for him to be forgiven: Male redemption narratives have rarely required of their leading figures any meaningful restoration or atonement. The simple act of apologizing is enough to warrant a second act. Of course, Beyoncé is entitled to forgive her husband, . . . [but this] redemption tour is not simply a private burying of grievances, but also a public statement, a literal performance of absolution wrought through female suffering. [Their subsequent joint album] Everything Is Love . . . ends with Jay celebrating Bey—and the myriad other black women like her—by praising her ability to endure his misdeeds. . . . But the suggestion . . . that women’s pain is the sole vehicle for male redemption, is exhausting. Who rescues the rescuer?38

If I speak...