If I Were A Boy Analysis

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When we compare how men and women are different based on societal views, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Do you say to yourself, ‘Hm, that’s a tough one’, Or ‘Men and women aren’t really that different.’? Ask yourself this: If you were the opposite gender, how would you act? Beyoncé’s main goal was to answer this exact question in her music video for her hit song ‘If I were a Boy’. Beyoncé is a well renowned activist for feminism most commonly known for her empowering lyrics and talented voice, which has earned her 53 award nominations and 20 Grammys. Soon after her music video premiere for ‘If I Were a Boy’, she was interviewed by Billboard Magazine about the song and corresponding video. She proclaimed that the video was a way …show more content…
Beyoncé puts herself in her husband’s shoes and imagines the way she would act if she were a boy. In the music video, Beyoncé is portrayed as a police officer. The expression on her and husband’s face at the start of the video imply that she doesn’t have time for him, but when she gets in the car she immediately has a smile on her face. This shows the viewers that there might be a potential affair. Throughout the video, the viewers can see that there are multiple opportunities for the husband to cheat on his wife, yet he remains faithful to his wife. When the camera focuses on Beyoncé, Towards the end of the video, there is an obvious role reversal. Beyoncé turns into the one who is upset about her partner being unfaithful. She turns to him in the video and says to him ‘I don’t think you realize how the way you act makes me feel.’ Her husband replies, “It’s not like I’m sleeping with the girl”. This makes it seem like it’s okay for Beyoncé’s husband to be unfaithful to her. Women are typically seen as weak and inferior to men. Because of this, women often fall victim to gender bias and sexism, which in turn causes women to be in unhealthy relationships where they are verbally and sometimes physically abused by their partners. The role reversal between Beyoncé and her husband is an excellent example of how women are sometimes treated unfairly and poorly in relationships just because they are

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