"Why Do You Blog About Beyoncé?"

• Actual answer I gave an academic (doctoral degree candidate) for a survey: "Because her relevance in pop culture cannot be denied. You can't even discuss pop culture without mentioning her and have a modern well-rounded discussion. And since expressions and interpretations of Black womanhood--either via choice or forced hypervisibility in the White Gaze--occur via pop culture in a country with a social politic heavily shaped by media, discussing Beyoncé's influence matters. Because she's regularly positioned as "not feminist" where this operates as "not human" because of the way feminism is automatically conferred on White womanhood because of anti-Blackness and misogynoir, Beyoncé becomes an interesting topic for me to challenge Black subjectivity and humanity that's regularly denied, but in a way appealing to many people outside of the academe and aware of pop culture's power and influence. Plus, I just like her music and the subversive and overt ways she affirms Black womanhood as she sees it, which is nuanced albeit still human since like most Black women, it will both confer and reject certain facets of the oppressive society that we live in, and thus, leaves room to both grow and influence others."
• The everyday answer: "Um, she rocks 5eva. BAE! Really that simple. For the same reason why I blog about so *many* other Black women; receipts in the Archive and shit. She doesn't have to be perfect to be great, nor do I have to defend *any* Black women I like to people who hate Black women by default."