Here's what 'Becky With The Good Hair' from Beyonce's Lemonade REALLY means

Here’s what ‘Becky With The Good Hair’ from Beyonce’s Lemonade REALLY means

‘Becky With The Good Hair’ – If you think it’s about Rachel Roy, you’re WAY off.

Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade took the world by storm. The album is a story of a black woman shaken by the infidelity of men in her life and her journey to move forward. Black women pretty much comprise the entirety of the album through cameos from Zendaya,Amandla Stenberg, Serena Williams, Quvenzhané Wallis, and more.

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But then there’s also an appearance from another woman on the album. She may not have been given a face, but her and Jay Z’s reckoning was on every song. Her name is Becky.

In the song “Sorry,” Beyonce sings about not feeling sorry for leaving her husband behind after she finds out he’s been cheating. She ignores his calls and his pleas to win her back. In the very last lines she then slaps the listener with the stunning line, “You only want me when I’m not there/You better call Becky with the good hair.”

Many white listeners might just laugh at this line and think it’s catchy. However, for black listeners this is a loaded lyric that probably brought up personal memories for them.

Becky is usually a term used for white women. It was used in “Baby Got Back” in the intro where we hear a white woman say, “Oh my god Becky, look at her butt! It is so big” about a black woman’s body.

It’s not a coincidence that both instances bring up looks. Back in 1992 when Sir Mix-A-Lot came out with his hit, white America was still pushing the idea that smaller butts were more attractive. But that kind of body type isn’t the norm for black women.

Mix-A-Lot’s song was not only fun but empowering because a black man was praising a black woman’s figure despite “Beckys” being seen as the ideal. Beyonce also touched that nerve but in a very different way.

“Good hair” is also a loaded term. In the black community, “good hair” refers to hair that’s typically straight or has looser curls that would be found on white or Indian women. Many black women have turned to relaxers, worn weaves or pressed their hair to achieve this look.

Maybe they think it will make them more attractive or they want to match white America’s expectation of what’s “professional.” “Good hair” also insinuates afros or coily hair are “bad.”

So for Beyonce — a woman who’s considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world — to call out “Becky” is a statement. It says that she can still relate to other beautiful black women on being told either by society, media, and men in her life (Jay-Z?) that she’s inferior to Becky.

It’s a moment of solidarity for black women and an acknowledgement of the lie that’s been fed to us almost from birth. In order to combat that, Beyonce has made a video full of beautiful black women at different stages of life, from little Blue Ivy to the older mothers that have sadly witnessed their sons killed due to police brutality.

She also fearlessly wears black hairstyles like cornrows and has many black women wear their natural hair. She tells everyone in “Formation” that she likes her baby’s hair with baby hair and afros.

In the end, black women are still beautiful, powerful, and don’t need to be concerned with Becky and her “good hair.” Because Becky doesn’t take away how awesome and beautiful we are — no matter what society says.

–Yourtango

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