Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism

Making headlines when it was launched in 2015, Omiseeke Tinsleys 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, Tinsleys Femme-onade mixtape explores myriad facets of black womens sexuality and gender. Turning to Beyoncés Dont 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 Tinsleys 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 Beyoncés black femme-inism isnt only for ciswomen. From pleasure politics and the struggle for black womens 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 Beys provocative, peerless imagery and lyrics.

In the tradition of Roxanne Gays Bad Feminist and Jill Lepores 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.