Beyoncé was recently criticized for being a "hypocrite" and "anti-feminist" because she decided to name her tour The Mrs. Carter World Tour and her single Bow Down/I Been On...
She didn't hesitate to set her critics straight: "Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are?" she asked. "Why do you have to label yourself anything? I'm just a woman, and I love being a woman.
"I feel like Mrs. Carter is who I am, but more bold and more fearless than I've ever been. It comes from knowing my purpose and really meeting myself once I saw my child. I was like, 'OK, this is what you were born to do.' The purpose of my body became completely different."
What gives? Why criticize her for being a wife and a mom?
The underlying assumption Beyoncé's critics make is that because she is a wife and a mother, she can't be for women who are neither of those things -- so therefore she can't be a feminist.
The irony is that modern feminists promulgate the myth that women can have it all -- that women can do what men do and more because men and women are fundamentally the same. Feminism is defined as 1) the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes and 2) organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.
Consider feminist Gloria Steinem's famous comment: "At my graduation, I thought we had to marry what we wished to become. Now you are becoming the men you once would have wished to marry."
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Common sense and modern science prove that men and women are inherently, fundamentally, and irreconcilably different. Any political movement based on such an incorrect assumption about human nature -- that men and women are and should be identical -- is doomed to fail and confuse many people.
To suggest that women are less worse off than men is a myth. Feminists often argue that because women make less money than men they are worse off, but that argument in itself does not prove that women are worse off than men -- it just proves that women and men want different things and their wealth cannot be directly compared.
Furthermore, it's been reported that in cities like New York, women do actually make the equivalent or more than their male counterparts; and women in some cases are creating their own glass ceiling because they care about things other than their career.
Likewise, statistics show that women are and have always been slightly better off than men because they live longer; in every society more women attain some reproductive success than men. It's also been found that men obtain a larger number of diseases in greater numbers than women do. And scientific evidence has shown that more boys die in childhood than girls do. Biologically, women are at an advantage, not a disadvantage.
What feminists don't understand is that most women in America care more about being a wife and a mother than their career. Feminists must realize that they do not speak for every woman and that Beyoncé's love and respect for her husband and for being a mother resonates with more women than does the radical agenda of feminism.
Perhaps we should dispose of the word and the movement altogether. After all, over and over older women are hearing from younger women that they don't want to call themselves feminists, because they believe that the feminist movement devalues traditional feminine qualities, such as those which Beyoncé exemplifies. I agree.
Real feminism supports the idea that women can be mothers and wives and be proud of it. Real feminism supports the idea that a woman's value can be found in loving and supporting those around us -- no matter what role they may find themselves in. Real feminism recognizes that strength can be found in what it means to be a woman -- like Beyoncé has expressed -- she can successfully pursue a career without placing it above her marriage or family -- and still love being a woman at the same time.