Despite the many choices available to women these days, balancing motherhood with your career can still be a challenge. Women are often expected to believe that to be progressive one must prioritize climbing professional rungs over changing diapers. But what if, on top of these, there's the pressure of being, for many people, the embodiment of feminism? Such is Beyoncé’s conundrum.
An icon for not only her music, fashion but for being the unofficial face of feminism, Beyoncé is now being criticized for crediting giving birth to her daughter as her single greatest achievement.
In an interview with Garage magazine, she shared that her single greatest achievement is giving birth to her daughter Blue Ivy.
“Out of everything I’ve accomplished, my proudest moment hands down was when I gave birth to my daughter Blue,” she says in the interview, which is the first one she’s granted in two years.
It’s mostly because of how Beyoncé is viewed to be on a single-minded path to “world domination” ever since she was a teenager.
So the unease is understandable, considering her 20 Grammys, her 2 successful Super Bowl performances, and her countless chart-toppers. Not to mention her successful business ventures.
She also credits her mom, Tina, for being one of the most important people in her life.
It’s no secret that she places family in high regard. So why are many people surprised that Queen Bey would value motherhood above all?
Although she's entitled to feel this way, says mic.com,"the fact that Queen Bey lists motherhood as her greatest triumph in spite of all her other successes speaks volumes about the way domestic achievements are supposed to rank in women's lives".
She could be inadvertently sending a message to women that domestic achievements hold more meaning than any professional accomplishment ever could.
But it's also worth noting that empowerment should mean that women are able to define what is most meaningful to our lives.
Even the Beyoncés of the world are allowed to break away from what is “expected of them”.
True empowerment has no single definition and that's what's great about it: women have the power to choose what empowerment truly means for them.
READ: Olivia Wilde’s son’s love for Beyoncé is beyond adorable
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