Beyonce Pens Feminist Essay: Read “Gender Equality Is A Myth!”

Beyonce made her stance on feminism clear on her confident self-titled album, which features an audio excerpt of a speech on feminism by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Now Bey has stepped out of the music realm to deliver her feminist message. The star penned a short essay promoting gender equality, titled “Gender Equality Is A Myth!”, as part of The Shriver Report’s findings on women living in poverty in the US.

“We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet,” Bey starts off, adding, “Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.” She also calls on men to join the fight, asking that they demand their “wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender.”

TSR Special Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back From The Brink also includes essays from Hilary Clinton, Eva Longoria and LeBron James. Read Beyonce’s full entry below, and head to ShriverReport.org for more.

‘Gender Equality Is A Myth!’ by Beyonce Knowles-Carter

We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.

Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.

We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.”

[via The Independent]