Beyoncé Wrote About Gender Equality

Look, there's been a lot of talk of Beyoncé these past few months. These last few years? These last few eternities? It's hard to tell how long we've been talking about Beyoncé, but we can probably safely say that it isn't going to go away anytime remotely soon. This is especially true because Beyoncé is on a mission, and that mission is gender equality/ruling the entire known universe and beyond. Which is why Beyoncé recently wrote an essay on that very topic.

If you listened to/watched/reveled in Beyoncé's recent album, you may have heard a clip at the beginning of "Flawless" — more specifically, an audio clip of Nigerian feminist Chimamanda Adichie's "we teach girls to shrink themselves" speech. And as we know from behind-the-scenes video revolving around the album, Beyoncé's actually been spending a lot of time youtubing/researching feminist theory.

Which is why it's not a complete surprise that lady just wrote an essay about gender equality for The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back From the Brink. Probably recruited by Maria Shriver. Because the Illuminati gotta stick together.

The entirety of the essay can be downloaded as part of the whole Shriver Report issue here, but here is my personal favorite bit:

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.

Nobody is perfect, and that applies just as much to Beyoncé and her feminism as it does to, well, you and me and every other human on the face of the planet. But one thing is clear: Beyoncé is committed to raising awareness for causes of gender equality, and that is a worthy fight to have.

Image: Getty