one hundred heroines! #1 beyoncé knowles

I've been wanting to write about some of the women that inspire me for a while now and the list has kind of been slowly growing while I've been trying to figure out a way to incorporate it into the blog... so here it is! One hundred heroines! This is going to include women from the entirety of history, from politicians to painters. This week however I'm keeping it modern and topical (after that super bowl performance this weekend!) with my number one girl crush and general wonder woman... Beyoncé Knowles.

image source: gorgeous illustration by Annabelle King - check out her work!

Beyonce doesn't really need much of an introduction. She is one of the universe's most popular singer/dancer/songwriters as well as being a new mother, one half of the most powerful couple in music, a philanthropist, a business person and totally bootylicious (which thanks to her and the other destiny's child girls is now in the Oxford English Dictionary) all at the same time.

I've been lucky enough to see the powerhouse that is Beyonce, along with her all female band, at Glastonbury 2011, where she was the first woman in more than 20 years to headline. You may argue that her profession doesn't really allow her to be a 'heroine' but I think the manner in which she lives her life does. Even Barack Obama has named her as a 'perfect role model' for his children.

Obviously anybody in the public eye comes under a lot of scrutiny but I think Beyonce has managed to deflect this with elegance throughout her long career. For example just recently there was heaps of controversy after her 'lip-synched' performance of the star spangled banner at the inauguration ceremony. She came back with the retort that it was a very important show for the whole of her country and that lip-synching was merely a precaution...she is only human after all. She then preceded to sing the whole anthem a cappella in front of the press conference. Daaamn.

Although she's never defined herself as a feminist, she sure does have some good things to say on the subject (I mean have you heard Independent Woman?) and this is a quote from a recent interview at FHM magazine is one I particularly like:

"You know, equality is a myth, and for some reason, everyone accepts the fact that women don't make as much money as men do. I don't understand that. Why do we have to take a backseat? I truly believe that women should be financially independent from their men. And let's face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what's sexy. And men define what's feminine. It's ridiculous."

People have criticised Beyoncé and dubbed her as anti-feminist because of her revealing (amazing) costumes. Apparently by showing off her body she is objectifying herself and is therefore not a good role model for children etc... Okay so I'm not going to get into that now even though it is a interesting issue, but this article about Beyonce on Feministing just about sums up my attitude.

In my opinion Beyoncé runs the world. I'll leave you with this incredible performance. Girl crush rant over.

Please do let me know who your heroines are! They might make the list. Also yesterday I reached 100 gfc followers!? Thank you so much everyone! Sometime in the distant future when I reach 200 I'm going to hold a giveaway :)