On Thursday, when TIME Magazine named
her one of its most influential people and put her on the cover, they
recognized something that's long been evident: Beyoncé is an
unimpeachable cultural icon. She is a powerful feminist whose art is
challenging, phenomenally entertaining and uplifting. Sheryl Sandberg,
of Lean In fame, wrote the blurb on Beyoncé for the magazine. Sandberg wrote, "She raises her voice both on- and offstage to urge women to be independent and lead."
Beyoncé's influence isn't simply for women, though. There's something
almost comically unflinching in her
ownership of her role as a modern
cultural leader. The boldness with which she stands on the cover of TIME (wearing no pants) is the boldness with which she wrote an essay called "Gender Equality Is a Myth," sampled feminist novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on her most recent record and found her muse in a formerly homeless songwriter with few credits to his name. In everything she does, she is bold.
So yes, she's a feminist icon. Yes, it's impressive that she became one of TIME's most influential people only a year
after her husband won the same honor. And yes, she's a phenomenal
singer, she's a bold thinker and she's a model mother. But that's not
why she's one of our culture's most influential people. Beyoncé is
important to us because she exudes always an aura of belief in the value
of her work, a sense of rocksteady acceptance of her responsibility as
an icon. She never flinches; she acts only with purpose.
She's someone worth believing in because she's someone who believes.
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