First off, the styling is superb in this video. Hello purple lipstick! Purple heels, yellow and red heels! Fifties pin-up look! Dominatrix look! Lots of rings!
(here)
In the first scene, she's in full make-up, daisy dukes, and heels. She's attempting to fix a car. She is B.B. Homemaker. But, really, is she?
"I got beauty, I got class, I got style, and I got ass. And you even care to care.
I got beauty, I got heart, keep my head in those books, I'm sharp. But you don't care to know I'm smart.
I got moves in your bedroom, keeping you happy with the nasty things I do. But you don't seem to be in tune."
The lyrics to this song scream pride and a need for self-assurance. "'Even your friends say I'm a good woman!' What the hell is wrong with you?! Why don't you need me? Especially when 'I make myself so damn easy to need.'"
Maybe he doesn't want you because you do your chores half-heartedly. You dust your grammy's off, then "oof! I'm pooped!" Maybe he doesn't love you because you present yourself as a sex kitten, even while you're cleaning the windows. Maybe it's because you set the roast on fire. And we all know, if you can't cook, you're just out of luck.
Ninety percent of the time, I stick up for women. But here, with these lyrics and this video, I can't. Beyonce's character is a floozy. Before she tells us that she's smart, she makes sure to point out that she has beauty, style, and ass. The stereotypical man concerns himself most with these characteristics. I'm going to take Kierkegaard's leap of faith, however, and say that most men put beauty, style, and ass secondary to the attributes of a good heart and intelligence.
Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
-- Henry Van Dyke
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