In a world full of darkness, hate and bigotry, everyone needs a light of hope to cling to. For some, it’s their families. The little faces of their children make all the hard work, sweat and tears worth it. For others, it’s their jobs, despite the craziness that goes on sometimes. Then there are those who live for vacation after vacation after vacation. Can you imagine that, vacation after vacation after vacation? Must be nice. Yes, as things stand, anyway you can get your recharge, good mojo, feel good feels these days, by all means, do you boo. That’s why for me, Beyoncé’s twin pregnancy announcement is my breath of fresh air moment this week. And boy what a moment it is.
Let me paint the picture for you. I come from a family of twins. My father was an identical twin, so I’ve grown up my whole life with the hopes of being the lucky one to carry that gene. I mean ya’ll for real; I get anxiety about it. Like, “Ugh… How can I have twins?” So three nights ago, I had this dream. In it, a random, light skinned girl was pregnant with twins (boys by the way, so that’s my prediction). The next morning, bam, Beyoncé announces she’s preggers with two babies. Now I’m not saying I’m psychic or anything, but I am also not saying that I’m not. I am super pumped that she’s pregnant and on top of that, there’s gonna be two new Carters? I know that a lot of people don’t understand the excitement that I, and millions of others, had/have about this, but there’s so much more to Queen B being pregnant than just another celebrity procreating. Beyoncé has and always will be a shining light in the black community and serves as a symbol of power, bad assery and womanhood to ladies everywhere. As far as the Beyhive is concerned, WE are pregnant with twins.
With that, as a black woman in America, I have questioned whether or not I should have children. I am in my early 30’s, not married (working on that) and childless. It’s a choice (the childless part, not lack of a husband) that I am fine to live with everyday. Honestly, with all that’s going on, I always leaned toward not having children with the way things are looking. That may seem extreme, but I am a firm believer in a woman’s responsibility to her body and her future. There are just too many ways not to get pregnant, and when it comes down to it, barring an act of sexual violence, we are solely responsible for what happens within our wombs. Okay, now, back to Beyoncé. I am not saying that her news has eased my fears of bringing children into this world, but it does tell me that life, ultimately, goes on. I have been so caught up in planning for shit to hit the fan on the political front, that I’ve almost become lost in that moment. Which is usually a good thing, being lost in the moment, but not when it totally controls nearly every decision you make. I am woman enough to say that I was there. Yes, Beyoncé is rich and famous, so maybe she can afford to have children, despite the current state of affairs. But seeing her, with her baby belly, made me realize that I am in control of my life and my children are meant to carry my legacy. No one can take that away from me.
Beyoncé continues to give us black girl magic and slayage goals. She is more than an artist. She is a bonafide icon. She is a phenomenon who is so strategic in what she does. Along with reminding us about the good things in life, she also continues to teach us the importance of knowing our history (come on ladies now let’s get in formation) and supporting the arts. Her pregnancy photographer is Awol Erizku. The Ethiopian-born Yale graduate shot to fame overnight because Beyoncé, an artist herself, supports artists. This is further proven by the artistic value of the pictures themselves. They are beautiful in a chic, 90’s hillbilly but still fire kind of way.
Beyoncé makes you want to stay on top of your shit, to fulfill your dreams and to keep moving until you get what you want out of life. And she shows us that we can do all of that while being a mother at the height of success in our industry. No one can touch her.
Yes, Beyoncé fans are excited about her pregnancy news. When it all comes down to it, she’s not just giving us two more cute babies to fawn over in a few months; she’s giving us hope. She’s giving us instruction.