Why It's SO Important That Beyoncé Took a Stance on HB2

With the passing of North Carolina’s HB2, a transphobic, homophobic bill that basically serves to shit on everyone who isn’t a cis, straight person (and who passes according to stereotypical gender presentation), a lot of people have been talking about what these bills mean and how they impact our daily lives.

Lots of celebrities have spoken out against the bill and have stated their support for the LGBT-friendly local businesses in North Carolina that work to create inclusive spaces. But we were waiting to hear from the queen — and Queen Bey just spoke out.

In a statement on her website, Beyoncé and her team took a stance against HB2 and highlighted the work of Equality NC. 

The page reads:

As The Formation World Tour makes its stop in the Tar Heel state in the midst of such a controversial time, we think it is important for us to bring attention to those who are committed to being good and carrying on the message of equality in this core of controversy. 

Among the many organizations doing the good work to get this bill overturned, there is Equality NC, a local organization dedicated to securing equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) North Carolinians.

It’s so hugely important that Beyoncé took a stance on the issue, not just because she’s frickin’ Beyoncé, but because it helps destroy the stereotype (seriously, won’t this lie just die already?!) that people of color, especially Black people, are more homophobic than everyone else.

This is especially important because a survey showed that people of color are more likely to identify as LGBT. Think about that — whether you’re a person of color or not, whether you’re queer or not, how do you think it feels to be a queer person of color and constantly be lied to about how homophobic your own community is? It’s a completely isolating feeling, and it makes coming out — if that’s something you choose to do — way, way scarier than it needs to be. 

Liberal, wealthy white people are painted as both the gay people of the world, and the people fighting for LGBT+ rights, but the reality is that it’s often the most marginalized (the queer, trans women of color) fighting those battles. It’s high time that we step away from the lies we’ve been told by mainstream media about what it means to be queer, and who is queer, and rewrite the narrative. 

Plenty of black people are LGBT, and we deserve to feel loved and protected and cared for. We deserve to know our own communities have our back.

Someone like Beyoncé stepping forward to say, "you know what, we’re going to make sure you know about this really excellent nonprofit doing work to undo the crap happening in your state," is a big deal. 

As a Black woman, Beyoncé is a huge icon in my world. And as a queer person of color, I’m always comforted to know that she has my back. Because with the explosion of The BeyHive, it’s pretty likely that we all know a million Beyoncé fans (okay, maybe not a million, but close to it!), and these fans are all keeping track of Beyoncé’s every move. Maybe this will help encourage them to recognize that LGBT people are worth respect and the humanity we have a right to as human beings. 

So Queen Bey – we remain loyal fans.