The unveiling of Beyoncé’s Vogue September Issue takeover predictably sent the internet into overdrive on Monday. The Beyhive, her fanbase, is as enthusiastic as it is loyal. Vogue's historic reveal also comes amidst her and husband Jay-Z’s "On The Run II" tour, currently filling stadiums across the U.S. But while Beyoncé is as publicly visible as she’s ever been, her personal life remains, well, personal. In 2018, celebrities, quasi-celebrities and wannabe celebrities alike trade in the currency of real-time confessions and attention. And yet, Beyoncé has found a way to play by her own rules. She and her Parkwood team, the entertainment company she founded in 2010, can keep a professional secret like no one else — remember her surprise 2013 album “BEYONCÉ”? — but this is more than an innovative marketing strategy. Rather, it is all part of the legendary celebrity’s redefinition of privacy and publicity in the modern era. While Beyoncé is as publicly visible as she’s ever been, her personal life remains, well, personal. In 2015, the last time Beyoncé covered the prestigious September Issue, she refused to grant an interview. It was the ultimate power move, although not without controversy. This time around, she opened herself up more, offering her thoughts on body image, representation, her own ancestry and the emergency C-section birth of her twins. The photos spoke volumes too, as Beyoncé handpicked the photographer: 23-year-old Tyler Mitchell. Mitchell is the first black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in the magazine’s 126-year history. Still, the Vogue piece doesn’t give as much access as pop culture often demands, especially since interviews with the star are so rare; she has only given four print interviews in the last five years. This means that Beyoncé has managed to remain both guarded and completely in control of her own narrative, blurring public and private while somehow never giving us enough of either. She may be trying to keep us wanting more as PR strategy, making herself scarce while still “caus[ing] all this conversation,” as she says in "Formation." Such scarcity is undoubtably a good way to sell albums, tour tickets — and magazines. But it feels more like a subversion of public expectations — what scholar Daphne Brooks called a unique blend of “hyper-visibility and inaccessibility simultaneously.” Beyoncé curates the small pieces of her life she wants us to see — and that’s it. What she does share comes when she’s ready, and never as its happening. The cover of the September issue of Vogue Magazine. Vogue To view Beyoncé's boundaries as a strictly business decision does her a disservice, however. The delineation is political, meticulous and predates the 2013 surprise “digital drop.” Earlier that year, Beyoncé retreated from the press and public life after the release of her documentary “Life Is But A Dream,” a candid visual autobiography of an artist mid-career that itself offered little unknown personal information while still allowing viewers to feel like they’d been given a more extended glimpse behind the curtain. Some called it heavy-handed, but for Beyoncé, it was a clear declaration of a survival strategy. This was a woman balancing her career as a black woman in an industry (and world) run largely by white men with motherhood and a romantic partnership that has not always been perfect. Tabloid speculation notwithstanding, the world’s most powerful entertainment couple do not comment on their private lives publicly — only through their art. Despite the soul-baring personal aspects of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” in 2016, Jay-Z’s subsequent “4:44” in 2017, the Carters’ “Everything Is Love” in 2018 and some additional vague insinuation, actual details about the reality of their lives remain thin. We still don’t know all that we don’t know — and the couple’s confessions often feel like they are as much about politics and universal themes as actual life events. Beyoncé’s current tour is another example of this perennial balancing act. While the concerts feature husband and wife singing a selection of emotional anthems, it is also a masterclass in translating the personal into politics. Though the musical themes involve marriage, broken promises and healing, the core metaphors can be superimposed onto any of the numerous fractures exposed in Trump’s America today. Indeed, the show opens with an LED screen proclaiming: “This Is Real Life.” But it’s not, really. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are as much themselves as they are actors, inhabiting the Bonnie and Clyde-esque outlaw characters they’ve been developing since “’03 Bonnie and Clyde,” featured on Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 2.” The Carters do share personal video of Blue Ivy, Sir and Rumi as part of OTR II but the majority of the tour’s visuals exist as part of a larger cinematic story played out on the streets and beaches of Jamaica. Social commentary on racial inequality and feminism also take center stage at various points in the show. The personal aspects of OTR II mirror the journey detailed on “Lemonade,” from intuition to redemption. But those steps are also political instructions that don’t rely solely on Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s personal story, or what we think we know of it. So while OTR II might portray Beyoncé at her most publicly vulnerable, she’s still personally in control every step of the way. Even Jay defers to her direction at various points on stage, just as the editors at Vogue did. This distinct ability — and perhaps intentional sleight of hand — allows Beyoncé the best of both worlds as a powerful public artist and storyteller and private person simultaneously. Maintaining strict boundaries may sometimes be frustrating for fans who grew up alongside the rise of reality TV and 24-7 celebrity access. But it’s also a powerful reminder that Beyoncé doesn’t owe us anything. We should be thankful instead for the art she creates — art that we can use to guide our own lives, instead of trying to consume all the private details of hers. Kevin Allred is a writer, speaker and educator. He created the "Politicizing Beyoncé" course in 2010. His book "Ain't I A Diva? : Beyoncé and the Power of Pop Culture Pedagogy" is forthcoming from the Feminist Press at CUNY in June 2019. . Read more at www.kevin-allred.com.<doc-sep>Beyonce recently covered Vogue magazine, where she also opened up about her life like never before in a candid personal essay, and her close friend and former Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland says her appearance on the publication means so much for so many. Rowland spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner at the red carpet premiere of BlacKkKlansman at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, on Wednesday, where she reflected on the empowering message Beyonce is sending with her cover. "I remember looking at a Vogue magazine cover and I saw three beautiful white women on the cover and it said, 'This is what beauty looks like.' If I'm not that color how am I supposed to know what beauty looks like?" Rowland explained. "So when we see women of color on magazine covers… [it shows] this is what beauty is like. We are what beauty is." "I'm extremely excited for young girls of color to see that and understand and know that [they] are beautiful," Rowland added. For her groundbreaking cover, Beyonce had an unprecedented level of input over the photoshoot, reportedly having the final say on everything from her stylists to the set, and she made sure to bring on 23-year-old photographer Tyler Mitchell, making him the first black photographer to ever shoot the cover for Vogue in its 126-year history. Beyonce's Biggest Revelations in 'Vogue' Personal Essay This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. Beyonce's Biggest Revelations in 'Vogue' Personal Essay "I think that it speaks volumes about who she is because it wasn't about her in that moment," Rowland explained. "It was everyone else. We know who Beyonce is. I mean, of course, through that cover, but just as a woman, a black woman, and it's a beautiful thing, and that's what we celebrate." Rowland has long been a vocal supporter of her close friend and fellow entertainer, but on Wednesday she came out to Beverly Hills to show her support for another groundbreaking artist -- director Spike Lee. Rowland, who has been a fan of Lee's inimitable style throughout his career, said she couldn't wait to see his latest politically charged biographical crime dramedy, BlacKkKlansman after seeing the first mindblowing trailer that dropped months ago. "The last Spike film I saw was Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, and I follow his work of course, but I'm really excited to see this one. Really, really excited," Rowland shared. BlacKkKlansman - -starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Corey Hawkins and Topher Grace -- hits theaters Aug. 10. Beyonce Opens Up Like Never Before in 'Vogue's' September Issue This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. RELATED CONTENT: Beyonce's 9 Biggest Revelations in Her 'Vogue' Personal Essay Beyonce Opens Up Like Never Before About Her Marriage, C-section and Weight in Vogue's September Issue Kelly Rowland's 3-Year-Old Son Sweetly Sings Beyonce & JAY-Z Song -- Watch Related Gallery<doc-sep>But as captivated as we are by our subject, we are equally drawn to the expanse behind her. With that immaculate sheet, Mitchell suggests the laundress, the bygone station of so many black women, in their own confident beauty, delivering white linens to the white master's big white house. We witness an homage to the ancestry of slavery that Beyoncé explores within the magazine. I see the influence of Kara Walker, Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston, along with the unnamed armies of black mothers and maids working for whites to keep food on their own tables.<doc-sep>
Beyonce is a vision in a white Gucci gown on the cover of the Vogue September issue, a groundbreaking moment for Queen Bey in more ways than one. Confirming the rumors that surfaced last week, Beyonce recruited 23-year-old photographer Tyler Mitchell for her Vogue cover photos, making him the first black photographer in the magazine's 126-year history to shoot a cover. "When I first started, 21 years ago, I was told that it was hard for me to get onto covers of magazines because black people did not sell," Beyonce told the magazine. "Clearly that has been proven a myth. Not only is an African-American on the cover of the most important month for Vogue, this is the first-ever Vogue cover shot by an African-American photographer." While Bey did not grant an interview for the issue, continuing her practice of shunning traditional sit-down interviews in her media appearances, she instead narrates an essay that tells the story of her second pregnancy in "her own words," revealing a traumatic ordeal that she previously hadn't shared with the public, including an emergency C-section and her body's changes post-pregnancy. "I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir," she wrote. I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU." After giving birth, "my core felt different," she shared, and "embraced being curvier" as she was preparing for her Coachella headlining shows. Despite going temporarily vegan and giving up "coffee, alcohol, and all fruit drinks" leading up to her comeback performances, her body still feels different, and she's okay with that. "To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller," she wrote. "I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real. Whenever I’m ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my (butt) off until I have it. But right now, my (bigger bikini area) and I feel like we are meant to be." More:Anna Wintour to stay at Vogue 'indefinitely,' ending rampant rumors of departure Elsewhere in the essay, Beyonce reflects on her ancestry, revealing that she recently learned "that I come from a slave owner who fell in love with and married a slave." "I had to process that revelation over time," she wrote. "I questioned what it meant and tried to put it into perspective. I now believe it’s why God blessed me with my twins. Male and female energy was able to coexist and grow in my blood for the first time. I pray that I am able to break the generational curses in my family and that my children will have less complicated lives." Beyonce is currently embarking on the On The Run II tour with Jay-Z, which concludes on Oct. 4 in Seattle.