Gender Criticism of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter "If I were a boy"

  Most women grow old having the desire of just being a man, even at least in a day, because of the idea that a man can do a lot of things that women can’t. For example, wearing sleeveless and not getting sexualized; making out with a lot of women and not getting pregnant; allowed to go out with friends at the bar at night, and so on. These are some of the reasons why most women loved to be a man, which, on the other hand, is shown in one of the songs of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter entitled “If I were a boy.”

    Obviously, the song pertains to a woman stating the things that she would probably do if she is a man, and there is a possibility that the song pertains to the author herself because she's a woman. 

 If I were a boy

Even just for a day

I'd roll outta bed in the morning

And throw on what I wanted and go

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls

I'd kick it with who I wanted

And I'd never get confronted for it

'Cause they'd stick up for me

This first stanza shows that if the persona is a man, she would roll out from bed, throw anything, and go wherever she wants, such as drinking with the guys and chase women, kick any of them, yet she would never get any complain because guys will defend her. This actually shows that women cannot do the same thing; women are obliged to be well-organized, to just go wherever is safe for her, to avoid drinking beers/alcoholic beverages because she might be in trouble after, to not chase guys because a woman would look stupid and obsessed, and kick guys or hurt guys physically because they will surely be in danger since no one is with them- only girls and women force is not enough to fight with guys.

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I'd be a better man

I'd listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted

'Cause he's taken you for granted

And everything you had got destroyed 

The second stanza shows that the persona would understand the feelings of loving a girl and that she will be a better man if she would be given a chance to be a man, and she will listen to her because she knows the feeling of being taken for granted by a man, and destroyed everything. The persona in this stanza is telling the story of how she was taken for granted by a man, and that she doesn’t want any other girl to experience such pain that she had undergone. This also means that only a woman can understand the feeling of being a woman.

 If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone it's broken

So they'd think that I was sleepin' alone

I'd put myself first

And make the rules as I go

'Cause I know that she'd be faithful

Waitin' for me to come home

In the third stanza, the persona thinks that if a man will turn off his phone and tell everyone it’s broken, people would not go crazy to find him, as opposed to what others would react if that will happen to a woman. People will just think that he is sleeping alone. The persona also thinks that man can make himself his first priority which means that he has the rules of his own life; of wherever he would go because he is confident that his girl is faithful and is waiting for him, which on the other side, opposite to a woman because it is hard for a girl to make herself a priority since there are a lot of limitations and rules to follow as a woman in the society; as a woman that the people wanted her to become. The last two lines implied that a woman is faithful, and there is nothing a man should be worried about.

It's a little too late for you to come back

Say it's just a mistake

Think I'd forgive you like that

If you thought I would wait for you

You thought wrong 

This stanza shows the power of a woman that the persona was trying to portray. The persona shows that she is not an easy girl, she doesn’t forgive easily and she wouldn’t wait for a man. She stands for being a woman with dignity and confidence.

But you're just a boy

You don't understand

How it feels to love a girl someday

You wish you were a better man

You don't listen to her

You don't care how it hurts

Until you lose the one you wanted

'Cause you've taken her for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

This stanza shows persona’s sadness about the difference between a boy and girl, and that a boy would not understand how it would feel to really love a girl, which a man would wish to be a better man if he loves the woman, but men don’t listen to women because they don’t care the pain a woman feels, not until they would lose them because women were taken for granted, that’s where a man would realize that he destroyed the woman. However, in the last line, the persona realizes that a man will always be a boy who doesn’t care at all. 

In the song, the readers would see how different a man and a woman in many ways, even in a relationship. The persona wanted to express her frustration about not getting the same energy, effort, and vibe she gave to the man of her life, and that she generalizes man’s potential over women. That is why there is part of the song that the persona stands for her right to be treated well, and she will not accept forgiveness over toxicity. 

In today's world, the bravest thing a woman could do is to let go of the things that are not good for her growth. Women can do so much better if no one would limit them to do what makes them happy. Once they find happiness within themselves, they will be free from anything that once broke them.