All hail the Queen!
Beyonce covers the coveted September issue of
Vogue, and in an unprecedented move, the mag gave the singer full creative control over the spread. Anna Wintour has never backed off to let someone else do their thang, so she must have had total faith in Bey.
The "Lemonde" songstress sported minimal makeup and elaborate headpieces for the shoot, shot by 23-year-old black photographer Tyler Mitchell, and opened up about everything from her c-section to her post-baby weight to husband Jay-Z's infidelity in the accompanying interview.
"After the birth of my first child [Blue Ivy Carter], I believed in the things society said about how my body should look. I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy," she recalled.
Her dangerous delivery of twins Rumi and Sir last year forced her to reevaluate her expectations in terms of her body.
"I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir. 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. My husband [Jay-Z] was a soldier and such a strong support system for me. I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later. Today I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience," she explained.
"It had been major surgery. Some of your organs are shifted temporarily, and in rare cases, removed temporarily during delivery. I am not sure everyone understands that. I needed time to heal, to recover. During my recovery, I gave myself self-love and self-care, and I embraced being curvier. I accepted what my body wanted to be. After six months, I started preparing for Coachella. I became vegan temporarily, gave up coffee, alcohol and all fruit drinks. But I was patient with myself and enjoyed my fuller curves. My kids and husband did, too," she added.
Now, the chart topper is all about self love and embracing your true self.
"I think it's important for women and men to see and appreciate the beauty in their natural bodies...To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts and thighs are fuller. 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 ass off until I have it. But right now, my little FUPA and I feel like we are meant to be," she revealed.
She went on to reflect on her ancestry, and how those roots impacted her personal relationships.
"I come from a lineage of broken male-female relationships, abuse of power and mistrust. Only when I saw that clearly was I able to resolve those conflicts in my own relationship. Connecting to the past and knowing our history makes us both bruised and beautiful," she confessed.
"There are many shades on every journey. Nothing is black or white. I've been through hell and back, and I'm grateful for every scar. I have experienced betrayals and heartbreaks in many forms. I have had disappointments in business partnerships as well as personal ones, and they all left me feeling neglected, lost and vulnerable. Through it all I have learned to laugh and cry and grow. I look at the woman I was in my 20s and I see a young lady growing into confidence but intent on pleasing everyone around her. I now feel so much more beautiful, so much sexier, so much more interesting. And so much more powerful," she boasted.
This is what you call girl power!
