by Female Student | The Minor

Most days it does not affect me. I try to hide it. When it comes up in conversations, I pretend like I don’t have an opinion. But when people discover the truth about me, I can see it in their eyes–the judgement. It’s time for our community to stop shunning people like me.

I am a female student who does not like Beyoncé and I will not be afraid to be who I am. I deserve acceptance.

I did not decide one day that I wouldn’t like Beyoncé. It just happened. I first knew I was different in high school. As my friends told stories about falling in love with Beyoncé, I stayed silent. Some nights I would even pretend to sing along with them in the car.

In college, the pressure got even worse. My friends had gifs of Beyoncé for every occasion and were constantly tweeting “#QueenBey.” For a few years I lied to myself, I hid who I really was, and I let society tell me that I was wrong for not liking Beyoncé. Freshmen year I had a profile picture and quoted the Beyoncé lyric, “I got my angel now.” I feel disgusted knowing I did that. That was not, and never will be, who I am. I do not like Beyoncé and will not be embarrassed because of that anymore.

Sometimes it feels like I cannot escape her. Have you tried going to Buzzfeed without seeing a picture of Beyoncé? When was the last time you went to a party without hearing “Countdown”? Have you ever posted a great profile picture of yourself on Facebook without someone commenting “#Flawless”? You don’t realize if you don’t have to deal with it, but Beyoncé-normativity pervades almost every aspect of a female student’s life.

When I was talking about troubles in my most recent relationship, a friend suggested, “just listen to a Beyoncé song with a big tub of ice-cream and maybe watch some Grey’s Anatomy.” Even my own friend did not understand the implications of her words. That hurt the most.

I am not saying that you can’t like Beyoncé. I just don’t. And I will no longer let society tell me I am wrong because of that. Being a lesbian is already hard enough.