Stapela, Hanli2020-12-072020-12-072021-042020-08Paradza, JC 2020, Feminist themes in Beyoncé's music as perceived by university students, MMus (Performing Art) Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77306>http://hdl.handle.net/2263/77306Dissertation (MMus (Performing Art))--University of Pretoria, 2020.This study explores the perceptions of fifteen students from the University of Pretoria’s School of the Arts about the feminist themes in Beyoncé’s music. Beyoncé is a self-proclaimed feminist who advocates for women through her music. An extensive literature review reveals how she can be considered a feminist icon within the popular music genre by considering the development of feminism, feminist theories and themes, and popular music as a locus of social change in popular culture. This feminist case study followed a qualitative research approach within an interpretivist framework. The music videos considered for the study were “If I Were a Boy” (2008), “Diva” (2009), “Run the World (Girls)” (2011), “Pretty Hurts” (2013), “Flawless” (2014) and “Grown Woman” (2014). The data was collected from semi-structured interviews and was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The themes revealed that these South African students perceived the feminist themes in Beyoncé’s music as empowering and relatable, but sometimes directed towards the male gaze.en© 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.UCTDBeyoncépopular culturepopular musicSouth African university studentsUCTDStudentsUniversity of PretoriaSchool of the ArtsFeministReflexive thematic analysisMusic theses SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationMusic theses SDG-05SDG-05: Gender equalityMusic theses SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesMusic theses SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsDissertation