Yet double standards can’t only be viewed on the surface level, and “If I Were a Boy” tackled that, too-in its music video.
While both are reactions to a failed relationship, one is an upbeat battle cry from a woman who rises above a jealous partner, while the other is a hurt reflection on being cheated on and how society views male cheaters (somewhere on the “boys will be boys” spectrum) versus female (expected to be faithful and committed).
Fans and critics alike heralded it as a powerful performance, and it followed in the footsteps of “Single Ladies” as a feminist song. It bolstered the contrast between Beyoncé as herself and as Sasha Fierce, and displayed her range as an artist. “If I Were a Boy,” a post-breakup ballad, was Beyoncé’s follow-up single to 2008’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” the definitive girl power anthem of the late 00s (and, let’s face it, still one of the best).
