If I Were A Boy?

In this image, we see Queen B on set of her music video for “If I Were A Boy”. Considering the title of the song, we might’ve expected to see a little bit of subtle cross-dressing in the video.  Although she still looks like a female in this picture, we see many elements that hit at making her appear manlier. For example, her hair is pulled back so we are unable to see it. Having longer hair usually makes people look more feminine and increase their amount of sexual appeal. By hiding Beyoncé’s hair, it dampens her sexuality (which is really hard to do) and makes her look like less of the glamour girl that she is. Additionally, Beyoncé is wearing little to no make-up in this picture. Without lip color on, her lips blend in to her skin tone which makes them less accentuated. Lips are a very feminine part of the face, and without the emphasis on them, Beyoncé appears much less desirable to someone of the opposite sex. Although her outfit is clearly made for a female, we are able to understand the idea that she is supposed to resemble a male police officer. We can understand this based on her lack of feminine accessories such as make-up, jewelry and nail polish. We still can tell she is a woman, but because this is not usually how she appears, the differences are highlighted more.