Last week, it was reported that Beyoncé made Vogue history when she appointed 23-year-old Tyler Mitchell to shoot her cover shoot as the first black photographer for the publication in their 126-year history. Now, we can see the cover shot, more snaps from the shoot, and hear Beyonce in her own words!
The photos that accompany the cover story feature the 36-year-old singer in regal floral outfits with pastel colors and natural makeup. In the issue, Beyoncé was interviewed for a piece called “Beyoncé in Her Own Words: Her Life, Her Body, Her Heritage” where she dishes on her heritage and talks about the emergency c-section she had to endure for the birth of her 13-month-old twins, Sir and Rumi.
About giving birth, Beyonce said during her first pregnancy with Blue in 2012, she felt pressures to get body to snap back, but with the twins, she hit 218 pounds and had complications that caused her to be scheduled for an emergency c-section.
“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,” she writes. “My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU.”
About her heritage and how it affects her children, she said researching her family history has opened her eyes to familial patterns she hopes to end with her kids.
“I come from a lineage of broken male-female relationships, abuse of power, and mistrust,” she said. “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 continued, “I researched my ancestry recently and learned that I come from a slave owner who fell in love with and married a slave. I had to process that revelation over time. I questioned what it meant and tried to put it into perspective. I now believe it’s why God blessed me with my twins. Male and female energy was able to coexist and grow in my blood for the first time. I pray that I am able to break the generational curses in my family and that my children will have less complicated lives.”
Peep more excerpts and photos below and check out the rest of Beyoncé in her own words HERE.
On her pregnancy with Blue: “After the birth of my first child, 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. I was still breastfeeding when I performed the Revel shows in Atlantic City in 2012. After the twins, I approached things very differently.”
On the birth of twins Rumi and Sir: “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 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.”
On her body acceptance: “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.”
On her heritage: “I researched my ancestry recently and learned that I come from a slave owner who fell in love with and married a slave. I had to process that revelation over time. I questioned what it meant and tried to put it into perspective. I now believe it’s why God blessed me with my twins. Male and female energy was able to coexist and grow in my blood for the first time. I pray that I am able to break the generational curses in my family and that my children will have less complicated lives.”
On her growth: “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.”
On Coachella: “I know that most of the young people on the stage and in the audience did not know the history of the black national anthem before Coachella. But they understood the feeling it gave them. It was a celebration of all the people who sacrificed more than we could ever imagine, who moved the world forward so that it could welcome a woman of color to headline such a festival.”
On empowering her daughters: “As the mother of two girls, it’s important to me that they see themselves too—in books, films, and on runways. It’s important to me that they see themselves as CEOs, as bosses, and that they know they can write the script for their own lives—that they can speak their minds and they have no ceiling. They don’t have to be a certain type or fit into a specific category. They don’t have to be politically correct, as long as they’re authentic, respectful, compassionate, and empathetic. They can explore any religion, fall in love with any race, and love who they want to love.”
On her son Sir: “I want the same things for my son. I want him to know that he can be strong and brave but that he can also be sensitive and kind. I want my son to have a high emotional IQ where he is free to be caring, truthful, and honest. It’s everything a woman wants in a man, and yet we don’t teach it to our boys.”
Since 2005, Singersroom has been the voice of R&B around the world. Connect with us via social media below.
