Beyoncé says trans is beautiful: ‘I don’t have words’
Beyoncé’s allyship train is full speed ahead. (Getty)
Beyoncé fans are living for a beautiful moment in which the singer called out “trans is beautiful” during her Renaissance tour.
A recording of the moment was published to TikTok on 30 July and recently went viral after trans actress Laverne Cox, who began the hashtag #TransIsBeautiful in 2015, shared it on Instagram.
During the clip, Beyoncé can be seen suspended by wires above the MetLife Stadium crowd in New York on 29 July. As she thanks the audience, she notices a pro-trans sign held up by a fan and yells “trans is beautiful.”
In her post, Cox celebrated Beyoncé‘s use of the phrase, saying she has started the hashtag to “empower trans and non-binary people to see our beauty beyond cisnormative beauty standards.”
“This wasn’t about me,” she said. “This was and is for the people. Seeing it empower trans folks globally to embrace our special, anointed beauty lights me up on the inside.
“But hearing Beyoncé proclaim this trans-affirming message, I don’t have words. I may have cried a little.”
The fan holding the sign, activist and influencer Candace Persuasion, also thanked the singer-songwriter for her message of solidarity, writing: “Thank you Beyoncé for continuing to [inspire] me and creating safe spaces for queer and trans folks.”
Other trans and non-binary fans signalled how much the moment meant to them in response to Cox’s post, with one saying: “Beautiful message. Literally gave me chills.”
Another wrote: “With all this anti-trans rhetoric rising we need to exclaim it louder than ever.”
As heartwarming a moment as it was, the message of solidarity wasn’t even close to the first time Beyoncé has stood by the LGBTQ+ community.
In fact, it wasn’t even the first pro-LGBTQ+ move she has made during her international tour, having made bathrooms gender-neutral at selected stops along the way.
As the tour kickstarted in May, pictures from fans making their way to the show revealed that Pride flags were being incorporated into the stage design, with the progress Pride flag colours being used in intermission backdrops.
As the tour continued, the singer also paid tribute to gay dancer O’Shae Sibley, who was stabbed to death in early August while listening to one of her songs.
The allyship certainly hasn’t been lost on the LGBTQ+ community. Not only are queers obsessed with everything Renaissance, but openly gay congressman Robert Garcia even paid tribute to her during a March House floor session.
Garcia said that the singer is “forever the moment” in a speech he made to “commemorate the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month.”
“I’ll never forget [when] I saw Destiny’s Child perform for the very first time,” he said. “It was life-changing for me and the way I experienced music. I became an instant fan and have been a huge fan ever since.
“She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is now and forever the moment.”
