Beyoncé is well known for honoring the queer community. Her smash hit album Renaissance was a love letter to ballroom culture, and while accepting a Grammy for it in 2023, she thanked the queer community for their love and for inventing house music.
Now, Queen Bey is paying homage to the gays like never before, by debuting a new look that screams Gen Z queer culture.
In a viral photoshoot for the cover of CR Fashion Book, Beyoncé brought out a brand new hairstyle: a black and blonde mullet and ripped white T-shirt under a corset. It’s a total departure from the country aesthetic of Beyoncé’s latest singles “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” instead bringing a grunge vibe that, in 2024, sometimes goes hand in hand with nonbinary identity.
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The look immediately raised gay eyebrows across the internet, with the BeyHive wondering if this version of Beyoncé might live in Brooklyn like so many folks with the same aesthetic.
Lay your pronouns down down down
— logan SAW DOECHII (@wishfulfemmebot) February 29, 2024
A second look from the photoshoot — featuring blonde microbangs, a denim maxi skirt, and a mesh tank — kept the comparisons coming. Perhaps this is Beyoncé’s new nonbinary alter ego: “They-oncé,” or “Sock-sha Fierce,” as some fans dubbed them.
Theyoncé come thru
— Guy the Bi (@GuytheBi87) February 29, 2024
kind of loving they/sheyonce
— earthghostpurrp (@EARTHGHOSTPURRP) February 29, 2024
Beyoncé herself has yet to comment on the look, aside from her interview with CR Fashion Book. There, she explained why she’s rocking a mullet: “I always wanted an asymmetrical cut in the ’90s, but my mother wouldn’t let me do it. So I’m having the time of my life at this shoot,” she said.
Might this edgy look also be a hint to Beyoncé’s next era, after her country album releases later this month? Fans were already speculating that Act III of her album trilogy could be rock’n’roll, and these outfits only add fuel to that fire.
Beyoncé’s still untitled country album releases March 29.
RelatedBeyoncé’s surprise album announcement promises we’ll see a new side to the singer, but it might not be one fans like…So before you take your horse to the “Old Town Road,” check out these 5 queer musicians that’ll make you say, “Yeehaw” at the next rodeo.