Krischak 1

Brooke Krischak

Professor Tyler

ENG 1201.518

21 February 2021

If I Were a Boy

The show Glee has a reputation of covering musical chart toppers of all genres, old and

new, but tend to put their own spin on these famous songs. So, it came as no surprise when Glee

performed a cover of Beyonce’s number one hit, “If I Were a Boy.” Glee’s unique cover of “If I

Were a Boy” shows how one song can be interpreted in very different ways. Beyonce’s original

version of the song expresses the ways in which men can be unfaithful in a relationship and take

their significant other for granted, whereas Glee sheds light on how the unwillingness to

understand the trans community has led to the violent abuse of an already vulnerable group

within society.

Beyonce’s music video of “If I Were a Boy” depicts a handful of daily scenarios between

Beyonce and her boyfriend. These scenarios are significantly complimented with her associating

lyrics. For example, Beyonce starts the song off by singing, “If I were a boy, even just for a day.

I’d roll out of bed in the morning and throw on what I wanted and go.” The following scene

shows Beyonce getting out of bed and throwing on her police attire. She then goes downstairs to

her boyfriend who has made an amazing breakfast for the two of them, only to take a couple of

bites off her plate and then leaves their apartment for the day.

The remainder of the music video goes on to depict different scenarios between Beyonce

and her male cop partner. These scenarios range from Beyonce standing flirtatiously and

suggestively behind her male cop partner at a gun range to Beyonce purposely turning off her
 Krischak 2

phone when she receives a call from her boyfriend while out dining with her partner and others.

Meanwhile there are also scenarios showing Beyonce’s boyfriend turning down an invitation to

go out with an attractive coworker after work. The pivotal part of the music video comes at the

end when Beyonce and her boyfriend go to a party together and her boyfriend catches her

inappropriately dancing with her partner. Beyonce sees that her boyfriend saw and tries to go

over to console him. Flashforward to when they get home from the party and they have an

argument about the inappropriate nature of Beyonce and her partner’s relationship. This is when

it’s revealed that Beyonce has reversed the roles of her and her boyfriend throughout the music

video.

Beyonce’s music video unequivocally depicts the perspective of a woman who has been

cheated on and taken for granted by their male counterpart. Every line and scene throughout this

upbeat pop, gut punch beat has anyone who has been in this situation screaming the lyrics as an

almost chant like anthem. It has a strong emotional pull on those who have been treated this way,

as it gives practical first-hand experiences throughout the video. With that said, this video’s

target audience are women within dating age that have ever been cheated on or taken for granted

by their male partners. Given the emotional appeal and first-hand experiences the rhetorical

appeals used would be Pathos and Ethos, respectively.

As unequivocal as this song may be, given the original song and music video by

Beyonce, interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the audience. The music

video of Glee’s cover of “If I Were a Boy” has a completely different feel. The music video

starts off by showing Unique (a trans woman) taking a deep breath before entering the boy’s

restroom at her high school. Upon entering the bathroom Unique is harassed by three boys. One

makes an offensive joke about her sexuality and Unique pleads with them to just let her do her
 Krischak 3

business and go. This is when the second boy blocks her from leaving the restroom followed by

another offensive joke. The third boy then joins in on harassing Unique before eventually ripping

off her wig and flushing it down the toilet. The three boys then finally decide to leave the

bathroom, laughing at Unique as they leave.

After this scene “If I Were a Boy” begins to be sung by Unique while she’s huddled up

against the wall in the boy’s bathroom. This gut-wrenching rendition in which it’s sung pulls at

the audience’s heart strings. It’s hard not to empathize with Unique after seeing this altercation.

“If I were a boy, I think I could understand… I’d listen to her, cause I know how it hurts.” These

lyrics are sung with such raw emotion in front of her glee club members. “But you’re just boy…

And you don’t care how it hurts.” This verse is sung by Unique with tears in her eyes. The song

ends with Unique attempting to compose herself. The glee club members facial expressions show

it all and at the end Jake (member of the glee club) asks Unique for names to teach the three boys

a lesson for their harassment towards Unique.

While Glee’s music video doesn’t have the same complimenting visuals that Beyonce’s

music video does with the accompanying lyrics, it shows how a song can be interpreted in very

different ways. Given the previous example, these lyrics are sung in such a way that leaves the

audience thinking that if roles were reversed, how would the boys feel? Maybe if they used

empathy to understand Unique’s life they wouldn’t have treated her with such disdain. The trans

community is a misunderstood group within society and this music video paired with these lyrics

highlights how cruel and appalling the unwillingness to understand trans women really is. The

lyrics, “But you’re just a boy, you don’t understand,” highlights the old saying of “boys will be

boys” and as seen in the media recently, this is an extremely toxic saying. Not only does it
 Krischak 4

construct gender stereotypes within society, but also attempts to explain away aggressive

behaviors by the few who express them and labels them as “natural.”

Given the analysis of the music video, the target audience could go in a few different

directions. One audience could be to try and reach out to boys and men who may not understand

the trans community and try to get them to understand. It could also be anyone who believes that

trans women shouldn’t be allowed to use women’s restrooms because in their mind they’re

sexual predators trying to assault women in the bathroom, when in reality they just need to use

the restroom. The rhetorical appeals used would be Pathos and Ethos given the elicited emotional

reaction and the first-hand experience of what trans women must deal with daily.

Both versions of “If I Were a Boy” by Beyonce and Glee, respectively, elicit strong

emotional reactions from the first-hand experiences depicted in each music video. However, as

shown, the messages portrayed in each video greatly differ. Besides the type of rhetorical appeals

used the only thing these two videos have in common are the lyrics that are being sung. While

both videos share the exact same lyrics, the way those lyrics are interpreted in each video could

not be more opposite. These two versions of “If I Were a Boy” are a perfect example of how one

song can be interpreted in two very different ways.

 Krischak 5

Works Cited

Beyonce. “If I Were a Boy.” Youtube, Roc the Mic Studios, 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWpsOqh8q0M

Glee. “If I Were a Boy.” Youtube, 20th Century Fox, 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdNCpshq-Hc