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Solange Knowles Is Here To Let The World Know She's A 'Proud Black Feminist'

"I want to see us fighting the fight for all women"

So when it came to talking about feminism and the importance of intersectionality for Bust magazine's latest cover story, naturally, the 30 year old didn't hold anything back.

"I am a proud black feminist and womanist and I'm extremely proud of the work that's being done," she declares. "I'm a feminist who wants not only to hear the term intersectionality, but actually feel it, and see the evolution of what intersectional feminism can actually achieve."

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"I want women's rights to be equally honored, and uplifted, and heard," the "Don't Touch My Hair" singer continues. "But I want to see us fighting the fight for all women — women of colour, our LGBTQ sisters, our Muslim sisters."

And while feminism is sometimes a concept women and other groups don't embrace until adulthood, Knowles says she acknowledged the power of women from a very young age.

"I grew up in a house with five women ... So this household was all women's work. Literally," she explains. "And there was absolutely nothing that couldn't be done between us. My father was super smart and brilliant and instilled many wonderful qualities in us, but my mother was really the heart and soul of the family."

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This isn't the first time she's spoken on women's issues.

Focusing specifically on black womanhood and the politics around hair, Knowles opened up to writer Judnick Mayard back in September to speak her mind on discrimination she's faced.

"I think I’ve been on so many fashion shoots and anything in regards to fashion, which is still a predominantly white industry, and also feeling the void of tokenism through my hair being an afro and what that meant to the fashion world," she shared. "There was a fashion editor of a major magazine who was white and for Halloween she wore an afro wig and had black face and called herself Solange. There was another magazine that composed celebrity-look-alikes, and they used a dog for me. They talked about my hair being like one of a dog, literally. So, hair just became so complex for me."

"I'm a feminist who wants not only to hear the term intersectionality, but actually feel it."

In the Bust interview, Solo also touched on her views around black women having to work twice as hard as white women, and the thought process behind the visuals for "A Seat At The Table," an album so fraught with meaning, it has literally become a syllabus for an online course.

The stunning photos for the cover, shot by esteemed fashion photographer Nadya Wasylko, portrayed Knowles' trademark aesthetic, featuring structural, eccentric clothing, natural makeup and her curls on full display.

Bust magazine's latest issue just hit newsstands, so you can check out the the rest of the Grammy award-winning singer's interview there.

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