I've been in the business for more than twenty years, and you decide now, at this particular time, that I'm the sexiest woman alive? Come on. I mean, you couldn't go with the Bond-girl year? You didn't like the orange bikini? I liked the orange bikini. That would have been a pretty good year. Or what about the Monster's Ball year? That was a sexy moment. Couldn't you have packaged that up with some list of the best movie sex scenes ever? That would have been very easy, very magaziney. But 2008? Well, I don't know exactly what it means, but being forty-two and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it. There are billions of women on the planet, but let's just say for shits and giggles that I am the sexiest woman alive. First, I would have to thank all the people who made it happen. I would thank the good folks at Esquire for thinking outside the box -- even if those folks are just eight editors wearing competing seventy-five-dollar button-down shirts, swinging themselves around in cheap desk chairs in some windowless conference room somewhere above Manhattan. I'd also have to thank my "team," the ones who make the magic happen -- my hair designer, my stylist, my makeup artist, and my beloved trainer. And I would absolutely have to thank the photographer, because without him, the camera is all lies of a different sort. I mean, look at the pictures. That takes a lot of work. I'm lucky to have these people. Don't think I don't know it.

Does being the sexiest woman alive imply that I know a thing or two about what's sexy and, possibly, about sex itself? I'm not sure, but here's what I do know: I know damned well I'm sexier now than I used to be. Let me make an argument here -- not so much for me, or even for my age being sexy, but for what I've learned. I've picked up a little over the years. Sexy is not about wearing sexy clothes or shaking your booty until you damn near get hip dysplasia; it's about knowing that sexiness is a state of mind -- a comfortable state of being. It's about loving yourself even in your most unlovable moments. I know a little bit about that.

Sexiness is also about knowing what's sexy to you. To me, spaghetti is sexy, especially when it's served off the tips of a man's fingers. I like that. And I think wine is sexy, just before sex. It relaxes me. But if I want to get a serious groove on -- if I want an out-of-body experience -- I'm all about the sloe-gin fizz.

I think lingerie is sexy, and I'll wear it, sure. But truth is, I'm good-to-go in a tank top and bare feet -- although every woman should own at least one good pair of pumps. That's really the only wardrobe you need for sex: a tank top and pumps.

When it comes to what I think is sexy about men, I like forearms. That's my body part. They're generally exposed, available, a little bit vulnerable. A forearm is different with every man, and when it comes to forearms, size matters. I don't like them slight.

Ask me what's the sexiest car in the world and I'll just say my man's car, because it smells like him, because his shape is pressed into the seat, because it's littered with little bits of his life -- his golf balls or his chocolate-bar wrappers -- and it's ripe with the smells of him. That's the car I most want to ride in.

What else? Ah, yes: the big O. You know that stuff they say about a woman being responsible for her own orgasms? That's all true. And in my case, that makes me responsible for pretty damned good orgasms these days. Much better orgasms than when I was twenty-two. And I wouldn't let a man control that. Not anymore. Now I'd invite him to participate. I'll tell you this: I've learned my tricks. I know what I like. I do not wait around. I initiate. And I'm not all about frequency. I favor intensity.

There have been some men in my life who have been wickedly sexy and have taught me much about sexual pleasure. There are a few men I should thank, and others I need to forget. But I don't regret. To hell with regret. I like what I am now. I like being a mother. I like my body better since I became a mother. I feel sexier as a result of becoming a mother.

You see, the years go by and you learn, and that just deepens your understanding of every experience. And then sex is better -- it feels like you're in control, and you're sort of not in control at the same time, and that is completely satisfying.

So, yes, there are times when I feel like the sexiest woman alive, but would I ever argue that I am the sexiest woman alive? Of course not. I figure at one moment the sexiest woman alive is a waitress in Abilene, Texas. And in the very next second, it's a woman in the bush of Vanuatu. Then, right away, somewhere else. Sex and sexiness. It's all about the moment; it's about what you know as much as it is what you offer. That's why I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment. Maybe that's why there are so many women these guys love.

If there were a real event where they gave an award for this title, I would wave the trophy here. I would thank everyone all over again, then I'd probably blow a kiss to Tom Chiarella for helping me write this. I would turn my head and say, "You can start the music now, I'm done." I'd be wearing pumps. I'd be just a little breathless. And I admit I would not rush off the stage. [SOURCE]

Labels: Kanye West

ESSENCE: I've heard that you and your mom are rather close. Is that true?

Beyonce Knowles: You know what's so beautiful about our relationship? Some mothers are your friends, some mothers are strictly your mother, some mothers are both. Some mothers know when to draw the line, some mothers know when to tell you when you're wrong and when you're right. Some mothers don't tell you when you're right. (My mother) knows when to be my friend. And growing up, she knew when to be my mother.

She was strict but still, she explained things and made things make sense to me so I didn't feel like she was disciplining me or trying to boss me around. I understood why, which made my life a lot easier. Another thing is she tells me the truth. My mom's never asked me for anything. My mom doesn't want anything from me but for me to be happy. And for me to succeed and be as good, as strong, as happy as I can be. So, knowing that, I'm just lucky to have that honesty in my life.

I always felt safe and I always felt secure because I knew that it was going to be okay. I knew it was 'cause my mom knew it was. She always let me know that regardless of this group, regardless of me singing, regardless of the movies, whatever, she loved me. And I'm young and I'm smart and everything I've ever wanted to do, I made it happen. So it goes beyond that, like I still have somewhere to go. I still have something else to do, this isn't the end of the world. And I think ... just knowing that, like right now if I never sell another record, it puts a whole 'nother perspective on this.

Do you think as Black women, we are expected to be superwomen? Even in relationships we are expected to hold it together.

Yeah. Guys are babies sometimes. Like they need you and it's like, I need you and you are just supposed to drop it. I mean it's very beautiful when you all are just doing the same thing for each other. But I know you just expect the woman to drop everything and fix it. A woman doesn't even ask for it because they're supposed to be strong enough to take care of it.


What is church for you, in the real way?

I completely believe that you don't have to go to church at all if you are disciplined enough to sit down and dedicate time to pray and get to know God and read the Bible. But me, it's better for me to go to church because it's hard to, for real, sit down by myself for that long, as long as I would be just totally committing myself in my house with the TV on and the distractions. It's way harder to do that than to go to church with a bunch of people who believe in God, where you can just feel it so much more.


Will history still remember you as having the soul of the artist? As opposed to just a girl who sold a lot of records.

I don't want to be remembered as a member of this huge group that, you know, did whatever. I want to be acknowledged as a woman in a very talented group with great harmonies and great songs that made history and changed the culture of women, not only in America but all over the world. (A woman) who could sing a cappella and write her own songs and produce her own songs.

Labels: Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry