Despite her back catalogue being a soundtrack for female empowerment, Beyonce caused controversy recently when her latest single 'Bow Down' was deemed offensive to women by some critics.
But the star has now come forward to reaffirm her feminist credentials in a new interview with Vogue magazine, in which she also posed for a stunning new photoshoot.
Beyonce claimed she is a "modern day feminist" and that she still believes there is a "way to go" before equality is achieved.
"But I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality. Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I’m just a woman and I love being a woman," she said
"I do believe in equality and that we have a way to go and it’s something that’s pushed aside and something that we have been conditioned to accept."
Critics also hit out at Beyonce's decision to call her forthcoming world tour the 'Mrs Carter Tour' in tribute to her husband Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.
However, she also defended the decision saying: "I feel like Mrs Carter is who I am, but more bold and more fearless than I've ever been.
"It comes from knowing my purpose and really meeting myself once I saw my child. I was like, 'OK, this is what you were born to do'. The purpose of my body became completely different."
The full interview appears in the May issue of British Vogue, out on Monday.
