the album has a feminist theme. "flawless", the eleventh song on the album, samples "why we should all be feminists", a ted talk by the nigerian writer chimamanda ngozi adichie. in "new statesman" laurie penny described "blow" as being about how knowles likes being given cunnilingus. she compared it to prince. in the song "drunk in love" jay-z raps about domestic violence. the lyric was criticized for making violence against women seem like a good thing.