Beyoncé references using pages from the Bible to plug her menses in a spoken- word interlude during the "Hold Up" segment of her 2016 visual album Lemonade. The lyric states: "I bathed in bleach and plugged my menses with pages from the Holy Book," amid a narrative of self-denial, spiritual searching, and suspicion of infidelity. This line sparked controversy, with some interpreting it literally as desecration and others viewing it as metaphor for futile attempts to suppress inner turmoil or reclaim power through religious imagery.
