Is Beyoncé "too sexual"?
It may seem odd but not everyone is a Beyoncé fan. Especially not Fox News annoyance pundit Bill O'Reilly. On his show "The O'Reilly Factor", joined by co-founder of Def Jam Records Russell Simmons. Originally, the interview was about Simmons' new book on meditation and its importance in schools. But of course, that wasn't controversial enough for O'Reilly. Instead, he decided to bring up a hot topic: Knowles' music video for "Partition". The video was originally released along with the rest of the videos and songs from Knowles' fifth studio album "Beyoncé". However, due to success of the previous single "Drunk In Love" and its sexual nature, "Partition" has become the third single from the album. It is already climbed the charts, peaking just shy of Top Twenty at no. 23 on the Hot 100 chart. It's already peaked in the Top Ten at no. 9 on the Hot R&B/Hip-hop Songs chart and is currently at no. 10. Many choreographed dance videos have been uploaded to YouTube as well, adding to its popularity. So what did Mr. O'Reilly have to say about Queen Bey and her video?"Teenage girls look up to Beyoncé ... why on earth would this woman do that? When she knows [about] the devastation [of] unwanted pregnancies and fractured families," O'Reilly said. "I believe an entertainer like Beyoncé [has] an obligation to protect children, not put out exploitive garbage ... what she's done here is inexplicable." (link)
That basically sums up what O'Reilly had to say about Knowles. Now we'll get to my opinions in a second, but first off, can I just say I feel so bad for Mr. Simmons? He's originally there to talk about his book and about meditation but instead he's drilled about a singer and the poor man is just trying to bring up meditation at any possibility he's given yet is still interrupted by O'Reilly every time. God Bless you and your patience, Russell Simmons.
Now here's my view on the whole matter: Beyoncé is NOT a babysitter. She does not raise your children for you. She doesn't have any damn obligation to "protect" children.
Knowles, and any other entertainer, is not responsible for how you raise your children. She has no "obligation" to protect anyone other than her own family. Her job is to entertain, hence why she is called an ENTERTAINER. And obviously she entertained Bill O'Reilly since he watched the music video. Music stations and television stations make an effort to reduce the largest amount of explicit material they can from daytime hours because it is at these times at which younger viewers and listeners will be tuned in, leaving more explicit material for later at night for adult viewers and listeners. If a parent doesn't want their child listening to an explicit Beyoncé song, guess who's responsibility that is? THE PARENT'S. The term "role model" is pretty shitty for anyone who gets labeled as one. If I had a dime for every time a parent complained about Miley Cyrus being a bad role model, I'd own the bank. These entertainers are not raising your children and if you have an issue with what their listening to, fix it. And the fact O'Reilly had the audacity to bring up "unwanted pregnancies and fractured families" baffles me, considering the Conservative and Republican parties he associates himself with are the ones who appose rights to birth control and abortion for women... idiot.
Even looking past that buffoonery, the fact is that Beyoncé Knowles is a successful married woman who has a young child. She is a grown woman, she even wrote a song about it for God's sake. If you know this blog or me, you know that I fiercely encourage female entertainers to express their sexuality as much as they want. Hell, I'm an advocate for it. I want them to flaunt it if they want. Yes, Partition is a very sexual song and video, I'm pretty sure that was the intention though. If Beyoncé wants to sing about having sex in back of her limousine, she has every damn right to. She's an adult woman who is comfortable with her sexuality and expressed it in an artistic form. I see no wrong here.
This whole hypocritical view on women and their sexuality needs to stop because it's 2014. We aren't stuck in an age without opportunities. These female entertainers are worth millions of dollars because they worked their asses off to get to where they are. Before you call these women 'sluts' for singing about having fun, why don't you think of your life? Do you go and party? Do you like alcohol? Do you like sex? You're most likely saying 'yes' to almost all if not all of these answers. So don't be a hypocrite. It's absolutely fine if you don't like a female artist because a) you don't like them personally b) you don't like their songs or c) you just don't even like pop music to begin with. Hating these women because they're expressing their sexuality, however, is wrong and you need to shut up, sit down, and reevaluate your role in a modern society.
If you don't like the "Partition" video because it's too sexual for your taste or you don't like the genre, that's fine. Do what you do and like what you like. No one is making you watch that video or listen to that song. If you're a parent who is uncomfortable about your child seeing the video or hearing the song, prevent it from being a part of your child's life. Don't point fingers at the singer or the radio stations. If you honestly do that, I think you should reevaluate your parenting priorities and skills before you judge Beyoncé.
