Dear FLOTUS and all other loving mothers whose daughters emulate Beyoncé while aspiring to the qualities of first lady Michelle Obama;
The latest Beyoncé CD is misogynistic, risqué and irresponsible.
Before the “killer bees” in the Beyhive start swarming and stinging a mother with a conscience, this writer wants to make it clear, this isn’t an attempt to slut shame Beyoncé the artist, but it is an honest opinion about her self-titled fifth studio album that Billboard mag guarantees is a No. 1 hit. This billet-doux to our readers is recorded in black and white to remind all the young girls worldwide that you are the Creator’s masterpiece who’s “empowered, equipped and wonderfully made” in his image and you are loved.
This past Monday, iTunes announced the CD broke their first-week sales record in the United States with more than 600,000 copies sold. They also revealed, it’s the fastest selling worldwide on its site “with an unprecedented 828,773 albums sold in just its first three days.”
OK, so Beyoncé broke records. Is that more important than the tender hearts she’s breaking and misguiding with such graphic and sexually explicit instructions, and strong language? No, it isn’t. The fact the project was shrouded in secrecy then released over night isn’t exciting or awe-inspiring. She’s a global superstar with 17 Grammy Awards, who hasn’t released a CD since she became a mom. So yes, she has cultural currency and has penetrated our conversations. Yes, her fans are intrigued and filled with anticipatory excitement.
I’m putting it out there because our first lady has placed the artist on a pedestal, endorsing her a “role model,” but her latest music is degrading, out of sync with the reality of the sexual exploitation of our youth and is a far cry from female empowerment.
This “visual album” makes the twerking antics of the former Disney star that shall remain nameless look modest and demure. On the song “Flawless,” Beyoncé sings, “Bow down, b**ches.” How retrogressive! Feminists have worked tirelessly to get many of our rappers to stop using the B-word in their music. Has this “Run the World (Girls)”-promoting artist applied the same rationale to this slur and derogatory term many blacks use when they determined who can actually say the N-word?
One of my personal role models, who is too a fan of Bey, raised the question: “Why did Beyoncé feel the need to pervert her gift?” I couldn’t defend or deny this truth because her co-signing husband raps on “Drunk in Love” a very intimate marital detail that should have remained sacred:
Foreplay in the foyer f—ed up my Warhol /Slid the panties right to the side /Ain’t got the time to take drawers off, on sight.
… So much for teaching our young boys about honoring their future wives.
I am sure when Michelle Obama tweeted that she was “proud of her” [Beyoncé], she had no idea she’d have to censor her music to protect her daughters, Malia and Sasha, and young girls globally.
Mothers, please share with your young daughters why their intellect is beyond the teachings of this CD and it won’t be a Christmas stocking suffer as well as why it’s necessary to audit their playlists on their MP3s, smartphones, tablets and computers. Our expectations are too great and the price of their potential is too high for them to be distracted by a power move to dominate music charts and take our hard-earned money while denying respect to women. It’s unnecessary, spirit breaking and not the product of a role model.
