Celebrities who are constantly in the media tend to have an influence on the lives of children, but it should not be their responsibility to censor themselves to help raise a generation.
Recently, Bill O’Reilly, host of The O’Reilly Factor, had some words about Beyoncé’s recent music and video content that have sexually suggestive themes. His words to describe the video were “exploitative garbage.” O’Reilly also said that since Beyoncé is such a mega star, she should have more respect for herself and should be doing more positive music and videos because young girls look up to her.
Yes, Beyoncé does have younger fans looking up to her, but it should not be Beyoncé’s responsibility to censor herself because her younger fans are watching. As an artist, Beyoncé, as well as other stars that are experimenting with their sexuality (Miley Cyrus, for example), should have free reign to push their music to new limits if they choose to.
While O’Reilly mentioned that he in fact does like Beyoncé, he is just not a fan of her recent work. He believes that she should produce positive music similar to the music made during the days of Motown, rather than raunchy material.
It is up to the parents to decide what their kids should and should not watch. Therefore, it should not be Beyoncé, Cyrus or any celebrity’s job to watch what they say or what they do. If you know you do not want a child’s mind to be corrupted by things they see on television, then it is a parent’s job to check what their child is watching on television or what they are searching for on the Internet.
Thus, if you do not want your child to watch Beyoncé, then cut her videos off when they appear on television or change the station when her songs come on. Other than that, parents cannot make an artist change their image for the sake of the children they are raising. Celebrities are entertainers, not babysitters.
O’Reilly also mentioned that many of the Queen Bey’s fans are from households who “don’t have responsible parents.” Again, it cannot be Beyoncé’s responsibility to raise those kids. There is not much another person can do if a parent is not doing his or her job.
As a fan of Beyoncé’s music, both past and present, I did notice her slight shift into her sexual side. However, Beyoncé is over 30, married and has a child of her own. I firmly believe she knows what she is doing and clearly her bank account shows it as well.
Beyoncé is indeed talking about performing many sexual acts throughout her recent self-titled album, but many people fail to forget that she is talking about doing these things with her husband. Last time I checked, the marriage bed was undefiled and she is free to do what she pleases. As for her toning down her expression of this in her music, it is completely up to her like I said before.