As I write this, I’m internally chastising myself for doing something I SWORE I would never do – create another think piece centered around an over-inflated assertion about Beyonce’s music and entertainment. After everyone and their mama pondered whether or not Mrs. Carter deserved the title of feminist after her last album release, I wrote about my frustrations with smug-ass ideologues over-analyzing her art and attempting to conflate her brand of entertainment to national and global problems. Yet, I feel like Michael Corleone in Godfather III, because just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.
Today, the role of “they” will be played by Bill O’Reilly, a FOX “News” commentator who apparently has an extreme soft spot for urban youth – despite constant race-baiting attacks on everyone from Ludacris to Common. Now, Mr. O’Reilly is soooo vexed about what’s happening to young Black women in America, he shared his in depth analysis of the issue. And drew the conclusion that Beyoncé’s “Partition” video is to blame for unwed pregnancies amongst women of color:
Yup, that makes perfect sense, even though the CDC reported last year that the teen birth rate for African Americans has declined by 60 percent in the last 20 years alone.
But picking apart O’Reilly’s anti-intellectual comments is far too easy, and I’m sure most bloggers will write great dissertations on his vast ignorance very shortly. Plus, it’s kinda pointless to get into a back-and-forth with FOX “News” when they will make sure not to let a stupid thing like FACTS ruin their argument.
But there is a theme I’m noticing with this Beyoncé-bashing and it’s not limited to old, out-of-touch, xenophobic white men.
There’s also lame-duck parents who demonize Mrs. Carter and make her the scapegoat for their ill-behaved offspring. Because that way it’s not their fault for how their seed turns out – it’s solely her cross to bear.
When Beyoncé releases a track with strong lyrics, we wonder what effect it will have on young women of color. When Beyoncé wears a racy outfit, we wonder how that will negatively affect how young Black women dress — and then blame her for supporting child sex trafficking in India). When Beyoncé dances, grinds, and shakes her hips on stage, we blame her for making young women believe that they cannot be recognized without being over-sexualized. I guess blaming her for global warming and the sea level rising will soon follow,.
But, the real question is why?
Why have we given up raising our children, and acquiesced all parental-power to entertainers with no vested interest in our young men and women other than taking their money?
Why have we allowed ourselves to believe that an entertainer making GROWN-ASS music, must be responsible for imparting the most important and critical issues of the day onto our children?
Why have we allowed ourselves to believe that it’s logical to assign blame for a young woman’s actions on a 3:50 second video, instead of the support system she has around her?
Why are we comfortable blaming the creators of adult content, and refusing to take any blame for allowing our children to watch it? (I’ve always found it hilarious to hear parents bitch and moan about what their children saw on TV, as if the children’s consumption isn’t their own fault.)
Teen pregnancy is an issue that is so critical to our community, we cannot let facts and realities be obscured by prejudiced rantings of attention seeking egomaniacs and people with no real knowledge of community issues. But until that serious discussion occurs, stop demonizing Black female entertainers like Beyoncé. Maybe next time O’Reilly will place blame on someone culpable like Miley Cyrus for the entire four seasons of “Teen Mom” for performances like this:
Lincoln Anthony Blades blogs daily on his site ThisIsYourConscience.com, he’s an author of the book “You’re Not A Victim, You’re A Volunteer” and a weekly contributor for UPTOWN Magazine. He can be reached via Twitter @lincolnablades and on Facebook at This Is Your Conscience.