Well, I must admit, I am not the biggest fan of the Super Bowl, but like anyone else I don’t mind checking out the commercials and entertainment. Except tonight, I was not impressed, at least during the halftime show. Although Beyoncé is beautiful, I was not overly excited to see her showing her almost naked body. Let me explain why: The Super Bowl game is televised in millions of homes and while not only are there dads, moms, aunts, uncles, big brothers and sisters watching this highly televised event, you have millions of children in homes worldwide watching as well. Maybe not plopped down right in front of the television, but if they are anything like I was as a kid, if I heard music, I wanted to come and see what was going on. So here you have little girls stopping to take a peak and what do they see and hear? A half-dressed woman singing “If you like it then you should have put a ring on it” and what do little girls sometimes have a tendency to do? “Mommy, I want to look like that when I grow up!”
As I shared what I did not like about the show, my husband said something that I must agree with and that is, “You can blame Madonna for it” and he’s right! I admit, I liked Madonna and some of her music growing up, and I remember the video of her coming out with an outfit very similar to Beyoncé’s, she may have had a pointy bra but at least her breasts were covered up! I’ll also admit, I do like the lyric’s to Beyoncé’s song but I think you’re taking away from the power of those lyrics by dressing provocative when you’re advocating the importance of a man respecting the woman he loves by putting a ring on her finger.
Don’t get me wrong, if you want to dance sexy and half naked for your husband (in the privacy of your bedroom), go for it! If I looked like she does and if I was her age, I’d be probably do the same. My point is there is just a place and time for activity like this and in my personal opinion, it’s NOT during Super Bowl halftime when little children are present.
I pray that the parents of these young children have a sense or moral compass to monitor what their children are exposed to, even during Super Bowl Sunday!
I didn’t care much for the show myself. But I think the bigger problem is that this has become an accepted thing. What is the saying – ‘Sex sells’? And it does. We’re desensitized to so much these days – so much that a performance that would have incited riots sixty years ago is now praised as being ‘great’.
I think all kids will find an inappropriate role model at some point or another – rebellion is natural. But it’s on us to make sure our children understand the difference between what is appropriate, and what isn’t. The world is overflowing with horrible influences these days. Disney kids turned teenage parents. Child stars turned drug addicts. As a society, we’re a mess.
So, as much as I disliked the halftime show tonight – I’m more concerned about what is happening behind those t.v. screens. Are we taking the time with our children to ensure they aren’t emulating that behavior?
Are we doing it in a way that isn’t damaging to our children? Our society places so much emphasis on perfection, beauty…
Moments like this give an opening to talk about realism. To talk about being yourself, being beautiful with your clothes ON.
I suppose what I am saying is, I know I cannot change society. I know that I cannot change how people view and judge others. But I hope, with all of my heart, that I have raised my kids in a family society that teaches them different than what the world outside is often throwing in their faces.
Thank you Desiree! Well put! My husband just taught today on the world, society and it’s influences, very similar to some of the things you address. Also, everything you said about our children is found in the scriptures, “Train (teach) your children in the way that they should go, and when they are older, they will not depart from it” So you are exactly right, it matters a lot what we teach our kids and the examples we set. I also agree, we do go through our rebellious stages when we are young, I know I did, big time! But then after I made choices that were not the best for me, I began to realize, “hmmm, I don’t want to live like this anymore” and I learned that God was a very kind, patient and merciful God, and so I made my choice at around 20 years old to follow his direction. I don’t judge her or anyone else for their choices, (for the things I did, I have no right to judge them) I only hope that the television industry would make wiser choices especially when it comes to “family” TV when they know that kids are with their parents watching their shows. There is a time and place for the kind of entertainment millions of viewers saw tonight.