While indulging in some of the threads on Lipstick Alley this afternoon, I ran across one in particular that caught my attention. It was titled, “People keep saying that Bey is ‘doing the most’ with these pregnancy pics.”
It was an interesting thing to me because, in all honesty, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the type of images Beyoncé shared on Instagram pre-pregnancy and what she’s doing right now. It’s just that the singer, once extraordinarily private, specifically about her marriage and family, has, over the years, decided to open up big time. She likely realized that in the age of social media, a star who has built themselves into a brand can’t afford to be too reclusive in order to exercise the most influence. And whether you like her or not, Bey is incredibly influential. Also, once you embrace this social media thing, it can become addictive.
Not to mention that during her first pregnancy, so many people went out of their way to claim that she wasn’t carrying her own child. Aside from being spotted moving from car to venue and doing an occasional interview, at that time, Beyoncé moved out of the spotlight. Now that she’s staying in it, maybe as an F-U to her detractors, she’s being accused of doing “too much.”
But it’s not just the folks who hide out in social media comments and web site threads saying these things. Earlier this week I was watching a new talk show on E! called Daily Pop News where the hosts discuss all things pop culture. One of the topics they talked about in the first episode on Monday was Beyoncé being spotted courtside with Jay Z at the Game 7 Clippers vs. Jazz bout in L.A. and her appearance at the Wearable Art Gala. The consensus from the hosts seemed to be that Beyonce “looks miserable” and that she obviously doesn’t realize it’s ok to go home and rest as a pregnant woman. Because seeing a woman heavily pregnant with twins out in public is obviously too much for folks…
I’m not even a huge Beyoncé fan (though if I saw her in public I might lose it nonetheless), but some criticisms of the singer, to me, are just ridiculous. And this issue, of how she chooses to embrace and celebrate a truly beautiful time in her life, is one of them. Let her be great!
As a woman who has miscarried, to now be pregnant with two children is a blessing that should be commemorated in whatever way she deems acceptable. If she wants to go to every event, share every picture, show you every sonogram or hit all of the red carpets with swollen feet to do that, leave her to do that. It’s her choice, just as we have a choice to look or look away.
I think many of us have forgotten just how important of a life event welcoming a child into the world is for many people. It changes women who never babysat, were excited about or thought about kids into the most protective mothers. It moves some women to a point where they give up their work to focus solely on raising a family. Hell, it seemingly changed Joseline Hernandez (not her wardrobe, but her penchant for drama at least). So because we don’t know the experiences of the women who go on to carry and give birth (as in, walk in their shoes), including Beyoncé, it’s not right to say that whether they’re choosing to have a photo shoot every day or being exceptionally private about bringing their kids out in public that they’re doing “too much.” That’s their baby, and that’s their business. Find your own and mind your own.
Image via Splash
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