This post was inspired by an article a friend linked to on
Yahoo titled An Open Letter to Michelle Obama: Beyonce is Not a Role Model. In it, the writer laments on the outfits that Beyonce uses in her performances and wonders how Michelle Obama can still consider her a role model for her two young daughters.
Personally, I consider celebrities no matter how big they are as human being first, and just like the rest of us, they have the life pressures they face, they have their flaws, their dreams, their goals, and how they want to live their life. They are on pedestals because we put them there, not because they have special powers or personality traits that make them saints or idols.
When I say somebody who is in the public eye is a role model, it means to me that the person has used some of the talent they have and made the world notice them. It may be in Science, Arts, Sports, but in today's world, mostly in Entertainment. Thinking that these ordinary people have somehow become perfect is setting oneself up for a fall. In the same way however, that thinking they are all bad is disingenuous too.
Beyonce has her strong sides, just as she has her weak sides, but blaming her for all that is wrong in the world for other women is kinda tricky. As adults we know to be inspired by the aspects that we admire, and allow her her foibles. We do not have to do exactly what that person does, for instance we do not have to become an R&B singer in a bodysuit like Beyonce's, but we can emulate the drive and hard work that got her to the top.
For the children in our lives, like Michelle Obama who has two daughters, our task is to educate them by making ourselves who are closest to them their primary examples of what a human and a woman is. Make your life as real and admirable as you can, teach your children the basic tenets of morality, self esteem and being an individual, and protect them while they're still young from the power of the media. By the time they're old enough, they'll know how to be true to themselves and not to follow the crowd, and how to pick and choose what to emulate from their favorite singers and celebrities.
Below is the particular image that got the writer incensed, and his article.