My Superbowl Beyonce Halftime Observations

As I’m sure a lot of you did on Sunday,  I made my salty, fatty delicious snacks and sat down for the Superbowl.

And by the Superbowl, I mean I anxiously waited through two quarters of some football game to see Beyonce perform.  Well, that and the commercials.  But I digress.

When she finally appeared on stage, I watched her prance in her leather and lace leotard, and was filled with conflicted feelings.

Deeply conflicted feelings.

As a woman, I loved that she was not stick thin. I mean, you could not deny that she was super hot.  I admired her physical endurance and appreciated the production, as well as all of the woman musicians.  I also thought it was awesome that she shared the stage with the other members of Destiny’s child, a group that helped to bring her to the place that she is now.   

However, the mom side of me dreaded the overtly sexual nature of her performance.  When the “choreographed” routine (and I say “choreographed” in a loose terms) had her rolling on the ground, it reminded me how maybe my Mom felt when she watched Madonna roll (literally roll) on the scene with Borderline record and later Like  Virgin.

Thomas, who is almost four years old, made the very astute observations that Beyonce was not wear pants:

I also watched Marie try to mimic her moves and not the prancing kind.  More like the hips and licking lips kind.  I tried not to throw up in my mouth as I watched in horror.

You know, it’s not as if I am a prude.   I mean, I’ve been at a bar and danced like that (well, maybe not exactly like that, but in my mind, it totally went down that way).  

There was just something over-the-top about Beyonce’s performance that just bothered me.  Maybe it was the way that Marie was trying to emulate her.  Maybe it was Thomas even knew something was a little off since she was not wearing pants.

In regards to the other performers, I totally appreciated that Jennifer Hudson’s and Alicia Keys’s performances seemed to focus more on voice and talent.

I mean, not that Beyonce’s performance wasn’t talented.  She has a great voice and is a fantastic entertainer.  I just feel that there is already so many sexual undertones in kid culture (see Monster High and Barbie), that this just adds fuel to an already super hot, burning fire.

I understand it is the Superbowl and it was perhaps my misunderstanding that I thought it would be family programing.  When Janet Jackson had her little “wardrobe malfunction,” I wasn’t worried since I didn’t have kids.

I think it is safe to say that I look at Beyonce’s performance through a different lens, one that magnifies the implied cultural standards of sexuality that my kids are now witnessing.

Like I said, I’m confused.

What were your thoughts on the half-time show?