Pregnant Teens: Not Beyonce's Fault

Monday, BET.com posted an article suggesting Beyoncé's pregnancy, which she announced at the VMAs and nearly crashed Twitter, might cause a "spike in Black Teen Pregnancy." Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous? It's more than unfair to blame Beyoncé for African American teens becoming pregnant when a plethora of other factors can make a difference in the statistic.

Teenage girls have many different reasons why they have children at a young age. Wanting to emulate Beyoncé, who is a married woman and will be 30 years old next week, is without a doubt the most irresponsible excuse. Granted, the Grammy-winning singer and actress is a trendsetter with die-hard fans, but did we look at other pregnant R&B superstars and think the same thing?

When singer Alicia Keys got pregnant before marrying producer Swizz Beats, were there any thoughts of teens rushing to get knocked up? What about when singers Keyshia Cole, Monica or Christina Milian were with child? These women are role models to some girls across the nation as well; blaming musicians for the consequences of bad parenting has always seemed like the easy way out.

Beyoncé may be responsible for starting fads like the master cleanse diet and having some young men emulate her style of dress and make-up for their YouTube debut performance, but fearing that she will influence teens to want babies is some inane thought pulled out of someone's ass.

African-American teens have been getting pregnant long before Beyoncé was born, and although she is worshipped, it's disrespectful to think so lowly of these girls. This singer is beyond talented but she is not the only successful African-American woman that sets examples for teenagers.

Television shows like MTV's Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant have reality stars that are glorified on the covers of tabloid magazines as if they are celebrities. Parents viewed these girls as making an impression on their daughters as well.

Even with the fear of influence, in April of this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a significant decline in teen pregnancy rates. So let's not find a finger to point at for teens becoming pregnant across America, like Beyonce - let's try harder to educate and prevent it from occurring.