Beyoncé is 43 years old. She's been in our lives for almost 30 years. We’ve seen her grow from a young ingénue with promise to an artist, mother and a wife with a brand and platform that rivals any pop star, living or dead. She is groundbreaking in so many ways, but now she is facing something new: Ageism, or prejudice on the grounds of a person's age. (Something we've written about before.)
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I am decidedly not a member of the Beyhive. But one doesn't have to be to think that she should retire because she's too old. Hell nah. And let’s keep it 100: This is something that men don’t have to deal with.
There are no calls for Jay-Z to retire. He has not put out an album in a while, but no one says he needs to hang it up. The same is true when it comes to Pusha T or even Kanye. We may hate what Ye has done to his music and legacy, but no one bats an eye when the man from Chicago says he will drop another album…and he is 5 years older than Mrs. Carter.
But that’s Hip-Hop. Looking at R&B, Maxwell is still out here performing. As are Usher and John Legend’s non-singing ass.
White women don’t have to deal with this mess either. Christina Aguilera and Carrie Underwood are out here still trying to make music. Hell, even Joni Mitchell pops out every now and then. In fact, she toured and made music well into her 60s.
Beyoncé has spoken about retirement before. And she did not mince words.
So, what is this all about? She can still dance with the best of them. Her vocals are as good as they have ever been. And she still sells out stadiums wherever she goes. If you don’t like Beyoncé, just say that. But calling for her to retire is ridiculous and ageist as hell.
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