All the single babies

There's a hip-hop dance video burning up the Internet right now for quite a few reasons, not the least of which is the heat coming from the dancers. They perform to Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies," in what can only be called a provocative, highly sexualized routine.

And I'd be fine with it, except for one little thing. Take a look, I'm sure you can guess what that might be.

Those little girls have no cause to be ashamed; they danced their hearts out. The people who should be ashamed are the parents who agreed to the pseudo-stripper costumes and the instructors who taught a group of six-year-old girls how to convey sexuality through dance.

I know questioning the morals of the young is something grandmothers just naturally do, so I posted the video on my favorite social media sites (much as I hate to promote it) and asked people what they thought. Here's a sample of the comments:

• "Totally disgusting, the parents should have to attend some sort of classes."
• "When did dance recitals turn into Middle School Strip Clubs? Was that even 'cute'? Parents have to be the grown ups and decide when it's too much..."
• "Parents need to quit living vicariously through their kids. And that goes for the Little League fathers I can hear screaming at their sons 4 blocks away, too."
• "A little young to start training to work the pole."
• "Obviously good lil dancers, could have done something more age appropriate."

And some of those responses came from people quite a few years younger than I am.

Here's the thing, I love it when kids immerse themselves in the performing arts. I applaud parents who sacrifice to ensure their talented young artists have every advantage. But this world requires close supervision. Child performers often find their lot thrown in with adults, where mature ideas and behaviors abound. Parents, coaches and teachers should be their first line of defense. 

It occurs to me this particular song got some "parent cred" when videos of babies dancing to it went viral on YouTube months ago. In a Time.com article, "All the Single Babies: Why Do Tots Love Beyonce?", one of the video's choreographers says this:

JaQuel Knight, who choreographed the "Single Ladies" video along with Frank Gatson Jr., says the "Single Ladies" team always had children in mind. "We often went back to our childhood days, when our parents would ask us to dance for all the relatives at the family cookout," he says. "They weren't the best steps on the planet, but the feeling, emotion and passion of the steps in that moment were incredible."

Okay, fair enough. Parents quoted in the article talk about why they love the song, music experts explain the song is heavy on rhythm and repetition and children love that. 

But watch those little dancing girls. They're mouthing the lyrics, which include these lines:

I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips
hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans
acting up, drink in my cup

A man on my hips. Sung by a six-year-old little girl. 

Now, I realize lyrics like this are all around us, and you can't turn on the radio without hearing another somebody done somebody wrong song. Outside of locking them in their rooms for 18 years, we cannot protect our children from our highly sexualized world.

But this performance was a choice, choreographed by instructors who pushed children to dance like sluts and condoned by parents who wrote checks for those mock-adult costumes.

Adults and parents, who must not realize the choices they have made today will affect the choices all those single babies will make tomorrow.