Beyonce’s song “Single Ladies” was one of the biggest hits in recent years. There was a lot of talk about how the song lyrics were empowering for women, and when you added in the catchy beat and provocative music video, the song was destined to be a hit. Before we dive into the subject at hand, watch the official video for the single, for comparison purposes.

Now, watch this video. This is apparently from a competition called “World of Dance”, where nine-year-old girls performed to the same song. Shockingly, they make Beyonce’s dancing in the official video look tame and restrained.

It’s horrifying. The outfits, the dancing, the cheering as the girls grinded and danced suggestively… I feel bad for these poor little girls, oversexualized and not even ten yet. They are absolutely amazing dancers, clearly talented beyond their years. That much is without a doubt, but how could they have come to be dancing in such a way and wearing such skimpy costumes? Beyonce herself wore more than these girls did. Beyonce wore a black leotard; these girls wore lingerie-style black and red bikinis with thigh-high stockings and black tassles. They bumped, they grinded, they gyrated with their legs spread wide with nothing left to the imagination, and nothing held back. These girls took Beyonce’s video and her dancing and put it on steroids. And like I said, what’s sad is how unbelievably talented these girls are. Could their dance teacher not have come up with a more age-appropriate routine? Did none of the parents see a problem with this?

You would think, watching this, that the parents must somehow have missed this and that they would be outraged when they saw this. Not so. The parents defended it.

I don’t doubt that these girls worked extremely hard and don’t see a problem with their dance. How could they? They’re too young to know any better. That’s what parents are supposed to be there for, to guide and protect their children from being exploited in such a way. But apparently, these girls weren’t so lucky as to have loving parents who would protect their childhood and their innocence. These girls’ parents didn’t see anything wrong with it. They say that it’s at a dance competition, and that it wasn’t meant for a “worldwide audience”.

I’m curious. It may not have been meant for the world to see, but exactly what kind of audience is this appropriate for? It doesn’t make a difference if its in front of ten people or ten million. It’s inappropriate and it’s wrong. It was the responsibility of these parents to protect their daughters from this, and they failed. Miserably.

And as for being taken out of context? The entire dance video shows exactly what the dance routine was. There may have been other girls there the same age dancing just as inappropriately, but that just makes it worse, to think that there are scores of other little girls just as oversexualized and exploited. If these are the kinds of routines you see in that kind of environment, as the mother points out, then why on earth would you want your child in that kind of environment? If this is what dance costumes are these days, then why would you want your daughter involved? If this is what their daughters are dressing and dancing like now, then how will it be when they’re 16? As talented as these girls are, where can it possibly go from here if this is how they’re dancing and dressing now? It’s like the parents are setting the girls up for destinies as nothing more than the finest strippers at their local strip clubs.

Hat Tip: Hot Air

UPDATE:

Well, I found a second video from three of the same girls in the dance troupe in the videos above. This time they’re dancing to “My Boyfriend’s Back”, and… well, it’s pretty much the same thing. Skimpy costumes. Thigh-high stockings. Suggestive, sexual dance moves. The “out of context” argument has been blown to hell now.

This is apparently the kind of dancing these girls do on a regular basis. This isn’t out of context at all; for these girls, it’s the norm.

These parents should be ashamed.