Give Tuesday’s afternoon links a read:
Pick up your copy on newsstands
Click here for instant access to the Digital Magazine
Advertisement
PEOPLE.com reserves the right to remove comments at their discretion.
Showing 18 comments
Indira on
So his mother, aunts, sisters, sister-in-law, adoring female fans and beautiful wife couldn’t get him to stop saying the word bitch? Idiot.
J on
I agree with Indira.
Amanda on
Didn’t he just use the word in his new song featuring his daughter’s cries?
Erika on
I agree with all of the posters on this thread. If it was ok for him to say it until his daughter was born, does that mean that it is okay for his daughter’s future boyfriends/husband to use it until they have a daughter as well? I know that is a long way off, but every female on the planet is/was somebody’s daughter. It shouldn’t have to take being a father to a little girl for a man to stop offending women.
anon1 on
I agree with all the posters on here. the b word is tolerated now in society, and i find it sad, since it has such a poor meaning. no woman should be referred to as a b**** and the only way to stop the tolerance of the word is for everyone to take a stand and stop using the word and stop tolerating the use of the term.
JM on
‘ “No man will degrade her, or call her names,” Jay-Z writes in his poem to Blue Ivy.’
this was probably what all the men had hoped for who were fathers to the women that jay-z and his friends called bitches. if i was his wife i would be feeling pretty insulted that falling in love with me wasn’t enough for him to realise how wrong this word is.
Grace2 on
Good point JM. At least his declaration of his epiphany might make others more aware of what it really is they are saying.
I don’t believe in censorship, but rappers in particular need to understand the ramifications of normalizing mysogynistic and violent words. I think one of the great things about becoming a parent is how open your eyes are to see the world in a different way.
JM on
very good reasonable point Grace2. you’re right that censorship is wrong and i don’t agree with it either. and i would also say that for me the main point is for rappers (and wannabe rappers) to simply understand the consequences of the words they use and to not try to sugar coat it as merely being part of some kind of sub-culture where the word is not offensive.
it is offensive plain and simple. just as racist, homophobic and other sexist words are. if he (or others like him) want to be the kind of misogynistic men who use such words, fine, but then let’s call a spade a spade.
ecl on
Agreed! All good points. I also hate how it’s one of the only swear words allowed on network tv. What does that tell us about how we as a society feel about women?
Anonymous on
I’m actually not surprise that it was the birth of Blue that got Jay-Z to clean up his language. There are few things in life that can change a man as profoundly as a baby girl (before anyone jumps on me, I’m not saying that baby boys don’t change their fathers. All I’m saying is there’s something about baby girls in particular that seem to change men, and in some cases practically reduce them to mush!)! 
mary on
“Texas law forces women to get an ultrasound before getting an abortion”
I’m sorry but MY opinion is if you are going to force a woman to look at a sonogram before getting an abortion YOU must also have her see a crying baby, a teething baby, a bratty toddler and 5-7 yr olds, a surly teenager and a hormonal girl and a teen who has borrowed your car and has missed curfew. Tell her how much it will cost to raise a child from birth thru 18.I think it’s well over $200,000!
It’s her womb, her uterus; let this be between her, the doc, and her GOD!
Josie on
Mary, I understand your point about the downsides to allowing a child to be born (costs, noise, loss of personal freedom, etc), but when I was considering an abortion in college, I was told I was getting rid of a problem, nothing more than a clump of cells like a tumor, not an actual baby. If I had seen an ultrasound (like I did with my next child), I wouldn’t have had an abortion. I think most women in TX will see the ultrasound and still choose to have the abortion, but for those few who might not know all the facts or who have been given incorrect facts (my bf really, really, really wanted me to have an abortion) a little more information could make a difference. BTW, I was 20 weeks at the time of my abortion and clearly for me, an ultrasound would have made a big difference in my decision making process.
Janna on
Josie, I hope you also don’t mind the government intruding on all of your other personal medical procedures then.
ecl on
The link for the Jay-Z article now takes you to an article where he claims that story about no longer using the b-word is false.
Jillian on
Josie, I understand what you are saying and agree with you. Many women may change their mind bc they don’t have all the info. If one person does…..than it’s well worth it.
Mary
JM on
I agree with Janna. I don’t appreciate the government being involved with any of my personal decisions. Yes give women all the information and maybe the option of having an ultrasound, but why force them? To me it seems like a way to make them feel guilty when they shouldn’t feel guilty for making such a personal decision. i always find it interesting how republicans say they want less government intervention except in the areas that suit them.
Hoopla on
Okay, I’m an 18 year old girl and I don’t see anything wrong with saying bitch in certain cases. Obviously when you are calling someone a bitch, especially a woman, it is not okay. But, when you’re using it for comedic effect, like saying “Bitch, please,” jokingly, I see no problem.
Josie on
JM and Janna, the govt already dictates many of your health care choices. Plus why should women feel guilty after seeing an ultrasound then choosing an abortion? It’s still their legal right to have an abortion and most women have abortions when the baby probably does look like a clump of tissue. I am obviously pro-choice since I had an abortion, but I am also a big believer that people should be informed and with abortion too often the facts are molded by those giving the information. If I had seen the ultrasound, I would have taken that information and used it completely differently than the woman next to me.
Why are you so angry about this issue? Most of the women I know have had abortions, many of them paid by insurance, the state, or bfs. I’ve never known a woman who couldn’t get one, including my sister who had one at 34 weeks and AFTER seeing the ultrasound. Women aren’t being denied their rights and they’re not as emotionally fragile are you’re painting them to be. They can see the ultrasound and decide their life will be better with the abortion – just like my sister did. Stop babying women and let them have the facts. Who cares what the Republicans intend with this law? It’s always a good idea to give women information and I would assume the ultrasounds will occur in abortion clinics so the technicians won’t push prolife views on the women. What’s the big deal?
Advertisement
Free Weekly Newsletter
"It helps that other moms had said that once they had their babies, they forgot they were ever pregnant. So once my focus became the baby and not the pregnancy, it was a very easy decision."
