I think there is a problem with the list? It went from a twitter saying I love being single or what ever, to having a pro and cons lists about it and someone bringing up your marital status.

Even if an artist does or does not willing put their personal information into public view, I rather not judge them. A family unit is created out of all types of characters or people, more power to anyone or people who want to create that loving environment.

PRO-miscuous, my bad on the spelling error!

She might have just now come to the mature realization that it IS BEST for her to BE SINGLE especially since every so often that she finds herself in a relationship without marriage, a child is the result. So maybe she is finally admitting it is best to be by herself, that it is OK to be by herself and that she should love the single position she is in...so that she doesn't continuously find herself caught up in the same cycle....ever think about that? It's not like she said--today i realized that i really love being premiscous and if she did, so be it. Half the problem with men and women and relationships is that they aren't being real with themselves and then proceed to bring someone else into the mix to help alleviate their misery, boredom, and confusion. Study self first!
"Having three different children by three different men is not setting a good example for young girls out there."~~~To all mothers, if Erykah is your daughter's role model, then there is a serious problem, not with HER but with YOU. This is entertainment, she is not a professor, she is not a doctor, she is not an astronaut or a scientist, she is an entertainer who just so happens to rock some funky A$$ outfits and afros every now and then. Come on, what the problem is....

You like it ,I love it. Whatever works for you and raising your family. Be a positive role model to your children, care for them financially, academically and lovingly not just her but everyone. No one else's opinions matter. Do you.

I "know" nothing about her but I know her work (some of it I even like), and she's clearly a true visionary. I suspect artists are very selfish people, surely they have to be? Doesn't mean she can't be a good mother, and I know of no reason to doubt she is, but she's a bohemian, an independent spirit, and they've always existed, sometimes as an inspiration, sometimes as a warning, but always out there on a limb. If we worry about role-models then let's raise kids with the critical faculties to see what's not only possible but what's important. Artists are not like us and nor should they be.
As for the twittering? I say preserve the mystique. Let the work speak.

artist should realize that they are role models. that is true.

but as mother, her first concern should be how her children view her....it seems that they have a very healthy familial life....as a family, they seem to be thriving.....she also twittered about her son being chosen to represent his school D.C. because of his outstanding academic work....to me, that says a lot, positively, about what type of mother she must be.....more importantly, what type of PERSON she must be....

we are entitled to our opinion.....as many have shared here....but i really commend her on sharing her thoughts and emotions....sometimes we put these people on pedestals, and when they fall short of what our expectations of their strength, smarts, or whatever the case maybe, then we think that they we become judgemental.....yes, we can say that these artist should know that what they reveal will be up for criticism. but they are human. some of them are out of control, i will agree. but most of them are just trying to make the best decisions for themselves, just like we do on a day to day basis. no one has this thing called life figured out completely. so why are we so quick to see the fault in everything?

Ok, people, here's my two cents...
1. Ms. Badu is an entertainer. She isn't the prime example of womanhood for us to follow. If you follow her or any man, you're doomed to fail.
2. She's learning her lessons about love like all of us.
3. How many of us have done the exact same thing? or similar?
So before anyone points the finger at Miss E, they should check
themselves first.
And I'm done.

Most of you know that I love, Love, LOVE this woman and her music to death. But I do think that she’s being unfairly criticized here. I say this because no one knows what truly goes on in her household/home/family/life. Unless you’re one of her children, exes, family members, neighbors, a nanny, the family pet(s), a fly on the wall, or better yet-God-then you can’t really judge her and her life. What works for her works for her. It doesn’t have to work for the rest of the world or any of you. If her children are getting nurtured, loved, fed, and treated properly, I don't have a problem with how she's living HER life. The key words there are “HER.” And if our taxpayer dollars aren't going towards supporting her clan, then why should we be concerned?? She says that the fathers are in their lives so I don't understand what the big deal is. Family is what you make it, and sometimes it's not the ideal. Hell, I came through New York's infamous adoption system and still turned out waaaaay better than most people who grew up in a traditional two-parent home. Erykah is grown and living her life and loving herself. She doesn’t owe anyone anything but herself and her children. She doesn’t have to be a role model or example for anyone but herself. WE need to be our own examples and stop looking at celebrities to show us how to live. WE are our own saviors. WE are our own role models. Now some of you might respond with, “Would you have three kids with three different men??” If that happened to me, I’d rightfully take care of my family. But I don’t have to do what Ms. Badu does, even though I HEART this woman (And yall know I STAN for this chick). I have my OWN life with my OWN ideas. O and if this was Shantika from down the way, I wouldn’t have a dam thing to say, unless my tax money was going to support her. Bottom line is that we need to mind our own businesses and work on making our lives better and being role models for our own children.

@ericka Whether you believe celebrities should be role models or not is irrelevant. The bottom line is that kids do see their favorite celebs like that. And while it may be an added burden to celebs, they have to take responsibility for the messages they send to the youth be it through their art or their personal lives.

I would say most people are pretty bad when it comes to judging folks in entertainment. It might not be right, but that is what they signed up for. They have to take the bitter with the sweet. You don't hear them complaining when their bank accounts are blowing up. The bottom line is if you are in the public eye, you are going to be scrutinized heavily. I do see where the scrutiny can get out of hand though. In Erykah's case, she voluntarily released that info. I do think we tend to read more into things than maybe we should. But again, that kinda goes with the territory.

Ms. Badu is in need of some mental help. ANY woman who thinks it's cool to have several babies by several different men is just plain ass crazy. Just because she makes money and can support her kids that makes it right? I mean it's obvious she is having unprotected sex with her babies fathers, it's obvious she likes being single, it;s obvious she is toeing that line between having dignity and class and just being a piece of ass. I worry about if she has any daughters, will they be raised thinking that they way their mom lives her life is how they should live their lives? a generation of young sista's thinking because Ms. Badu does it that it's ok for them to do it. There are enough single mothers running around without Ms. Badu trying to start a new trend, of i'm single and I dont need a man......except to have baby after baby out of wedlock.

I agree with Chynadoll, just because someone has the financial means to support their children doesn't mean they should be viewed any differently from the mother who struggles to feed her kids. The reality is most parents, even responsible ones, often struggle to support their families.

However, I don't think anyone should be judging single parents these days. With 70% of black children being born out of wedlock, and the nation's divorce rate at 50% there are strong odds that anyone can grow up with a single parent at some point in their life. The fact that the nuclear family is becoming less and less realistic is a hard pill for a lot of people to take, and I think the resistance to accepting single parenthood as a norm is at times justified. However, there are pros and cons for both ways when it comes to raising children. Of course there are detrimental effects to living in a household without both parents, however, there are also detrimental effects from living in a household where the parents have an unhealthy relationship. So, ultimately you have to look at individual circumstances before claiming to know what's best for someone's child. I think in Erykah's case all the fathers are going to have active roles in their child's life - which I can only assume since she speaks highly of all three- and that should be enough IMO. I think we need to take a good look at ourselves before we rush to judge anyone who falls short of whats ideal.

ok... i don't really get it either, but i'm gay, i'm going to chalk this up to "weird shit straight folks do". but i do take issue with some of the stuff you're saying.

"I mean," I thought, "doesn't she want to be in a relationship with her child's father? Doesn't she want to try and create a male presence for that child at least, if not for her other two children?"
just because they aren't romantically together doesn't mean he's not in the picture at all.

Isn't it ultimately good to have children who all share the same DNA from both sets of parents?
i don't feel like my half-sister is any less my sister than my full-blooded sister is, and i don't make distinctions like that except in really specific circumstances. i think family can be created in a lot of ways, not all of which rely on blood.

# Is she not in effect challenging the double standard of men fathering several children (Diddy, Mos Def, and countless others) who all are able to care financially for their children and get nary a mention of their fitness for parenthood?
yes, yes, and hell yes.

# Having three different children by three different men is not setting a good example for young girls out there.
frankly i think that this is debatable; i don't think that celebrities are, or should be, children's/youth's role models and i think that that is a much bigger problem than what those role models may or may not do.

I will be honest and admit that I prefer to know as little about my fave celebs personal lives as possible. Because as hard as I try, some things they reveal about themselves does taint the way I see them and their talent.

I don't buy the argument that b/c Erkyah is "independent", "intelligent", and "economically self-sufficient", that she gets a pass on having oow babies, but "Dee Dee" down the street gets vilified because she doesn't have enough zeros in her paycheck. (or her check comes from the govt)

Transparency is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Erkyah being open will endear her to her true fan base. They will identify with her "humaness" and how she's "just like them". On the flip side she will have those who will criticize, analyze, and judge her. I think that's the risk you take when you make personal thoughts, public.

When I read about this last week, particularly the comment you highlighted, I thought 'Oh No ... when will the Badu-bashing start?'

Note I said 'when' and not 'if'. I was convinced this would be a major talking point in the blogosphere but personally I havn't seen it discussed apart from the article here (although I havn't actively looked).

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that Ms Badu can and should live her life as SHE sees fit. As mentioned previously, as long as her children are well cared for (which seems to be the case), and she is on good terms with the fathers (which also seems to be the case) then it's up to her. The situation isn't ideal, but then how many of us have ideal day-to-day lives? I'm sure Erykah might criticise some aspect of our lives if she were to know the details.

The fact that she shares her feelings with her fans should be commended. Many artists are oblivious to their fan-base as long as they buy their latest single/album/piece of merchandise. The fact that she feels at ease enough to Twitter her innemost thoughts shows that she trusts and respects her followers not to judge her.

Personally I wouldn't choose to live like this but respect to Ms Badu for doing what she thinks is best.

Another thing: So many of us fans don't have the luxury of really understanding what's going on, so it's easy to judge and make assumptions. Media helps A LOT with this one. I only need to bring up Amy Winehouse, foreal. It's also easy for us to defend and deny and bash the artist as if we know the artist. It's such a complex almost hypocritical situation. I don't believe it's a bad thing to analyze a situation of someone else's, because Lord knows so many people do it anyway with friends and family. The topic you brough up here is a perfect example of trying to understanding/analyzing. It becomes a problem when conclusions are drawn based on some bogus fallicious stuff.

Joshua Washington, you said it right there. People are in such complex and different situations and it's not for us to understand nor is it for us to judge. If it works, then it works. Not everyone has the traditional two parent stable home, definetely not everyone in the black community. Not everyone, every kid in a family has the same father or mother or what have you. So with a unique situation comes unique processes, unique strategies and unique ways of doing things. I think it's unfair for people to look at things from face-value without understanding what the real situation is. Someone can look at it from the standpoint of having three kids from three different fathers is not a good look...but if that person looks deeper than that, look at how the situation is being handled, then maybe that person will understand how it works instead of putting her in this box that apparently holds all mothers who have babies with different fathers. They are not all the same. I think if there's any example that Erykah sets, it's that she IS an independent strong woman who makes the best of a situation and is not afraid to express her feelings. Not everyone's going to have a fairytale beginning with their significant other.

i have to admit i was shocked when she said she was single, but i wonder if she means, as a lot of people mean when they say they are single, just not married. she may very well be with jay (i hope so i like them together) or she may very well be single, but the beauty of this life, the beauty of this existence is that we as a people as being get to determine what works well for us. i don't believe erykah is bucking tradition just to make a statement. i don't think she is trying to set an example for anyone about how to live their lives. i think, honestly, she is living her life and doing what works for her and in the end isn't that all any of us can do. i can't condemn just because i might not understand her process of doing things. it's not for me to understand. i know it gets touchy when children are involved, because children are the beacon of innocence, but as long as she is doing the best she can for her children and they are being taken care of, emotionally, financially, and otherwise. i say more power to erykah for sticking to and abiding by what works for her despite the noses that have and probably will continue to look down upon her. i applaud her gumption and independence.

Yeah I was shocked that she said she was single too, when folks were getting on her for her oow kids saying what makes her different than some young woman in the hood, I said that Erykah was a smart and brilliant woman who was smart enough to at least be in a stable relationship with someone to have a baby with. And now she is single already. I still love her though, she is grown and so are most of her fans, so the role model issue is something she has to deal with her own kids with