On Saturday, January 7th, 2012, an American princess was born. Blue Ivy Carter, first born, heir to a Throne that has roots firmly cemented in the struggle and diversity of Black America. Her dad, a Hip Hop superstar, former Marcy projects drug dealer and an icon of a generation. Her mom, adored by men, women and children, was bred in upper-middle class environs.

With her parents idealistic career, fame and wealth, it’s not surprising that Blue’s birth has caused such a media frenzy. People go crazy over cute nobody babies on Youtube all the time. Mix that with the over the top emotions typically released by Jay and Bey fans and you have the perfect storm of mass media hype.

But while the public gets swept away with fantasy baby shower gifts and conspiracy theories, you may be so nauseated that you miss the true significance of Blue’s coming. While whispers of Illuminati are over the top, there is certainly more to baby Blue, or the impact her presence has on Black America and mainstream media, than meets the eye.

With the much-anticipated first-born child of Jay-Z and Beyonce making his/her debut to the world in the next few weeks, we thought we’d help the happy couple select baby names. We think it’s a girl but in all fairness, we’ve suggested a mix of  boy and girl names. Have any ideas? Submit them in the comments.

1. Knowles (unisex)

This would’ve been the obvious choice if it hadn’t been for Matthew Knowles infidelity and recent divorce from Beyonce’s mom Tina Knowles. After all, Beyonce was named after her mother’s maiden name of Beyince. It’s a great way to maintain the mother’s side of the family legacy but alas, we think it may not be likely in the Matthew Knowles aftermath.

Kelly Rowland might have accidentally revealed the sex of Beyoncé’s bundle of joy of the red carpet of Cosmopolitan’s Ultimate Women Awards in London.

“I have no idea what I’m going to buy Beyoncé at the baby shower because Jay is going to buy that little girl every single thing possible. She won’t be spoiled but she will be very well looked-after.”

Head over to Necole Bitchie to see what else she had to say.

During an interview with an Australian Television channel last week, viewers noted an oddly shaped bump while Beyoncé was taking her seat, fueling rumors that the pop icon was wearing a prosthetic belly to dramatize her pregnancy. Of course, Bey fired back and shot down the rumors as “ridiculous.” We thought so too. Seriously, who does that? It was obviously the dress which created the crazy illusion.

The size of Bey’s waist seems to stay pretty consistent with the timeline of her pregnancy, which was announced in August at the VMAs. Jay and Bey are expecting their son or daughter (we think daughter) in February which means she is about five months into her pregnancy. Here’s some shots of her growing baby bump since September.

by Charing Ball

There is an interesting theory behind what caused the most recent East Coast earthquake, which is that when people, mostly black, first heard the rumor that Will and Jada Smith had separated, the energy and vibration from the collective groaning caused the earth’s fault planes to shift. Of course, this is only a joke but judging by the near apocalyptic reaction some folks were having to the rumored split, I am willing to give this joke some attention.

As a society we have this weird thing of relating to celebrities and their triumphs, mistakes and pain more easily than to our own friends and neighbors. I took notice of this occurrence again on Sunday night when Beyonce announced her pregnancy live on the VMA’s red carpet. I wasn’t watching the program; I was doing dishes and mopping up water, which leaked from the ceiling during Hurricane Irene. However, my Facebook page lit up with stories about the announcement, along with congratulatory well-wishes, questions about the due date and long threads about what they should name the baby. One person in my network even reported that she had shed tears upon hearing the news. My own reaction to the news was much more simplistic, “Oh that’s nice. I hope her baby is healthy.”  Then I went back to mopping the floor.

Immediately after Beyonce and Jigga Man tied the knot, there was constant speculation about when we might expect a bun in the oven. “When?! When?! When are they going to have a baby??!” Seriously, people were asking the question before Beyonce and Jay even had a chance to consummate their marriage. And when Beyonce finally addressed the speculation in an interview that a baby wouldn’t be in her cards – not in the near future anyway – folks responded with outrage and made charges that she was being selfish for denying herself, and more importantly, the world an off-spring.  Like, why else would anyone get married if it’s not to procreate, right?

The tide has obviously turned for them. Many of the same folks, who once chastised Beyonce for waiting for motherhood, are rushing to sing the praises of how the couple, but more specifically Beyonce, “did it the right way.”  You know, the correct order of things: dating, marriage and then the kid. Never mind that her better half is a 41 year old man, who still grabs his crotch out in public and wears his hat turned backwards. But more to the point, this whole “look at the positive role Bey is setting for young women” conversation, which is now happening around the blogosphere, reeks of Slore-shaming.

Beneath the celebratory “she did it the right way” discussion is an underlining message, which seeks to shame and stigmatize women, who for whatever reason, go in on motherhood alone. Some bloggers see Beyonce’s pregnancy as some sort of triumph over single women, who have gotten pregnant before or outside of marriage. And as such, Beyonce’s baby bump and wedding ring have now become kindling to further flame the existence of these unwed women, who by virtue of their singledom, are obviously failures at motherhood and are incapable of rearing a child with morals and values worthy of society.