LZ: Beyonce, what have you done?

Beyoncé performs on stage during "The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour" at Staples Center on December 3, in Los Angeles. Her new music video "Partition" is stirring controversy. Here is a look back at her life and career:

In 1998, Beyonce was known simply as another member of Destiny's Child, a four-member girl group who released a self-titled debut that year and had a breakthrough with the remix of their single "No, No, No, No."

Seen here with the final version of the group that put her on the map, Destiny's Child, Beyonce performs with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for President-elect George W. Bush during a pre-inaugural event in Washington on January 19, 2001.

When Beyonce took the stage in Melbourne on April 29, 2002, she was just a year away from releasing her first solo album, "Dangerously In Love."

Back in November 2002, before they tied the knot, Jay-Z and Beyonce fueled rumors that they were dating by becoming musical collaborators. Beyonce appeared on Jay-Z's 2002 single, "03 Bonnie & Clyde," and he appeared on her single "Crazy In Love" the following summer.

A decade before she wowed viewers at the 2013 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Bey jammed with Carlos Santana during the Super Bowl XXXVII Pregame Show in San Diego on January 26, 2003.

Having stepped out on her own, Beyonce presents the humanitarian award to Michael Jackson at the 2003 Radio Music Awards in Las Vegas on October 27, 2003.

The singer is affectionately referred to as Queen Bey, not in the least because of her heralded work ethic, which is often put to good use on stage. Here, she performs during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in New York on August 28, 2003.

Beyonce was right back at the Super Bowl in 2004, as she performed the the national anthem to kick off Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1 of that year.

At the 46th Grammy Awards Show in February 2004, she joined Prince on stage to perform a medley of his hits. The singer left the ceremony with five Grammys in hand.

Although her solo career had taken off by 2005, Beyonce still performed with Destiny's Child that year in Sydney, Australia on the heels of their 2004 album, "Destiny Fulfilled."

After releasing another best-seller with 2006's "B'Day" and starring in "Dreamgirls" that same year, Beyoncé was readying to release a third solo album, "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" when she took the stage at the 50th Grammy Awards Show on February 10, 2008. Somehow, she snuck in a secret marriage to Jay-Z that April.

In this publicity image Beyonce Knowles is shown during the filming of her music video "Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It)."

Just months after giving birth, Beyonce was red carpet ready at the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on May 7, 2012.

In 2011, Beyonce stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards when she walked the red carpet and, with the careful placement of her hands, revealed that she was expecting. The star and husband Jay welcomed Blue Ivy in January 2012.

In this undated image released by Beyonce.com, Beyonce Knowles holds her daughter Blue Ivy in a recent family photo. A hand-written note accompanying the photos reads, "We welcome you to share our joy."

In April 2012, Bey stepped out for a stroll in New York with her daughter, 4 months old at the time.

Earlier this year, Beyonce found herself at the center a firestorm after it was revealed she used a "backup track" to sing the national anthem at the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 21.

After the inauguration dust-up, Beyonce had something to prove when she held a news conference for her Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show on January 31. After belting out "The Star-Spangled Banner," the singer paused and turned to the press and asked: "Any questions?"

Kelly Rowland, Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams reunited as Destiny's Child to perform during the Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show on February 3, in New Orleans.

In March, the singer reveled in her "Queen Bey" image with the song "Bow Down."

In early April, the singer and her husband were once again the subject of critical headlines when they took a trip to Cuba to celebrate their fifth anniversary.

In early May, Beyonce was the subject of pregnancy rumors as observers noted that her dress to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala conveniently covered her midsection. The speculation grew stronger after she had to cancel a concert due to exhaustion and dehydration. She denied that she was pregnant.

In September 2013, Jay-Z and Beyonce once again topped the Forbes list of biggest-earning celebrity couples.

Beyoncé performs "Drunk in Love" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on January 26, 2014.

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• Beyonce appears in two popular new videos; one is to encourage girls to be assertive


• The other is a suggestive music video partly about having sex in the back seat of a limo


• LZ Granderson says Beyonce's music appeals to grown-ups, but is it appropriate for girls?


• He says it would be better if she didn't mix messages for those who look up to her

Editor's note: LZ Granderson writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A senior writer for ESPN and lecturer at Northwestern University, the former Hechinger Institute fellow has had his commentary recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs.

(CNN) -- There are two Web clips featuring Beyonce that have been getting a lot of attention.

Clip No. 1 features a host of celebrities and community leaders, including Bey, involved with a movement trying to ban the use of the word "bossy" in reference to young girls. The reason being that "bossy" is often used in a derogatory way to describe girls who display leadership traits, thus discouraging them from asserting themselves.

"I'm not bossy, I'm the boss," the superstar says.

Clip No. 2 features Beyonce wearing a bedazzled thong and not much else, as she sings about ejaculate landing on her dress after performing oral sex in the back of a limo.

"I just want to be the girl you like," she pleads to her husband, Jay-Z, in the "Partition" video, the second single from her latest release, "Beyonce."

The first single, "Drunk in Love", included a line from her husband that made light of a domestic violence scene documented in the Tina Turner biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It."

Beyonce the artist is above reproach. With 17 wins, she has only one less Grammy than Aretha Franklin. She has more than 13 million Twitter followers despite only tweeting eight times. And she famously crashed iTunes by releasing a full CD without any promotion.

However, Beyonce the role model is questionable as hell.

I'm all for handcuffs, hot wax, stripper poles, whips -- whatever it is two consenting adults want to do in the privacy of their bedroom to keep the relationship fresh. But increasingly, Beyonce has chosen not to keep such things private.

Beyonce's steamy video for 'Partition'

The lyrics to "Partition" pale in comparison with some of the more graphic phrases heard on her latest CD, and many parents complained that having her sexually charged performance open this year's Grammys was inappropriate given the time of night.

I was not one of those parents, mind you.

But then again, I have a 17-year-old son, not an 11-year-old daughter.

Fox's Bill O'Reilly was mocked recently for his pseudointerview with Russell Simmons, in which instead of talking about Simmons' new book on meditation -- which the hip-hop star came on the show to do -- he ranted about "Partition."

"Teenage girls look up to Beyonce, particularly girls of color," O'Reilly said. "Why on Earth would this woman do that?"

And by "that," he means sing about having sex in the back of a limo.

"I believe an entertainer like Beyonce, and a mogul like you, have an obligation to protect children. Not put out exploitative garbage that you know harm impressionable children," he said.

Now as a fan of many genres of music, I know O'Reilly could replace Bey's name with any number of popular artists and the question would still be applicable.

For example, country artists sing about getting drunk and having sex in the back of pickups quite often. And in 2011, the National Center for Health Statistics reported teenage birth rates for 15- to-19-year-olds were highest in states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Kentucky, where country music is most popular.

So O'Reilly singling out the music of Beyonce can certainly be seen as either unfair or even a not-so-subtle attack on the White House, given Beyonce's ties to the administration.

But O'Reilly's motives aside, Beyonce does position herself as a role model for young girls.

Like the "Bossy" video encouraging young girls to be leaders.

Or the "Move Your Body" video released in conjunction with Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign directed at kids.

I doubt the first lady would be happy to see Sasha or Malia dancing to "Partition" the way Beyonce does in her music video. Not because dancing seductively or expressing sexuality through song is inherently wrong. But doing so at 15 and 12 -- while singing "I just want to be the girl you like" -- isn't ideal. Currently, Vevo is heavily promoting the video, and the song jumped from No. 97 to No. 23 on Billboard in one week.

Of course the President and first lady are excellent parents who will guide their daughters down the appropriate path.

Unfortunately, too many daughters, too many children have TVs for baby sitters.

That isn't Beyonce's cross to bear. Nor is it a cross O'Reilly should attempt to leave on her doorstep.

But it is a cross any artist who brands herself or himself as a role model for young impressionable minds needs to be aware of. Beyonce makes grown-folks music, and I love it. But if she truly wants to be kid-friendly, she should consider leaving the foreplay in the bedroom because trying to have it both ways makes parenting for some harder than it should be.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.