She is an adolescent boy’s wet dream and a feminist’s nightmare. Britney Spears has a fan base of millions around the globe, the majority of whom are girls under the age of 12. Admittedly, this 19-year-old pop priestess is just another pretty face in a music industry full of talentless Barbie-doll carbon copies, where image is held in higher regard than actual talent. But her fans have been following this virgin-cum-naughty-sex-kitten since she was in pigtails and coveralls.
Spears is bumping and grinding on dangerous ground, contradicting everything she says she stands for, including the sanctity of abstinence and a wholesome Christian lifestyle. As a role model, she should realize the implications of her actions on children instead of compromising her integrity as a woman by becoming the convoluted ideal of womanhood for our patriarchal society.
So how does a former Mickey Mouse Club regular transform herself from the girl next door to sex fiend á la Madonna circa 1992? Spears has been criticized for her sexpot persona and penchant for bikini-clad gyration in front of audiences of pre-pubescent girls. Although many pop stars of this new MTV generation are just as guilty of selling sex instead of music, Spears represents an entire classification of white, middle-class American girls who have no recourse in our consumer-bound society but to rely on sex appeal to be considered somebody.
This message is as confusing as it is potentially dangerous for the psyches of the young girls and boys who adore the pop star. When Spears begins undressing on stage, she’s telling little girls that success, respect and female empowerment are equated to bare skin. Similarly, she is telling them they don’t have to understand the ramifications and values of virginity or abstinence to start stripping. Little boys understand that females like to take off their clothes under the guise of liberation.
However, how liberating is it to simply become a poster girl of a male-dominated music industry while fulfilling the sexual fantasies of the likes of men like Bob Dole, as demonstrated in her infamous Pepsi Superbowl ad?
Spears has cited Madonna as one of her biggest influences. However, Spears’ newfound sexuality is different than the material girl’s success-with-a-sexy-image because it’s fake. Before Madonna became a mommy, a wife and a wannabe Briton, she was out to prove that she was in control of her sexuality as an independent woman and free from the constraints of a male-dominated society. Spears is doing the opposite by submitting to market demands and pretending she has sexual prowess when she has publicly chosen to abstain from intercourse.
These ideals of women as sexual objects have always existed, but their reiteration upon future generations is both backward and sexist. Although it is up to the parents of Spears’ fans to invest their own values into their children, we should realize that childrearing is now a job taken over by MTV. Just because these psychologically harmful stereotypes of women have always been the norm doesn’t justify continuing to instill them in a modern society.
Julie Lauderbaugh is the editorial editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald. She can be reached
at [email protected].