Britney Spears: An Inappropriate Role Model
One of the most popular teenage entertainers ever is warping the minds of our youth. Appearing on television commercials, MTV videos, many magazine covers, and the radio, Britney Spears is taking control of raising today’s children. Her perfect looks and sexual appeal have mesmerized young viewers. Children and teens strive to be just like her. Although some people allow their children to idolize Britney Spears, I now see that she is an inappropriate role model for her targeted audience of five to thirteen-year-olds.
Always seen in stylish clothing, flawless skin, make-up, and perfect hair, Britney’s image is an unrealistic goal for young children between five and thirteen years of
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“The image of the 20-year-old’s faux-sexy, Barbiefied prettiness is as pervasive a presence in American homes as the Pope’s used to be in Italian ones” (Corliss sc.1).
In the eyes of the world, Britney presents herself with a divided personality. In private she appears shy and insecure, while in public she seems surprisingly fearless. When not performing, Britney worries about how she looks when she goes to the store or shopping. She spends hours on her appearance in order to satisfy others rather than herself (Perrotta 238). She is referred to as the “savviest” entertainer of her generation, portraying both lust and innocence. While on stage, she grinds, moans, and even removes clothing. But offstage she swears she’s a virgin. The two images do not coincide (Klosterman 63).
When not performing, Britney appears to be a “normal” girl. Before becoming a celebrity, she was a basketball player and churchgoing schoolgirl. Now, she claims she continues to cling to her Baptist faith, praying nightly and writing in her prayer journal (Daly sc.3). However, only by her statements would one know she is religious. It is not reflected in her music, videos, and performances (Perrotta 239). When asked about Britney’s revealing wardrobe, her mother replied, “I did not raise a promiscuous daughter. Day to day, Britney dresses like any other kid” (Tresniowski 102). Whether this is true or
The sexualization of young girls and women in society is a prevalent theme in mass media. Presently, the sexualization of females is commonly seen in various consumer items like clothes, dolls, and even in Disney movies, according to “The Sexualization of Girls Is Harmful” article. The author says that sexualization occurs when “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior; a person is held to a standard that equates physical attractiveness with being sexy; a person is sexually objectified- made into a thing for others’ sexual use; and sexuality is inappropriately imposed upon a person (AboutKidsHealth).” Furthermore, the author provides statistics on how girls are being sexualized by the products they see and use
In today’s popular culture a big topic of discussion is pop singer, Miley Cyrus. She was a former star on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana and now we have all seen her transformation from a girl to a woman. To avoid fading away like many other celebrity teen stars as they aged, Miley decided to reinvent herself as an adult musician by pushing the limits. Many people only see Miley Cyrus for her unadulterated VMA Performances and her frowned upon behavior, which most individuals don’t care to get to know. There is another side of Miley that has made a huge impact on society and has reached new levels in giving back to the community. Miley has dedicated herself to feminism, improving society’s image of women, leading the fight against LGBTQ discrimination, charity work, and using social media to expose societal issues.
This proves that half the demographics do not see the importance of sexual attraction or making themselves centre of attention while with the opposite sex. The girls that I surveyed were older teenagers between the ages of seventeen and eighteen, and these people were all for Lily Allen’s campaign for slamming the sexualised music videos. This shows that the older girls realise, the ideology of being ‘perfect’ does not exist, and these women shown in these videos are not ‘realistic”.
In Cinderella Ate My Daughter Peggy Orenstein examines the triumphs and pitfalls navigating raising a daughter, in today’s mixed message world. From peer pressure and the need to fit in today’s society, young females have commercialism forced at them at every turn and in very clever ways. Doll creators have been pushing the boundaries of good taste with each new season launch. When the more “mature” actresses at the age of 17 feel the need to do something drastic to remove them from the wholesome image created for by company executives, mothers and consumers feel betrayed, and yet then we need to have a dialog with our kids as to why just last month Miley Cyrus was wonderful but now she is not okay for the viewing household.
For nearly twenty years, Beyoncé has lived her life in the public eye yet she has always kept her cool, been submissive, and rather quiet when it came to her personal endeavors however after releasing the film “Lemonade”, we are able to see her in a vulnerable light. In Jeremy Helliger’s article: “Dear Beyhive: Stop Whining. Beyoncé Still Hasn’t Earned Her Album Of The Year Grammy” he addresses the idea that although Beyoncé was able to encourage black women to be proud and free, she also she missed the mark by adding raunchy, over the top content to her vulnerability.
The Sociocultural Perspective explains Britney Spears’s case because she grew up in a bad home environment. Spears grew up with an alcoholic and verbally abusive father (Surge, 2016). This event led to her picking up the same bad habits of her father, and become an alcoholic. Instead of the rage, she just lost herself. It is hard to imagine being in that position. Everyone’s eyes always on everyone else’s, their every move being monitored, making sure they do not say anything irreversible. Due to her manager, the paparazzi were always around her. At the time, her manager would leak her location to the paparazzi, knowing that she was having a
Taylor Swift, a pop icon and polarizing figure, is often known for her empowering music, feminist attitude, and meaningful lyrics. Many of her fans praise the feminist messages some of her songs deliver, however others say she comes from a position of privilege and only advocates for white women. Still, a common perception of Swift is that she has evolved from an innocent country singer into a more controversial and sometimes provocative pop singer. What is ignored though, is that despite this perception, themes depicted in “old” Taylor’s music still displayed highly problematic concepts about gender, just in less obvious ways. Particularly in her music video for “You Belong With Me,” the audience if presented with a fulfilling love story involving a nerdy girl getting the popular. On its surface, this concept may seem normal, but the narrative of this video unintentionally conveys significant gender issues in today’s society. Thus, through her 2008 music video for “You Belong With Me,” Taylor Swift ironically presents herself as the ideal nerdy girl next door who gets the guy when she suddenly turns beautiful while demonizing a cheerleader, revealing problematic notions of how women are supposed to look and behave in society, as well as reinforcing negative female stereotypes.
Angelina Jolie psychoanalyzed: unauthorized psychological diagnosis of her secret life by Dr. Paul Dawson. Separating the words, activities, and mystery life of Hollywood 's most strange, confounding genius enchantress. Angelina Jolie said: "Treatment? She needn 't bother with treatment. The parts that she picks are my therapy Because she is an excellent young lady, individuals naturally think she is dependable a poor girl. Then again that she conveys a dark mystery with me or that she fixated on death. On the off chance that she contemplates demise than some other individuals, it is presumably because she cherishes life more than they do." For somebody who cases to love life then clarify, Angelina, your self-mutilation, or your anorexia nervosa, or you 're tumbling into a progression of tacky affection sex issues, androgynous experiences, drug misuse, or your vampire-like interest with blood and passing. Needn 't bother with treatment? You might be the world 's most well-known film star, Angelina, however, shouldn 't something be said about every one of those mysteries you 've been
Through Miley Cyrus’s years on her hit sitcom her brand identity and start text were made. Her original star text was known a young sweet innocent teenage girl that believed in love. As Miley and her audience matured she began to revolutionize her image by creating herself a new star text that was the polar opposite of her previous. Her new star text was completely self and media driven. Now her current start text identifies with heartbreak, drugs, activism and nonconformity. The extreme change of start text shocked and dismayed individuals. Many social media users and celebrity journalist wrote the transformation of, implying it as a lost girl in her twenties making mistakes she will eventually regret. Despite the negative comments she has embraced her star text using it for free publicity and media attention. Miley Cyrus purposefully modified her star text in order to make it in the music industry, she targeted a new market and generation using her controversial change, boosting her self-success, making her one of the greatest known evolved celebrities to a mass media level.
As Miley Cyrus’s audience matured, she purposefully changed her image by creating a new star text that was the polar opposite of her previous. A star text is everything that we associate with a start, including their promotion and body of work. Her hit sitcom Hannah Montana built her previous brand identity that connected with her audience of adolescent children. Miley’s original image was known for being a sweet and innocent teenage girl. Now her current start text identifies with heartbreak, drugs, activism and nonconformity. The extreme change of start text shocked and dismayed individuals. Many social media users and celebrity journalist wrote the transformation off implying it as a lost girl in her twenties making slipups she will eventually regret. Despite the negative comments, Miley has embraced her star text using it for free publicity and media attention. Despite Miley Cyrus’s claims that her controversial change was not for reward or fame. Her old star text became mundane to mainstream media and her maturing audience, compelling her to reinvent her star text in order to continue being famous and successful in the music industry.
Britney Spears' prevalence as a pre-teen pop culture icon cannot be denied or ignored. Spears, along with her colleagues Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore and many others, are ever present on the "Top 40," make frequent appearances on MTV, and can often be found on magazine covers and in photo spreads. Spears is especially popular among pre-teen girls, who buy her records, singing and dancing along to the lyrics. These lyrics often deal with love, lust, and sex-topics some consider too mature for the young girls targeted by Spears' marketing. Young women today are maturing at increasingly earlier ages, and the sexual messages in Spears' songs may simply be satisfying an existing demand for these types of songs.
I have selected Britney Spears as my subject for the reason that I realize that she has been through so much in her life and has a tendency to convey her emotions radically and live life on the edge most of the times. Moreover, I find it simply fascinating to scrutinize Britney Spears’ personality by means of the Psychoanalysis so as to offer deeper comprehension in investigating her personality. Even though this process of personality analysis is hardly ever employed today due to a deficiency of empirical verification and a disappointment to deal with any adulthood impact on personality, the approach’s stress on childhood development is a long way from without foundation. It permits for a fascinating and vibrant examination of
From wearing cupcake bra outfits to performing in a lavish swimsuit, Katy Perry has demonstrated how women in the music industry use sex appeal to captivate their audience. In today’s society, it isn’t uncommon to see female artists in revealing, flashy outfits surrounded by flashing lights and steam. Artists such as Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj have certainly made news headlines for their audacious performances. In many cases, artists are presenting false images to their fans as an investment for future sales. Female artists continue to be sexually objectified by their audience, which increase their viewership, which leads to record labels pressuring artists to keep a sexy image.
In most commercial advertisements on television, women show more skin than men. Commercials use women to sell sex because it attracts more attention than men showing their bodies. For instance, Britney Spears, a singer whom many teenagers admire, appeared in a music commercial for Z100, the number one radio station in New York. Z100 promotes commercially hot music in modes such as pop, rock, and R&B. In Z100’s new commercial, Britney Spears is wearing a beige outfit consisting of a tight tube top and small shorts that accent her chest and buttocks. After talking for a moment, she starts dancing with her back facing the camera. Viewers are visually drawn to the shape of her body. As spokesperson for Z100, Britney Spears is being used as a marketing tool to attract men and increase ratings. Z100 could have had a popular male in its commercial. Instead the company’s executives chose a popular woman known for her hourglass figure because men prefer to look at young, shapely, nubile women.
For example, the pop sensation, Britney Spears, was arrested five times in 2006 for driving while intoxicated. Britney Spears is one of 156 celebrities that are arrested per year for the same charges. If a child observes these crimes enacted by the celebrities, the actions demonstrate activities that can lead to jail time and deeply affect their future. In conclusion, a boy or girl should not look up to celebrities for their immoral and scandalous enterprises.