Friday, May 17, 2013

Britney Spears and Sexual Promiscuity

Are Britney Spears fans sexually promiscuous? Does Britney's music (and accompanying videos) or her overall image cause sexual promiscuity? Are her fans more sexually promiscuous than fans of, say, Adele or Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez?
There's no doubt that from a young age Britney has been portrayed as something to be desired, lusted after, objectified, and fantasized about. The media called her a Lolita - an underage girl who attracts the attention of grown men (named after the book of the same name about a grown man who begins a sexual relationship with a 12-year old girl). Even though Britney was 16 when "Baby One More Time" came out, she still fit the definition of an underage girl; and we, the general public, began our sexual relationship with her then.
There's little doubt that Britney has inspired sexual thoughts in almost all (straight) men at some point in her 15-year career (and some gay men, too, more than likely). From her school-girl outfit in her "Baby One More Time" video to the red catsuit in her "Oops I Did It Again" video to baring her midriff in her "I'm a Slave 4 U" video, Britney has always tapped into the male fantasy.
From the female perspective, while they may have never sexualized Britney as the men did (and still do), judging by the outfits worn at Britney concerts over the years, they clearly took notes of what Britney wore and how she was portrayed. And they attempted to be seen the same way. You couldn't go to a Britney concert and not see teenage girls (and some even younger) dressed in school-girl outfits or baring their midriff (with belly-piercing intact). Imagine being the father of a young girl and beside being concerned about how Britney dressed, you now have to walk past thousands of Lolitas showing way too much skin.
Over the years, Britney has been the stuff of fantasy: dancing around in tiny, little outfits, shaking her ass for prying eyes, and appearing on the cover of magazines wearing next to nothing (or not wearing anything at all). Obviously, Britney inspires sexual thoughts (ironically, Britney claimed to be a virgin as she inspired many dirty thoughts in the minds of young boys (and grown men)).
Even if she wasn't having sex, she was clearly putting those thoughts out there. In fact, Britney ushered in a whole new era of dirty old men. These weren't just fathers, either. Many men above the age of 40, with or without kids, lusted after her (in another ironic twist, her innocence and squeaky clean image caused most of the dirty thoughts. Even when she dirtied it up with the "I'm a Slave 4 U" single and video people still saw her as pure. It wasn't until her marriage to Kevin Federline and subsequent divorce that her purity went out the window in the eyes of the general public (as did the fantasy most men harbored for her)).
With all those sexual thoughts in the air, floating around, it's only a matter of time until they manifest into the actual act of sex. When young girls walk around half-naked in high heels, it can only be assumed they're doing more than showing it off. While Britney may have never told people explicitly to have sex (her songs always tease the idea of sex, but never actually talk about doing it), she clearly influenced her female fans to dress that way (and her male fans to have sexual desires). Combine the two (women dressed like they "want it" and men who are more than eager to give it to them) and you have a recipe for copious amounts of sex. Therefore, it's only natural to assume Britney fans are sexually promiscuous.
Of course, the media hated Britney for it. They claimed she compelled young girls to dress provocatively. Those same girls, however, would likely claim that Britney empowered them to be bold and not care what people thought.
The media also claimed she intentionally sexed it up to inspire a reaction in grown men, one they weren't supposed to have about a 16-, 17-, 18-year old girl. Truthfully, the media put a lot of the blame on the shoulders of her managers, saying they took advantage of Britney.
Today, the media's opinion of Britney has less to do with how she influences young girls or what thoughts she inspires in grown men since she's no longer a Lolita nor a major influence on teenage and pre-teenage girls. They're more concerned with whether she's a train wreck or not.
However you look at it, Britney continues to induce a sexual reaction from men (though less since she lost her purity to the general public). Even though her fans are older (and subsequently less apt to take style cues from Britney), her concerts are still packed with barred midriffs and belly-piercings proving that Britney's influence is never-ending.

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