Britney Spears does whatever the hell she wants Instagram. After all, she can now that she has been released from the 13-year care that kept her every move locked up. Over the past week, the pop legend has used his social media platform with 41 million subscribers to share photos of himself completely naked. In the publications, the singer is naked in her house, experimenting with filters provided by Instagram, which we stopped using 7 years ago. In some photos, she wraps her arms around her breasts, covers her emoji genitals or holds her new dog in front of intimate parts. But why is she publishing these nude figures? Who are these photos for? And why does everyone seem to have such strong thoughts about them? True answer: 1. Who cares. And 2. It’s not even about that.
“Do these pictures harm anyone? They do us no harm. They do not harm her. Why should we think something? ” Tells Nelson Saavedra, chief administrator of the FreeBritney subcredit Rolling Stone. “Let this woman figure it out. Let her just be the face. She will not be perfect. Most of the time when we saw Britney Spears, we didn’t let her be human. Whenever she’s human, it’s a problem. ”
More than commenting on nudity online – which, frankly, didn’t seem like a problem for other celebrities (think Kim Kardashian) – messages under Spears ’messages claiming they’re concerned about her mental health or“ what will her kids say? ”Are often subtly veiled attacks by misogynists from people who, frankly, don’t want to see a woman comfortable with sharing photos of her body.
“It’s obviously not working well,” wrote one user. “Anyone else here worried?” wrote another. “Honestly, some photos need to be kept with you. You don’t need to share with everyone, ”the third wrote. Like, just say: you hate women who feel their sexuality and have complete autonomy over their body. Britney Spears is just their easiest target.
«There’s something very sinister about the way mental health has been co-opted by people who don’t really care about mental health, “said Matt Bernstein, a digital content creator who shares comments on queer identity. Rolling Stone. «It’s just so threatening and reprehensible. You don’t know her. She is a 40 year old woman. You infantilize her. And you condemn her. “
For the future, Spears is a woman who recently gained control of her life after being released. 13 years of conservatism that completely took over what the singer did. Now this #FreeBritney is #FreedBritney, why such a focus on wanting to control what she does again? Isn’t this what people fought against in the first place?
For Bernstein, the comments also say more about “American insecurity in sexuality” than about Spears, her nakedness, or her mental health. «She is really exploring and experiencing freedom on social media for the first time. If you and I – or anyone who comments on these threatening and condemning things in her Instagram posts – went back to our first posts, we would all shrink so much because the things we posted in 2008 are probably were very cool at the time, “says Bernstein.” Her life, body, work and communication were monitored for many years until we had to figure it out. I think she deserves grace. And she doesn’t get it. “
I swear people forget that Britney has been in jail on her father’s plan for the last 13 years. she missed the years when we were all horrible on instagram and used these sticky filters in the app. she feels. let it be pic.twitter.com/KWAMAQ3bri
– Matt (@mattxiv) May 9, 2022
Double standards also became crystal clear this week. When Spears’ comment section was filled with hateful messages, Spears contemporary Hillary Duff posed on the cover Women’s health completely naked. The reaction to Duff’s photo was vastly different as fans and celebrities celebrated it Lizzie McGuire actress for her body positivity.
“If one person can do it with a big magazine, then another person can do it in private on their social networks. I mean, it is there is her social media account, ”said Raven Kunz, BritLawArmy’s legal counsel, who briefed Spears on developments at her court hearings. “If Hillary Duff can pose naked for body positivity, they’re not saying she’s doing it because of a mental health problem. Honestly, it’s unfair. “
For Bernstein, comparing Duff’s editorial shot and Spears ’home photos is not easy. He believes that women will get a wave for controlling their sexuality and body.
“Stop protecting women’s bodies …”
“… except for Britney Spears!” pic.twitter.com/k2kdBU6HqK
– ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ 4.0 🙄 (@heyitscoreyyy) May 10, 2022
“The reaction would have been significantly different if [Duff] took a photo of herself naked in her mirror, at home, on her iPhone and published it, ”says Bernstein. “I think people will say, ‘Hillary Duff, what are you doing?’ And the big reason why Britney gets so many kickbacks – in addition to the fact that she’s Britney and people feel comfortable condemning her for her past legacy – is that I think people feel very uncomfortable. when women become architects of how their bodies are viewed ”.
In other words, society seems to accept that if a group of people (in Duff’s case, photographers of a major magazine) say it’s okay, if someone poses the way Duff did, then it’s okay for us society to consume it and enjoy it. However, «When Britney says, “I control my naked body. I am a 40-year-old woman who can show you what my naked body looks like the way I want you to see it. ” People say, “There’s probably something wrong with her. Why is she showing us this? “- says Bernstein. “What was so great was the concern when the photographers did the same to her without her consent.” (Remember when the paparazzi photographed Spears under their skirts and sold it for thousands of dollars?)
For Saavedra, who has used Reddit as a way to share information about Spears’ preservation over the past few years, publishing nude images of Spears is most of all a “way to regain her power” after she lost control of her life for so long. «It’s a way for her to relive a lot of those feelings. And instead of condemning, I think it’s important for people to look at it and say, “She’s finishing something.” And this is normal, ”Saavedra says.
Regardless of the negative comments, Spears will still have a core set of supporters who will support what she does no matter what. «Millions of people love her and understand that her freedom means the freedom to be who she wants to be: whether to go and start recording an album next week, or sit still for a while and continue to be photographed naked. That is her prerogative, ”Bernstein said. “No pun.”
