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 "Noizescapes" Vol. 1 | Issue 4
When I was young, I wasn’t exactly thinking, “Oh wow, look mommy, Britney’s skirt is really short.” Instead I was singing along to “…Baby One More Time”.
The harsh reality is that the music industry takes Disney superstars, perhaps with intent and perhaps without, and creates Hollywood sex icons out of them. And for what reason? Is it because music itself cannot sell without a boob job? Or, is it because music appeals to more than just the sense of sound and is therefore required to upgrade its teen revival icons? I’d offer the option of music idols not wanting to succumb to stereotypical expectations, but reading my March/April issue of Revolver, I have come to realize that every musical genre gives into sexual appeal in one way or another.
Before I get myself into trouble, I am simply using pop icons rather than metal/rap etc. for two main reasons; first, almost everyone is aware of their history and secondly, because they exemplify my point.
Before Britney had reached the age of sixteen, her lyrics already contained sexual innuendos, and her music videos were so sexually charged that even a nymphomaniac would be offended. Britney was slowly evolving into a sex icon, no longer adhering to the wholesome virginal image that she cultivated in The Mickey Mouse Club. “There is no mistaking the titillation factor” says Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times. Britney was just old enough to get away with these pictures, but I would still consider it child pornography.
But looking beyond Britney’s childlike smile mixed with her oversexualized exterior, I have to ask: was it her choice, or the music industry's? Reading multitudes of interviews, it is really hard to tell; Britney argues that she wants to be a decent role model and argues that she does not dress provocatively. She is, however, speaking for herself or defending the music industry for what they have done (made her rich or made her a slut, you decide).
Britney has become so much of an icon that her music no longer matters. Remember her lip-syncing episode? How has it affected her musical career, or has it affected it at all? Remember her boob job? It has received just as much press as her latest CD, Circus. That being said, is her CD selling because of her image? Would it sell as much or more if she was an average B-cup? Does her musical ability have anything to do with her rise to fame?
What I find even more interesting is that she isn’t the only one to succumb to this transformation; Christina Aguilera went from clean to “dirrty”, Miley Cyrus wants to “break out and become a sexy pop star” and the list goes on. Overlooking the disturbing fact that many of these singers are idols for girls as young as four, sex has become more than ploy to make money.
I feel that rising stars do it to make themselves feel better, as if they need to surrender to the industry's stereotypes in order to succeed. I thoroughly enjoy Christina’s music but I cannot say that I liked her more innocent look (think “Genie in a Bottle” music video) in comparison to her more old and sexier look found in both her album’s Dirrty and Back to the Basics. However, for me (unless you are an attractive black haired, tattoo-ridden rocker) looks do not matter when it comes to the music I choose to like or even listen to.
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