Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
I think a lot about Lucky.
Not just because the single from Britney SpearssOops!…
Perceptions and misconceptions complicated Britneys journey.
Her art was dismissed as sentimental pap.
Her pain was mined for content on television and in magazines.
We thought we knew her; we were only projecting.
This instantly scrambled peoples circuits as the song caught fire on charts, radio playlists, and video countdowns.
Spears was wholesome and demure with a touch of coy distance, all hallmarks of a southern Christian upbringing.
Spears handled this feat impressively well in those years.
Some thought …Baby was too sexual.
Others dismissed it as shlock.
When Im onstage, thats my time to do my thing and go there and be that.
Thecomplaints about her wardrobeand thelewdsnarkin her media coverage continued.
The conversation stayed on sex.
Was her imagetoo risque for her audience?
Were her fans beingled astray?
Was sheusing sex to mask a lack of talent?
Was sheregrettingtelling people she was a virgin?
When you didnt fit a certain mold, peer pressure set about sanding down your rough edges.
When she pushed the envelope, the invisible hand of America in its family values years pushed back.
This was unfair pressure on Carlton and Branch, too; both hit parades had fizzled out by 2004.
This fed into a cycle of dehumanization.
They were joke fodder for us.
If the tale ofthe sheltered star told in Lucky was fiction, it was a prophetic one.
Fame became a trap.
Demands were deeply conflicting.
When Britney wore tight clothing, it was too revealing, not wholesome enough.
When she became a mother, her parenting skills were called into question.
When she took time off, paparazzi gave chase.
When she was coy, she was called an airhead; when she spoke out, she drew criticism.
Its a wonder that she held it together as long as she did in this climate.
There was no peace for her in it, no happy medium she could find to appease us.
Spears herself is not free of blame for how this turned out.
It shouldnt have taken ten years to realize that the discourse had been hurtful and unhealthy.
(To be fair, the fandom was hip to this all along.
The dedicated members of theFree Britney movementcontinue to protest and picket outside hearings.
EvenCrossroadshas gotten a softer reassessment in this climate.
Women still face criticism for being comfortable in their bodies and free in their expression.
Phoebe Bridgers sparked an entire week of arguments just bybanging a guitar on a monitor during aSaturday Night Liveperformance.
Did we learn anything at all?
The market for dissecting Britney Spears remains lucrative as ever.
