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What Would Beavis and Charles Say About Britney Spears http://www.hotgamesforgirls.com/britney-spears-sexy-dress-up.html "Games are not just played, they are talked about, read about, "cheated", fantasised about, altered and become **models for every day life.**" Another idea is, "participation in digital technologies portends the possibilities of alternative ways of constructing identities." This is scary because every game on this website is "let us kiss" "knock em dead dress up" or the Britney Spears game is dress Britney "sexy". No, it's not just dress up Britney Spears they have to add "sexy" in it. If games are models for everyday life then these games that are addressed for girls are sending the wrong message. Honestly, I was disgusted when I found this website. By dressing Britney as "sexy" young girls who idolize her are going to think that they need to dress "sexy" as well, and that's not how it should be. This follows patriarchy as well. Why do woman feel as though they should have to dress sexy? Normally it's to impress males, male dominance. If the ideas in this article hold true about video games constructing ways of identities then this Britney game in constructing an identity that I wouldn't one a future child of mine to engage in. Another Britney Spears game is "Britney's Dance Beat." This is a one or two player video game in which players audition to tour as Britney's dancers. The songs the game contains are "Baby One More Time," "Oops I did it Again," "Stronger," "Overprotected," and "I'm a Slave For You." The if you win the audition you get a "backstage" pass which unlocks backstage video footage of Briney. [] This article also suggests the idea that most computer games are geared toward the male gender and that many girls aren't interested in most computer games. I'm starting to disagree with this statement because of more and more websites such as the one above that are mainly aimed at girls.

“Games Black Girls Play” [] [] “A whole world of communication exists beyond the analysis and interpretation of song lyrics or people’s words, a world that resists verbal language, a world signified instead through the interpretive and dramatic realms of rhythm, gesture, and movement.” This kind of communication is entitled “kinetic orality.” Britney Spears is not only a singing artist but a dancer as well. She uses this idea of kinetic orality in every performance and music video. This article also expressed how African Americans use music as a form of self expression and to send a message. In Britney’s video for 3 she does just that. The song is highly sexualized as itself (being about a threesome) and then her dance moves are highly sexualized as well. I noticed that she actually uses a lot of hip-hop techniques in her dance. She has a lot of arm movements and when the girls are dancing on the horizontal pole they “get down” with pelvic thrusts etc. Something I found interesting was that in this video Britney is the only Caucasian female while the other girls are of Hispanic or African background. Her male dancers also consisted of a handful of African Americans dancing to hip-hop. This shows how the African American culture of dance has had an influence on Caucasian dance. Or as quoted from the article, “music lags behind other arts; it picks up idea from other media.” Also they’re style of music has made its way into the Caucasian culture as well. The first link is a hip-hop instruction class for Britney’s song “If You Seek Amy” and the second link is Britney’s hip-hop remix of womanizer. This article also made note of gender differences in music and in dance. This was called the “new musicology” which identifies gender, sexuality, and social power as key forces in music making. Britney, like most female artists often has very sexualized dance moves. Also, the men in her videos are often dancing more masculine. This is seen throughout nearly every music video or musical performance though. Even male artists always have a female in their videos or in their performance that has a sexualized dance.

What Would Hager Say About Britney Spears Although not directly linked to the powder puff girls I found pieces and quotes in this article that related to Britney Spears. One of these is “the only way for girls to achieve power is by using one’s sexuality and looks.” In Britney Spears’s video for Toxic she does just that. It all relates back to the fundamental idea we’ve been learning all year; Beauty is Power. In this video Britney seduces the villain. Britney also has a poison in this video which can relate to the “Chemical X” that created the super powers with the Powder Puff girls. I think another aspect of this music video relatable to the Powder Puff girls is that Britney seems all innocent at first, just like Powder Puff girls and then they switch to a sort of “super hero.” Just as the Powder Puff girls go from little girls to super hero’s Britney goes from a flight attendant to an agent. Something else I found interesting was that, like the Powder Puff girls, Britney also has different personalities almost in the video. First she is portrayed as the Blonde haired flight attendant wearing a blue dress, just like Bubbles. Both are known as the more “sweet” and innocent ones. When Britney has red hair while riding the bike she’s portrayed as the kind of “go getter.” I think this is much like Blossom, whom also has red hair. Blossom is often the “parent” to Bubbles and Buttercup. Buttercup, the dark haired one is known to be more vindictive and mean. I think Britney portrays this during her dark haired stage in the video because it is when she has this color hair that she poisons her boyfriend who she has found out cheated on her. I think Britney would also be portrayed as a “diva citizen” in this video because of how she goes from being an average, everyday flight attendant to an agent.



What Would Sherrie Inness Say about Britney Barbies? Inness asks the question if Barbie/doll products promote empowering images of girls or if the products convey more socially conservative messages. I believe the Britney Barbie conveys nothing but patriarchy. Britney was 17 when “Baby One More Time” came out. In the video and as a Barbie she’s dressed as the “naughty school girl.” An outfit that in my opinion is too mature for her age. I also think the message is sending the wrong message to young girls. The Barbie that kids are playing with is wearing a mini skirt and a belly shirt tie up, isn’t that just a bit on the skanky side? Another quote from the article is “each teaches a different message about how men and women should act. Their accessories reflect the different expectations for each gender: GI Joe touts a rifle, Barbie nothing more lethal than a curling iron.” With this Barbie Britney is often carrying a microphone, makes sense since she’s a singer. But what’s really important is how she dresses and the message it sends across to the kids playing with her. Every Barbie I’ve seen of Britney is her wearing a belly shirt. The age group of girls playing with Barbie’s are usually younger, often times the oldest people play with Barbie’s are around age 11. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want a future child of mine to think it’s socially acceptable to wear belly shirts just because her Barbie does. Also no Britney Barbie sends a “good message” to girls. Britney is never portrayed as a woman of power in Barbie form. She’s just known as the “sexy” one and that’s supposed to be enough.



What Would Parson’s Say about Britney Spears.
 * "Cinderella" **

I used to be your girlfriend and I know I did it well Oh yes you know its true You'd call me Cinderella All you had to do was yell And I'd be there for you

Here I am So try to forgive me I don't believe in fairy tales Here we are with nothing but honesty I've had enough I'm not gonna stay

I'm sorry for running away like this And I'm sorry I've already made my wish Oh, But Cinderellas got to go

From time to time I'd try to tell just what was on my mind. You'd tell me not today. Come back, do that. Wheres, Cinderella at... Was all you had to say

Here I am, so try to forgive me I don't believe in fairy tales here we are with nothing but honesty i've had..enough...i'm not gonna stay

I'm sorry for running away like this 'n i'm sorry i've already made my wish. Ah, but cinderella's got to go

i'm sorry just tryin' to live my life don't worry, you're gonna be alright but cinderellas got to go.

//[spoken]//

I used to say I want you, you cast me in your spell. I did everything you wanted me to, but now i shall.. break free from all your lies. I won't be blind you see, my love it can't be sacrificed, i won't return to thee.

//[sung]// I'm so sorry, i've already made up my mind

//[spoken]// I won't return to thee

//[sung]// I'm sorry to say, i'm runnin' away now... don't worry, you will be alright

i'm runnin' away, i've made up my mind now.. your gonna have to let me go

I'm sorry for runnin' away like this, and I'm sorry I've already made my wish Oh, but cinderella's got to go I'm sorry, just tryin' to live my life, don't worry, your going to be alright! but cinderella's got to go. Above are the song lyrics to Britney Spears’s “Cinderella.” I think her lyrics agree heavily with the points Parson’s was identifying. “I used to be your girlfriend, and I know I did it well. You’d call me Cinderella all you had to do is yell” In Cinderella the movie, the stepdaughters and stepmother are constantly yelling at Cinderella for her to do things for them, does this mean that Britney did the same for this guy? I think this lyrics relates to the point of “the princess typically suffers before being rewarded and needs to be “chosen” by a man. Would this man still want her if she didn’t do everything for him? “I used to say I want you, you cast me in your spell. I did everything you wanted me to, but now i shall.. break free from all your lies. I won't be blind you see, my love it can't be sacrificed, i won't return to thee.’ These lyrics are another example of how fairytales depict that the princess should do everything for her prince because he “saved” her. Although this song goes with patriarchy it also defies it too. She’s singing about how she has made up her mind and made the choice to not stay with this “prince.” It’s showing her, the princess, or Cinderella, taking control and making the choice of who she was going to be with. This song though, like most fairytales is depicting gender roles. From my perspective, after reading the lyrics, I kind of got the idea that if you want to keep your man you need to be at his service and do everything for him. But as this song shows, eventually people get sick of this and when she stops doing everything for him, she leaves and the relationship stops.

"Pretty In Pink: What Girls Wear Some of the main point in this article were “girls are dressed in pink and frills” and “rhinestones.” She also writes that girls need to feel their bodies as “strong, active subjects moving out to meet the world’s risks.” Britney Spears’s clothing choice is a good example for these points. For example, in the pictures above you see her wearing rhinestones and pink. Other examples of these are in her videos. [] In this video one of Britney’s most scandalous outfits is when she is naked having just rhinestones covering her body. Another part of this article mentions how “red is not coded sweet and soft but bold and assertive; not delicate and pretty but strong and assertive. As you notice in the Toxic video she has red hair and a red coat when she’s the femme fatale, being exactly what the article says, strong, bold and assertive. Another example of Britney using the color red as a message to be strong and assertive is in her music video for Womanizer, often times I’ve noticed when Britney is taking control her hair color is red. Another main idea from this article is the idea that the clothing you choose is a status symbol. This is also seen in Britney’s Womanizer video. There’s a scene where she’s working in an office and instead of wearing her usual skimpy outfits she’s wearing glasses, a longer skirt, and button top to bring out the idea of professionalism. One more main point includes the idea that clothing is highly gendered and feminized. Britney Spears wears highly feminized clothing. Often times she’s sporting something “sexy” (I prefer the word trashy but...) such as a low V neck and belly shirts. [] In her video for womanizer she also has a gothic look. As shown she has dark red hair and is wearing all black. In this article the authors often describe the “gothic” look as a sign or resistance or rebellion. I disagree with this because I think gothic clothing has the same patriarchal characteristics as any other kind of clothing. Her shirt, although black is a belly shirt and it has a very low v neck. Also, her pants are skin tight. Don’t these ideas follow patriarchy?

"Sanitizing Puberty and Britney Spears" [] Above is a link to Britney Spears's music video for "Not a girl, not yet a woman." Although not about menstraution, the song is about growing up, which as we learned in the article used to be a part of menstraution, but not anymore. Another interesting article I have found relating to the article read in class is- =PMS Experts Reach Out To Help Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton=

"San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 5, 2007 -- Over 50 million women battle PMS every month. Now, the co-authors of the bestselling book The Princess and the PMS and the medical experts at PMScentral.com are reaching out to female celebrities famous for their tabloid-worthy bad behavior. With trips to rehab, DUIs and questionable judgment becoming more frequent among young stars, the PMS team has contacted the publicists of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and others to offer PMS counseling. "Of course, not all behavior problems can be chalked up to PMS, but hormonal changes do influence emotional and physical reactions. It's possible that female celebrities who are 'acting out' may be suffering from untreated PMS," says Elizabeth Goodman, co-author of The Princess and the PMS. "PMS can exacerbate underlying emotional issues and certainly affects how women react to alcohol and other substances. There is help for these young women, for all women." The Princess and the PMS addresses the symptoms of PMS, with particular emphasis on the emotional toll the syndrome takes. With symptoms as varied as binge eating, irritability, physical pain and emotional outbursts, PMS worsens under stress. For young celebrities, the stress of public scrutiny could be magnifying the same struggles faced by millions of ordinary women with PMS. "With specific lifestyle changes plus counseling and supplements, even difficult cases of PMS can be managed," says Dr. Hyla Cass. "However, if women aren't proactive, their PMS won't magically disappear. There's no cure, but books like The Princess and the PMS offer take-charge strategies to overcome the symptoms for most women." Written by a bestselling team of comedy writers and medical, nutritional and alternative medicine specialists (including president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine and author of Food for Life Neal Barnard, M.D. and Integrative Medicine specialist, psychiatrist and author Hyla Cass, M.D.), The Princess and the PMS offers a lighthearted but medically sound approach to beating PMS. The "just-between-us-girlfriends" humor is coupled with invaluable medical advice on symptom-reducing diet, exercise, supplements, healthy coping mechanisms, stress reduction, alternative healing strategies, relationship guidance, and much more. The men's side of the book, The Prince and the PMS, appeals to shorter attention spans and features cartoons, survival strategies and bottom-line "guydance" on how to love their premenstrual princesses back to health. The Princess and the PMS / The Prince and the PMS, from Quantum Leaves Publishing, is available at all major book retailers. The book is also available from PMS Central, a Web portal for women featuring PMS-related information and coping tools, and from PMS Red Flag, a site for men that includes a customizable email PMS Alert System."

This very article mentions the idea of "beating PMS." We discussed this for awhile in class. Every add we looked at portrayed the message of taking control over your period. The title of this also relates, "PMS experts reach out." In the article we read for class it states "many families relied on health and hygiene guides to teach their daughters what they could not say out loud." Perhaps Britney's mother conversated with her about the menstraul cycle or perhaps she didn't, we'll never know. But either way a doctor wants to talk to her. But as stated in this article the talk will not be about maturity or a step into motherhood-I'm sure Britney understands these facts seeings how she has two children. But instead this article proved everything that the article we read in class said. They're more worried about the side effects of menstraution then teaching girls about the maturation process when reaching your menstration cycle. The article also mentions consumerism and how menstration plays a big part in it. Think about it, every month you must go out and buy the pads or tampons to keep yourself "clean" during that time. We looked at adds that had people such as Serena Williams, but Britney is also in advertising. I believe if she were to advertise for a pad or tampon company the company would have a lot more girls switching over just because of how huge of a popular artifact Britney is. Here are some random videos I have found relatling to the article.   

"Teena Means Business"

The article states, "Seventeen magazine was instrumental in developing the image of the teenage girl as a consumer of the magazines and products advertised within its covers, but also as a member of society." In most seventeen articles Britney Spears is found promoting the clothing line "Candies."In the past we've also seen Britney advertise for Pepsi. More recent adds include Britney's fragrances, they are entitled Curious, Fantasy, Curious:In Control, Midnight Fantasy, and Believe. Britney's sex appeal is used as an advertising object. People buy her fragrances, not because they smell good but because 'Britney Spears' made it. This article also brought up "teen culture." In my opinion, since Britney's first album release she is a huge part of teen culture. I know I owned every cd, watched her movie CrossRoads, and I'll admit, I may have invested in a fragrance or so. Another aspect of this article that I thought related to Britney is when they mentioned, "they're growing older, younger." But why is that? I believe it's because of our role models such as Britney. For instance, her candies add shown above has her in a swimsuit with high heels. Candies clothing is aimed for a younger group of girls, so why is there someone half naked promoting it??? Everyone has that one famous person when they're younger that they look up to and want to be. And when you see this person in sexualized advertisements you think it's okay to be ten and dress like your 22. Society has made it socially acceptable for young girls to cover their faces with make-up, wear mini skirts, and show cleavage. It's sad really.

What Would Allen Johnson say about Britney Spears?

I think every part of Britney Spears's persona reflects patriarchy. Patriarchy is described as an obsession with control and deals the the unfair treatment of men vs. women. Parts of patriarchy include male dominance, male identity, and male centeredness. I believe Britney Spears is male dominated because she's constantsly surronded by a team of male body guards. This shows dominance over Britney because these bodyguards are her safe zone, she depends on them for comfort and protection. This also promotes the idea that men are superior to women and it creates the idea that every woman needs a man to protect herself. Britney is definetly male identified. One section of this article reads, "Women are often prized for their beauty as objects of male sexual desire." Britney Spears is all for "sex sells." Every video she has she's dancing in a minimal clothing outfit and being provacative. She also has songs such as "I'm A Slave For You" and "Showdown." Both of these songs make Britney sound very permiscuous and therefore desirable to men. Would she be as far in the world today as she is if she didn't have a pretty face? Britney's outfits, clothing, and ultimate on stage personality is all male centerdness. Britney was made to be a sex icon. Every outfit she has on and every dance she does is all in hopes of proving to be desirable to men.

What would Rozario say about Britney Spears? The article written by Rozario brings up a new term, the femme fatale. This means the fatal female. The fatal female is usually attractive, and uses her beauty to prey on her victims. I connected femme fatale with Britney's Toxi video. In the video Britney is an attractive stewardess on an airplane, her dress draws all focus to her chest as it has pieces missing in that area. She then proceeds throughout the video to seduce a passenger on the airplane who actually turns out to be an attractive agent and steals a pass from his packet. In the next scene Britney is on a motorcycle through "Toxic Industries" and gains entry to a vault by using the card she had stolen from the man on the airplane. She then gets a vile of green poison and triggers a laser while dancing, this gives her the super hero persona. The video ends with her getting into her cheating ex-boyfriends house and poisoning him, but not before a kiss. This also reminds us that "beauty is power." If Britney and other femme fatales weren't beautiful than they can't seduce their victims.