Well, arent I just the luckiest thing! I managed to wangle two tickets for Britters at the O2 for just £6 each, the booking fee essentially. I immediately informed the Bestie about this and set about getting very excited / updating the FB statuses to reflect the importance of this event, etc. Having been a big fan for a long time, not so much of the music, though excellent pop music is a love of mine, but of Britney the Brand. The Identity. The Carwreck.
Having spent the 18 months during her infamous breakdown keeping a close eye on Brit, it was very exciting that we would finally be able to see her in the flesh. This post isn’t really about how awesome Britney was, or her miming, or her lacklustre dancing, so I'll summarise that and move on quickly. Its really about what her stage show represents for young women, and young people as a whole.
*BRIEF SUMMARY IF YOU CARE*
Britney looked pretty bloody good on stage. Any remarks pertaining to her weight would be unfair, but basically she looked fit and healthy. Her extensions leave something to be desired but I suppose if a blonde bombshell popstar shaves it all off, what else is there to do but stick it back on again? Her dancing was in time and looked ok, but there was no passion there at all. She was going through the motions for much of it, highlighted only by the almost apoplectic enthusiasm of her backing dancers. Overall, a good pantomime spectacle.
A bit more passion and some live vocals other than the one ballad would have made mediocre in to magnificent. But still, the irrational and undying love I have for the Spears means I still loved it.
*MOVING ON*
How are we to expect young people to be confident and sexually accepting if we present to them such a 2D image of sexual attraction? Initially the discussions Bestie and I had about this were about female self-esteem and the barbie doll ideal being a unhealthy one for girls to aspire to. God knows there were enough girls there wearing schoolgirl uniforms to demonstrate that this is already the case.
However, thinking about it a bit more, I feel that this representation of sexuality is dangerous for everyone -boys included. We want everyone to respect everyone else, and themselves. The thrusting and grabbing stuff the male dancers did was dangerous for female subordination, but the humiliation expressed was equally worrying.
An example of this could be seen in the costume design. At one point all the men were wearing gimp suits and masks, some were blind folded... I know I am saying this at the risk of sounding like a prude, but I'm talking about what we put out there in the public eye, to young people, and what this means for the Feminism movement, equality and contemporary gender roles.
If wearing a gimp suit rocks your world, go for it, but since this was a pop concert and not a fetish show for people on the scene, I'm dubious about its suitability. Even though the demographic of the audience was 80% female and 20% gay men, these images are pumped out through TV and the internet too, I think this is a valid point.
If we stick Ciara (the support act) on a stage with 6 other female dancers, wearing fishnets and leotards, and choreograph a routine which involves them lying on the floor and gyrating their hips to simulate a sort of cartoon-porn-sex, how can we expect it not to become the 'standard' approach to sexual behaviour? Especially if you're an under informed young person, who is just desperate for someone to give them some guidance on what's 'normal'.
This is a source of information for these kids - given that the next point of call is porn from the internet, I feel like there is some kind of duty of care required here. It hardly seems a surprise to me that modern young people are less confident in their bodies, more reluctant to practice safe sex, or wait for the right partner, when we tell them that the most empowering way to explore your sexuality is to use in such a specific and caricature-like way. And that it should define your behaviour - how you dress, how you dance and most obviously, how you behave during sex.
Sex is funny, sweaty, ungraceful and wonderful. I’m not sure which elements of sex the 'freak show' video montage during the interval was supposed to be demonstrating. Projected on 30ft screens, with Marilyn Manson's version of Sweet dreams pumping out, was Britney and her dancers cavorting together in black cat suits and masquerade masks.
Longing looks to the camera, illicit sexual encounters and a sort of 'decadent and damned' film set all made me feel titillated, but also insecure. I certainly don't look like that during any kind of sexual activity - not to mention the fact I don’t make a habit of doing it with my mates around.
The gender roles throughout the dance routine were based entirely around a couple of clear themes:
- little girl gone bad
- bad boy being chastised by domineering woman
- Uncontrollable sexual attraction unwanted by the other party.
For example, at one stage Britney is surrounded by all the male dancers, who then pull their trousers down and all thrust at her at once, whilst she has a look of 'surprised innocence' on her face. This is akin to the FB groups which expound rape as 'surprise sex', in my mind.
At another point Britney is writhing on a chaise longue, in what I would describe as a state of nocturnal ecstasy, fantasising about two men pleasuring her simultaneously. There are also hints towards masturbation throughout this in the lyrics of the song.
I am most certainly not a prude, and would celebrate the right of anyone to desire whatever they like, but there is a big question mark in my head over whether its really suitable for her to be sharing this with the 12 year old kids in the audience. As Bestie said to me, it’s alright for us to be exposed to all of this because we're old enough and ugly enough to be able to remove ourselves from this situation. And we're lucky enough to be pretty well informed so this sort of thing becomes a source of bemused entertainment for us.
I think the crux of my point is that if we want our young people to be happy, healthy and sexually responsible (AND exploratory) we need to give them a balanced picture about what sex is - delivered by the people they want to emulate / are attracted to. There is no room in Britney's sexual picture for gay kids, for example, or kids who have more conservative backgrounds.
Snogging Madonna as a one off publicity stunt merely devalues what it feels like for young people to fancy someone of the same sex, so I wouldn't cite that as an example of a broadened sexual horizon in popular culture.
Overall, it was a really fun night. I'm not sure what the 12 year old girl, there with her mother, made of the whole experience.
Does she know what nipple tassels are? Probably. Does she think they make Britney look sexy and confident? Probably. Does she want to own a pair immediately? Definitely. I just think she might not quite understand why.
Having spent the 18 months during her infamous breakdown keeping a close eye on Brit, it was very exciting that we would finally be able to see her in the flesh. This post isn’t really about how awesome Britney was, or her miming, or her lacklustre dancing, so I'll summarise that and move on quickly. Its really about what her stage show represents for young women, and young people as a whole.
*BRIEF SUMMARY IF YOU CARE*
Britney looked pretty bloody good on stage. Any remarks pertaining to her weight would be unfair, but basically she looked fit and healthy. Her extensions leave something to be desired but I suppose if a blonde bombshell popstar shaves it all off, what else is there to do but stick it back on again? Her dancing was in time and looked ok, but there was no passion there at all. She was going through the motions for much of it, highlighted only by the almost apoplectic enthusiasm of her backing dancers. Overall, a good pantomime spectacle.
A bit more passion and some live vocals other than the one ballad would have made mediocre in to magnificent. But still, the irrational and undying love I have for the Spears means I still loved it.
*MOVING ON*
How are we to expect young people to be confident and sexually accepting if we present to them such a 2D image of sexual attraction? Initially the discussions Bestie and I had about this were about female self-esteem and the barbie doll ideal being a unhealthy one for girls to aspire to. God knows there were enough girls there wearing schoolgirl uniforms to demonstrate that this is already the case.
However, thinking about it a bit more, I feel that this representation of sexuality is dangerous for everyone -boys included. We want everyone to respect everyone else, and themselves. The thrusting and grabbing stuff the male dancers did was dangerous for female subordination, but the humiliation expressed was equally worrying.
An example of this could be seen in the costume design. At one point all the men were wearing gimp suits and masks, some were blind folded... I know I am saying this at the risk of sounding like a prude, but I'm talking about what we put out there in the public eye, to young people, and what this means for the Feminism movement, equality and contemporary gender roles.
If wearing a gimp suit rocks your world, go for it, but since this was a pop concert and not a fetish show for people on the scene, I'm dubious about its suitability. Even though the demographic of the audience was 80% female and 20% gay men, these images are pumped out through TV and the internet too, I think this is a valid point.
If we stick Ciara (the support act) on a stage with 6 other female dancers, wearing fishnets and leotards, and choreograph a routine which involves them lying on the floor and gyrating their hips to simulate a sort of cartoon-porn-sex, how can we expect it not to become the 'standard' approach to sexual behaviour? Especially if you're an under informed young person, who is just desperate for someone to give them some guidance on what's 'normal'.
This is a source of information for these kids - given that the next point of call is porn from the internet, I feel like there is some kind of duty of care required here. It hardly seems a surprise to me that modern young people are less confident in their bodies, more reluctant to practice safe sex, or wait for the right partner, when we tell them that the most empowering way to explore your sexuality is to use in such a specific and caricature-like way. And that it should define your behaviour - how you dress, how you dance and most obviously, how you behave during sex.
Sex is funny, sweaty, ungraceful and wonderful. I’m not sure which elements of sex the 'freak show' video montage during the interval was supposed to be demonstrating. Projected on 30ft screens, with Marilyn Manson's version of Sweet dreams pumping out, was Britney and her dancers cavorting together in black cat suits and masquerade masks.
Longing looks to the camera, illicit sexual encounters and a sort of 'decadent and damned' film set all made me feel titillated, but also insecure. I certainly don't look like that during any kind of sexual activity - not to mention the fact I don’t make a habit of doing it with my mates around.
The gender roles throughout the dance routine were based entirely around a couple of clear themes:
- little girl gone bad
- bad boy being chastised by domineering woman
- Uncontrollable sexual attraction unwanted by the other party.
For example, at one stage Britney is surrounded by all the male dancers, who then pull their trousers down and all thrust at her at once, whilst she has a look of 'surprised innocence' on her face. This is akin to the FB groups which expound rape as 'surprise sex', in my mind.
At another point Britney is writhing on a chaise longue, in what I would describe as a state of nocturnal ecstasy, fantasising about two men pleasuring her simultaneously. There are also hints towards masturbation throughout this in the lyrics of the song.
I am most certainly not a prude, and would celebrate the right of anyone to desire whatever they like, but there is a big question mark in my head over whether its really suitable for her to be sharing this with the 12 year old kids in the audience. As Bestie said to me, it’s alright for us to be exposed to all of this because we're old enough and ugly enough to be able to remove ourselves from this situation. And we're lucky enough to be pretty well informed so this sort of thing becomes a source of bemused entertainment for us.
I think the crux of my point is that if we want our young people to be happy, healthy and sexually responsible (AND exploratory) we need to give them a balanced picture about what sex is - delivered by the people they want to emulate / are attracted to. There is no room in Britney's sexual picture for gay kids, for example, or kids who have more conservative backgrounds.
Snogging Madonna as a one off publicity stunt merely devalues what it feels like for young people to fancy someone of the same sex, so I wouldn't cite that as an example of a broadened sexual horizon in popular culture.
Overall, it was a really fun night. I'm not sure what the 12 year old girl, there with her mother, made of the whole experience.
Does she know what nipple tassels are? Probably. Does she think they make Britney look sexy and confident? Probably. Does she want to own a pair immediately? Definitely. I just think she might not quite understand why.
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