We Have Brains Collab Topic Response: Christina vs. Britney

From WHB:

christina v. britney
March 24, 2004 10:25 PM posted by april : track it (0)

Ms. Roni mailed me her topic to post this week. It's a funny one. ;)

Last week I saw a Pepsi commerical with Britney in it and then her discussing the making of it. In it, her, Beyonce & Pink are dressed up in Gladiator-ware singing "We Will Rock You." She was waxing on about the "Girl Power" she felt out there with the other strong women.

Last year I started to hear Christina talk openly about being a feminist. She wears feminist logos on her t-shirts, she gives money to women's shelters, and her mom has said offered Christina's services to some large feminist organizations.

So my question to my fave bunch of blogging feminists is this: Are either of them feminists to you? Is Christina too much of a skanky hoe [April's editorial note - can anyone really be too skanky to be a feminist? Enquiring minds want to know!] to be a feminist? Is Britney not taking a strong enough stand? What would it take for you to consider either of them a feminist icon? Take into account sexual politics, the whoring of pop stars, and your own personal feminism. What would you think if one of them were to be featured on the cover of Ms.? Bitch? Bust?

Ahhh - the gruesome twosome. Not really - Christina's kind of cute. If we were going to get on the topic of hot blondes, though, Shakira is more my type.

Can you be too skanky to be a feminist? No, I say. You can, however, think yourself a feminist and yet hurt the cause of feminism. I wouldn't consider either a feminist icon, but Christina could grow into one. Britney is a non-entity as far as I'm concerned. She has never done anything to convince me that there's a brain in there. She's completely manufactured, a polyester would-be diva with limited talent and limited appeal. The Vegas marriage fiasco was typical - she falls apart when left to her own devices, then her handlers take over and try to clean up the mess. At least Christina can actually sing.

Christina's work has begun to take on political overtones - her song "Beautiful" has become a gay anthem, and if she is taking on feminist issues, then more power to her. We need pop icons that aren't afraid of the word. Being sexy is a plus as well. I've said before that one of the biggest mistakes feminists made was not distinguishing "sexism" from "sexuality". A whole, healthy woman has a whole, healthy sex life. As long as she isn't portrayed as a victim, Christina hasn't hurt the image of women in any way. I wouldn't start putting her on the cover of feminist rags yet, but she's got potential.