Feb
2024
Civic Blog #2: Britney Spears
Britney Spears was the It Girl of the 90s, releasing dozens of top songs like Baby One More Time, Toxic, and Oops I Did It Again. Britney was America’s sweetheart, playing into expectations to be both innocent and sexy. She was constantly bombarded by media and everything she did was made so public, which is why her 2007 “meltdown” was such a shock to fans.
In February of 2007, following a divorce that led to temporary loss of custody over her two sons, Britney fled rehab and shaved her head completely bald. She had quite literally gone to the hairdresser, asked to be bald, and when the hairdresser tried to talk her out of it, Spears took the razor and did it herself. When asked why she did this to her hair, Spears responded that she was sick of people touching her hair (The Sun). Looking back, this is a clear red flag at Britney needed to regain control of her life after she felt taken advantage of by the media. Nobody seemed to care about her mental wellbeing, and had felt that her downfall was bound to happen at some point. Just days later, the “umbrella incident” occurred in which paparazzi surrounded her vehicle and Spears got out, umbrella in hand, smashing a photographer’s window. Many people look back on this incident and can clearly see that this was a cry for help, but at this time, Spears was labeled as crazy. She was used as a punchline incessantly in the media and mocked for her actions, as if they were funny.
About a year after this, Spears was placed into her conservatorship by her father over her mental health struggles and possible substance abuse. This conservatorship, lasting for over a decade, allowed for Spears’ family members, not her, to be in charge of all of her business and personal decisions. She did not have access to any of her finances for her to spend in the way she wished and decisions about her personal life, such as when she could get remarried or visit her sons, was controlled. Spears has described this conservatorship as abusive, and “she lived in terror and shame, unable to make decisions about her work or her own body” (New York Times). Her whole life and her freedom of speech was taken away from her and she was forced to put up a facade that she was just fine. Despite being a fully grown adult, Spears was forced to take medication she did not want to take and go on tour. She had wanted to get married and have another baby, but was forced to stay on her birth control and, again, all of her relationships were monitored. On top of this, Jamie Spears was being paid around $16,000 a month to be his daughter’s conservator, according to BBC.
In 2019/2020, when Jamie Spears could no longer be in charge of Britney Spears, Britney indicated that she no longer wanted to be under this legal control. This combined with off-putting videos on social media sparked a massive civic movement- #FreeBritney. Free Britney was a huge public outcry that brought to light the kind of treatment Spears was getting under her conservatorship for the first time. Many people, including myself, had no idea of these issues until this point in time. In February of 2021, New York Times released a documentary called “Framing Britney Spears”, outlining the kind of treatment Spears had been getting for years by the media, sparking even more interest in her conservatorship. People began protesting outside of courthouses and posting all sorts of media about #FreeBritney. Celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton, and Cher all supported this movement, among many other notable people. Spears was finally able to go to court, pick her own counsel, and have her voice heard after pleading for years to end her conservatorship. She spoke out about the years of emotional abuse she faced and in November 2021, Britney was finally free.
Now, she has gotten married again like she wished, and she is attempting to charge her father with financial misconduct and conservator abuse. She is getting justice. Her case has brought so much attention to the treatment of women in the media, particularly those who went through public “downfalls”, such as Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, and Miley Cyrus. The public is much less quick to judge these women and reach out a sympathetic hand to them, offering help they need instead of labeling them as crazy. They are no longer being treated like punchlines to the public instead of real people in crisis. Britney herself is being given support by fans globally that she did not have before after being bullied in her own home. And most of all, people are begging society to let Spears live her life and express herself- free from mass media scrutiny- after being suppressed for so long.
Spears has also released a memoir in 2023 called The Woman In Me, which is monumental for speaking about women’s mental health. In her memoir, she details the mental health struggles that she has been facing for years, including her struggle with postpartum depression, her very public breakup with Justin Timberlake, and, of course, her conservatorship. Spears is able to regain her voice and control of her narrative and is able to speak on her life from her perspective. Her memoir is raw and real, she does not claim to be all better or somehow have all the answers, admitting to a need for continuous growth. But mostly, this memoir speaks to so many people. To other child stars, who faced the pressure of the world from a young age, to people struggling with mental health, who need to know that they are not alone, and to women, who are still so misunderstood. Through her book, Spears “”It underscores the urgent need for a cultural shift towards openness, understanding and empathy around women’s mental health” (Yahoo).
Women have historically been denied mental health help, instead labeled as crazy or overly emotional. Centuries ago, if a woman had a mental health disorder she would simply be diagnosed with hysteria or would be lobotomized. Women in crisis are often asked if it’s “their time of the month” instead of a legitimate understanding for their struggles. Men attempt to speak over women and do not allow them to share their own stories, something that is all too familiar to Britney Spears in a literal sense. Spears overcoming that on a grand scale while simultaneously speaking about her experiences that impact women specifically, such as her postpartum depression, miscarriage, and abortion, is so essential.
Through her life experiences, Britney has taken what she has learned women in her and has spread it to women everywhere. With these new conversations about mental health sparked by this #FreeBritney and her memoir, it is hopeful that one day all of our voices will be heard.
Paparazzo Auctioning Off Umbrella From Infamous Britney Spears Attack (vice.com)
Why Britney Spears Shaved Off Her Hair—Looking Back 15 Years Later (newsweek.com)
Britney Spears reveals devastating reason she shaved her head during 2007 public meltdown | The Sun
Britney Spears Timeline, From the Conservatorship to Her Memoir – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Britney Spears: Singer’s conservatorship case explained (bbc.com)
Britney Spears’ New Memoir Changes The Conversation On Mental Health (forbes.com)
Isabela Bishop
February 17, 2024 at 11:59 pm (10 months ago)This was a very well-done civic issue post! Your information on the topic was explanatory and clearly well-researched. Additionally, your analysis of said research and how it connects to civic issues was spot on. For your next blog, try to include some more academic cites (medical journals, .org websites that discuss mental health, etc.). The sources you used are great for the pop culture aspect, however, adding other sources would provide additional support to your work. Otherwise, good job!