The infamous(?) Perez Hilton seemingly praises Christina, which is very rare to see on his website that follows Hollywood stars. He refers to Christina as the “antibritney,” because she’s so much more classy than the Britney of late. In a post on Christina, Perez writes, “Christina Aguilera can go out and have a good time, but girlfriend knows her priorities. She can keep it in check, and she doesn’t even have two kids!” Christina and Britney have always been held against each other since they first came to stardom around the same time. Now, though, Christina is clearly leading the race with her recent hit songs and her lack of negative exposure in the media.

When a journalist from Access Hollywood asked Christina how she exited limos without revealing her private parts, Christina responded, “Um, are you setting me up to say keep your legs closed. There’s a proper way to make sure privates are kept private. That’s just my personal take on exiting a limo.”

I wondered about this response because she’s avoiding saying to keep your legs closed, which could be opposite to the message and image she puts out. By saying, “keep your legs closed,” she would be saying something different about sexuality. What makes her the antibritney? Is it because she hasn’t completely exposed her private parts? Though women are much more sexual now, there’s still some expectations to keep it classy.

Christina, along with Lil’ Kim, is telling women to stand up to men and to not be held down by society’s double standards. The division between men and women is made clear by having them stand in two separate groups in the streets. Women have to stand up together and not let men victimize them. Lil’ Kim is known for taking control and asserting her sexuality. She may be hyper-sexualized but she doesn’t let herself be taken advantage of by men. Christina, like other women in the video, is wearing little clothing but when a man grabs her butt, she directly confronts him. She isn’t letting the man get away with violating her, and the women crowding behind her shows power for the female gender. Just because a woman is wearing revealing clothes does not mean she is calling for men to touch her. And No, the excuse should never be, “She asked for it.” There’s no excuse for men to be able to violate or disrespect women. I found one comment particularly interesting from the Ride or Die Chicks blog. The author writes, “A woman touching a man in a private area is a happening that is never really talked about, not that it never happens, but the chances are much slimmer for a man to be sexually assaulted. Women are less likely to violate the space of a man but more likely to have their space invaded.” Have the double standards for women allowed for more room for sexual assault? Double standards are almost telling women that if they behave as outwardly sexual as men, then they will be put down and men can take advantage of them. And when women are violated, since they have always been expected to keep to themselves, they do not speak up or confront the problem.

Now onto a different subject that came to my attention while watching the video–Christina’s Latina identity. Most of the people in the video appear to be Hispanic or black or just more ethnic looking. Even Christina herself looks more ethnic with her bronzed skin and her dark hair. With other people of color around her, Christina looks more like a Latina. She looks like she is trying to fit in by looking more ethnic. Moreover, the clothes she and the other people are wearing are very urban, which is usually connected to inner-city minorities. I’m not sure why Christina has chosen to dress more urban and to have the video set on the city streets. Is she saying that more sexual assaults are occurring in inner-city neighborhoods because of the specific way women are dressing?

During the first year of her marriage, Christina came out with her fourth album, Back to Basics in August 2006. The album features two discs. The first disc has music that she is reminiscent of what she is famous for, and the second disc is more of a tribute to her musical influences like Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, and Etta James.

Both discs also touch on her troubled upbringing. Christina has said that she’s in a happier state now and just basically content with life. Though Christina’s music has a different side to it now, she still sounds like herself. She’s not as revealing but she’s still a very sexual woman.

In Back to Basics, there’s one song that brings you back to Christina’s old image. One song, “Still Dirrty,” reminds you that her look may have changed but she’s still just as sexual and can be just as provocative. The song is also tackling the tabloids and people that say love has changed her. When asked about, “Still Dirrty,” Christina has said that the song is, “my tongue-in-cheek way of addressing the things I’ve seen in tabloids about my ‘new image.’ It’s me looking at these things and kind of laughing. ‘Oh, she changed because she’s in love!’ Sexuality will always be a part of the way I express myself artistically.” However, her sexuality has moved more out of the spotlight and into her bedroom. It’s almost like she doesn’t need to show the world because she has her man to show it to. Yet, I feel that Christina is always trying to tell women to be more free. In the song, she questions, “Why is a woman’s sexuality always under so much scrutiny? Why can’t she do exactly as she please without being called a million things?” The female gender is so much more scrutinized in general than the male gender. Women can’t be sexual beings without also being put under other labels like slut or whore. Christina, in a way, is showing how it is to be a real sexual woman and not give a damn. The lyrics go on to say, “There’s some women out there who talk and stare, who never seem to let down their hair, like to past judgment, but they’re just scared, and don’t know what they’re missing, so they better beware.” Christina is speaking to the women who judge her, and telling them that they are just not comfortable with themselves and their sexuality so can’t understand. She’s telling women that they need to be in touch with their sexuality because that is part of being a woman. Sexuality shouldn’t be a bad thing. But another question here may be, Where does sexuality belong? Should sexuality not be in the public?

A noticeable part of the women in the top 20 of the list are women of color or of some ambiguous background. AND most of the women are known for having more curvier bodies, which I found interesting. These women are being marked as hot because of their sex appeal. Now, skinny women like Kate Moss are being criticized for their “waifish” bodies.

Skinny women are out, thicker women are in. The definition of a hot woman has definitely changed. A woman’s sex appeal has to do with her curvy body. The Hot 100 list was obviously showing a specific type of beauty that is being recognized now. Looking through the list, I realized how many more mixed-race women there are in Hollywood. These curvier bodies that are being prized now have usually been associated with women of color. Does this mean that women of color are being much more eroticized now? What does this say for the position of women of color? Also, where does Christina stand in this? Is she actually considered Latina by fans, and does this label make her more eroticized than she is already?

The article mentions how this generation, my generation, is probably the most sexual generation in history, and quite possibly the most open about it.  This generation is so sexual because the women are the children of the sexual revolution.  Many of today’s women, as Donna Lisker (director of the Duke University Women’s Center) says, “have grown up with the explicitly feminist message that they should be proud of their bodies.  So they can cast their behavior as a form of feminism–as girl power, being in charge of their own sexuality.”  I do believe women should be proud of their bodies, but when it comes to body exposure, the message being sent does become complicated.  The woman feels the empowerment, but others may read the message differently.  There is a very real disconnect that exists between the woman and the audience because of the dual meanings.  The article specifically focuses on women flashing their breasts in public and how that could affect them.  Lisker comments on flashing by saying, “even if you believe that flashing is a sign of your power, the guys watching you are not interpreting it that way.  You are allowing yourself to be made into an object, even if that’s not your intent.”  The double standard does still exist and women’s behavior is going to be interpreted differently from men’s’ behavior. 

In this same issue of Cosmo, there is an interview with Christina in which she is quoted as saying, “I don’t think a woman should be afraid of her sexuality.  It’s not a bad thing for a woman to feel confident and show her body in a way that’s right for her.”  Christina’s message here isn’t a bad one.  Women should be able to be just as confident as men when it comes to their sexuality.  Yet, how a woman chooses to show her body can still have so many interpretations and that’s where the matter becomes difficult.  Once again, who really has the control or the power when a woman is exposing herself?  There is always an audience.  There is always someone being watched.   

I came across an interview with Christina in which she was asked what is the bravest thing she has done in her career and I found her response a little surprising.  She said, “Putting on those chaps.  I love the fact that I did that and did it when I was young and able to wear them.  I don’t know if I could put those suckers on now.”  I guess I had just figured that her bravest thing would be something a little more defining.  However, I think her response shows that she’s not always that comfortable with showing off her body and maybe by putting on those chaps, she got a new feeling of confidence. 

In reference to her Hispanic heritage and to other music artists crossing over into the Latin world, Christina has said, ”It’s a side that’s a part of me.  It kind of makes me mad because I hear about a lot of other people who just want to jump on the bandwagon.”  How is she not on the bandwagon with everyone else?  Does her being half-hispanic give her some kind of authencity in putting out Spanish songs?  Christina’s heritage was not emphasized in the media when she was first rising to stardom.  And even now, not everyone is aware that she is hispanic (I have a friend who just learned of her being hispanic when I told him I was writing this post).  I have to question if she just jumped on the bandwagon too especially after seeing how well her first Spanish album did.  Look how well her Spanish album has done: 

It peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 and number ONE on the Latin album charts, and in 2001 it won Aguilera a Latin Grammy Award for “Best Female Pop Vocal Album.”  The album has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide and has been certified Gold (500,000) in the USA and three times Platinum under the RIAA’s Los Premios de Oro y Platino program.  She also won the World Music Award as the best selling Latin artist that year.

Crossing over into Latin Pop definitely sells.  Has Christina used her hispanic background to gain more fans and to sell more albums?  It could seem so.

Here’s Christina performing at the Latin Grammy’s:

The Pussycat Dolls:

In one of my last girl power classes, the discussion focused on the meaning of girl power and what the term meant during the period of The Spice Girls verses what it means now with artists like Beyonce, Christina, and The Pussycat Dolls.  Girl power in the nineties was about strong girls who could be just as good as boys, who had fun, and who were also sexy.  But sexiness then was never like the sexiness of now.  Girl power today is almost branded by “Sexy.”  And being sexy today is much more explicit: clothes are definitely revealing a lot more than bellies, and women have become very outspoken with their sexuality.

The Spice Girls defined girl power as solidarity with other women—that no matter what, your friends came before boys.  Now, one of the most famous all female groups is The Pussycat Dolls.  In all their performances they are overtly sexy with their songs being about sexual pleasure and their relationships to men, etc…  Their message to women is to take over their sexuality and to be open with their sexuality.  This is the same kind of message Christina Aguilera is telling the world.

Individual female artists like Christina and Beyonce are telling women to be independent.  No, they may not be stressing female solidarity, but they are giving sexual power to women.  Sex isn’t only for men.  Christina is honest about her sexuality and her pleasure in being sexual.  As mentioned in my girl power class, what is out now is the idea of female enjoyment.  I only think this becomes a problem when girls or women start believing that sexuality is the only way to have power.