A discussion on pop music star, Britney Spears.

OVERVIEW

A 9-year-old girl noticed what adults were writing about Britney Spears and decided it was time "for a kid to talk." So, she wrote a letter in her local paper. She complains about Britney’s sexy clothes. But this is not because she is down on Spears. She says Britney is beautiful. Though she loves her music and singing, dancing and acting, she’s disappointed in Britney as a complete role model. This 9-year-old knows 6- and 7-year-old girls are influenced by what they see in their idol. She doesn’t think Britney would really like to see 7-year-olds dressed in sexy clothes and wishes Britney would resist her producers and change her customs back to regular clothes.

Britney’s response has been that she never wanted her public image to be sexual. And she wants to be judged on her music and performance rather than on personal matters. She tries not to think of herself as a role model and says the magazine pictures, like the two Rolling Stone covers, were done because that’s what magazines want. Britney does worry about older men who see her as a sex object, "…the Lolita thing." Her family in Kentwood, Louisiana—outside New Orleans—is tightknit, caring, supportive and are practicing Baptists. She herself spends time in a prayer journal.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you think the 9-year-old writer of the letter was coached, or could she have had these ideas on her own?
2. Do you agree with the sentiments of this letter as expressed in the first paragraph above?
3. Can a teenage singing sensation become popular without using sexual come-ons?
4. Is there any way that the power of male producers over female performers can be broken or influenced? Britney says she is moving from the script and songs of her Swedish writer-producers (on her first album, "Baby One More Time" when she was 16) to take complete control of what goes on her albums now.
5. What responsibility do artists, producers, huge companies, consumers, parents, teachers, and leaders—and young people themselves—have in this matter?
6. In your opinion, are there any extremes in our consumer culture that keep our society from being a healthy environment? If so, do you think anything can be done to create a healthier society?

IMPLICATIONS

• Pop culture has a profound effect upon children around the world.
• The use of younger singers and actors with attributes of increased sexuality and suggestions, combine to influence younger and younger children.
• Many of these children deny any negative influence from the media with which they are absorbed. Others are quite discerning regarding positive and negative influences.
• If we are to make our culture any less toxic, we will need a great deal of help from young people and children. They are the great consumers driving the pop culture machine and their insights are crucial in the dialogue.

Dean Borgman cCYS