Paula's Pop Week: It's the woman in Britney, Bitch - World News

Spears’ autobiography has been published & how could you put it other than in her words: it’s not just good, it’s great.

Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney, Britney. Do you know that feeling when you say something so often that it sounds strange? Not so with Britney. I became jaded, I read her name, said it, thought it thousands of times. Their posters covered my room, their CDs were worn out by my player, every bit of information about them was absorbed. The most normal thing in the world: Britney. That’s why this week can’t be about anything other than Britney, because I haven’t had anything else in terms of pop culture in the last few days. I indulged in the total deep dive, watched old videos, researched the many documentaries, listened to the discography several times, leafed through Britney’s old books and watched her films again. And I went into my own Britney youth magazine archive. And to get you in the mood for what it was like back then at the turn of the millennium, what culture Britney Spears and the rest of us millennials grew up in, how parasocial relationships were built long before everyone knew the term, here are a few examples . Welcome to the world of paparazzi and editorial assholes.

The first article about Britney in BRAVO. It’s really just a matter of whether she’s Nick Carter’s girlfriend.

Shortly afterwards a completely normal body check from a 17 year old.

The suggestions of boyfriends and affairs became increasingly wild. This is where Holger (?) Speckhahn (??) comes into play???

Yes, that’s certainly what she said.

Britney says “Bye-Bye, Germany” in a Stalingrad shirt. The zeros simply!

The Britney euphoria quickly turned into hate. The main thing is some kind of content, we collectors file everything away anyway.

At the forefront was “Yam!” from Springer, who tried to be the even nastier BRAVO. For example, why not photoshop a 19-year-old’s black eye?

Everything is completely normal.

Britney is basically the worst person.

Britney doesn’t care: she has a drink.

And all of that is nothing. I stopped collecting in 2003 because then I became cool and listened to rock (Ashlee Simpson, Lindsay Lohan). The worst shit came a few years after that.

So now to the book.

“The Woman In Me”

When the #freebritney people, who I always saw as a bit too obsessive and too open to conspiracy theories, demanded that virtually all of us apologize to Britney, I thought that was excessive, after reading “The Woman In Me”. I’m like, shit, yeah, okay. Everything is much worse than anyone could have imagined.

In it, Britney writes about half her life where she wasn’t safe anywhere – not outside and not at home, neither among people nor alone. In which she couldn’t trust the press, fans, her own family, partners or friends. In which she was constantly observed, persecuted, controlled, punished and exploited. In which people enriched themselves and capitalized on their suffering. In which she was repeatedly humiliated – and ultimately even disenfranchised.

“I was never quite sure what all these critics thought I was supposed to be doing – a Bob Dylan impression? I was a teenage girl from the South. “I signed my name with a heart,” writes Britney in her book about the harsh criticism she received at the beginning of her career.

Today she no longer has time for bullshit, but knows exactly who is responsible for how much of it. On the first page she calls her father an alcoholic and the tone is clear. He is the man who has ruled her legally for 13 years. About her eating habits, her work, her personal relationships, her art, her time, her appearance, her medication. But Britney also puts everything into context. “The Woman In Me” is not just an outcall from her father, her mother, her sister, the paparazzi, the journalists, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Federline and whoever else has done lasting damage to her. She also describes the inherited trauma in her family. The violence that was there before her father. The dynamics between parents and siblings. She reflects on her role as an American Dreamgirl at the turn of the millennium, the sexualization, the youth madness, the double standards with which girls were judged compared to boys and last but not least she thinks about her music and performances and how her creativity was ultimately killed.

“At what point did I promise to stay seventeen for the rest of my life?”

Writing was like therapy for Britney, and it actually reads that way. She is very reflective, self-aware, she is also cynical here and there, sometimes ironic and angry, but at other times sweet and optimistic. And she can say very precisely what she would have needed, when and how things could have been different.

What becomes all the more painfully clear at these points is how many people simply looked the other way or fell for what they wanted to see, if they didn’t actually benefit.

“Why was it so easy for everyone to forget that I was a human being – vulnerable enough that these headlines could leave a bruise?”

One of the most shocking things I realized through the book is the pace at which all of these spectacular moments took place. The first single in 1998, then three albums in three years, several tours, her film “Crossroads”, the separation from Justin in 2002, from which she suffered a lot, especially because she was publicly beaten up for it, then fourth album, touring again, then marriage to Kevin Federline, two pregnancies, divorce, custody disputes, the album BLACKOUT 2007, which critics and Britney herself call her best album.

And then in 2008, Britney’s father suddenly got guardianship of her because his daughter was supposedly too sick to care for herself. She was still only in her mid-20s. You have to imagine that this woman was not given a break, even when she was physically exhausted, had heartbreak – or, as she writes in the book, when she suffered from postpartum depression. Above all, she was not forgiven for any mistakes. Do you remember how crazy crazy Britney was in 2007 and 2008? If you take a closer look at their alleged crimes today, you could cry. And why didn’t anyone take a closer look at them back then? She made normal mistakes, got drunk, shaved her hair, got tattoos, ran away from dangerous paparazzi, panicked, got angry. Those were the scandals, that was the reason why a young woman supposedly could no longer take care of herself – but, strangely enough, she still worked all the time and earned money (of which she, of course, hardly had any). A woman being turned into a madwoman, what century does that belong in again? In 1938, 14-year-old Judy Garland was given amphetamines to give her more energy to work and less appetite, Britney was given lithium and assigned meals.

“Over time, the fire inside burned me out”

In 2021 she freed herself from it. Thanks to #freebritney, but also because otherwise she wouldn’t be alive anymore. Britney wants to be happy again, to have fun singing and dancing again, because it always comes through clearly: she actually loved it once. The first step has been taken; she has finally raised her voice and told her story herself.

“The reason why I’m alive today is because I know joy”

“The Woman in Me” is dedicated to her fans. And I feel as if an old friend had come back into my life, one who impressed and influenced you as a child and then suddenly was gone. About which you have only heard strange stories for years and not asked enough questions. Sorry.