I usually don't write music reviews for MIM, but after listening to Christina's albums I just felt compelled to do so. Christina was so perfect. I mean, she's a perfect example of an Amerikan-style "liberated" pseudo-feminist.
In her first album "Christina Aguilera", Christina, with her beautiful voice, sends a very clear message which is so fifties: all wimmin could hope and aspire for is to be "somebody's somebody"--no matter who, just somebody. If that "somebody" for some reason is not here yet, you are a failure.
Then she remembers that actually it's not 1950 anymore and thanks a man for his ability "to move over" and "give her a space" while she "figures it out." She is an independent womyn of substance, after all. What happens if in the process of "figuring out" a man decides that he would rather give her a lot of space permanently, is described in the other album, "Stripped": she feels "underappreciated." In other words, Christina romanticizes a quite embarrassing and hypocritical dating game and suggests that it is actually an area of life where all emotional and intellectual resources of both genders have to be applied.
Christina tries to spice her image up even further in another song, "Genie in A Bottle," with pornographic remarks -- "If you want to be with me, baby there's a price to pay/You gotta rub me right way." In order to be with Christina, her potential partner "gotta make big impression," then she will happily find herself "caught up in emotions and out of control" ("Obvious"). Poor Christina.
Her ideas are the perfect reflection of traditional views of many Amerikan pseudo-feminists, certainly appreciated by bourgeois males: wimmin's liberation amounts to the ability to have orgasms. Probably this is why most Amerikkkan wimmin have no qualms about having multiple partners, but still hesitate to major in math and science. The goal is still to get a man (eventually); the strategy is somewhat different (they didn't ask for space and wear hiphuggers in 50s), and the modern version is more enthusiastic about sex (or seems/pretends to be so)--really, not that much of a difference.
But let's return to Christina. In her album "Stripped" (wow, what a name -- doesn't she sound liberated?), Christina suddenly realized that after being "rubbed the right way" she still has "to keep quiet" because she is a womyn, and a man who made once a really big impression by correct rubbing, now calls her bitch "cause I speak what's on my mind."
Maybe Christina finally realized that "hormones racing at the speed of light" and rubbing of any kind are not enough for healthy gender relations? Maybe it occurred to her that everything is connected, that it's impossible to have a perfect love life in an imperfect world, and she will pay at least some attention now to the rest of the world, the world outside her bedroom?
No, her solution is --" Uh, Let me loose, Oooh, I'm overdue, Tables dancin', glasses are crashin', No question time for some action." ("Dirty") Oh, and also she really resents being called "whore" when she tries to "score" to get back at an unfaithful lover--a very brilliant solution. According to Christina, "scoring" is the assertion of her persynality and true rebellion--a bedroom kind of rebellion. Obviously, she is not capable of anything more than that.
Overall, I would say that the message Christina sends is highly dangerous and degrading for wimmin. It perpetuates a vulnerable image of females dependent on male favours (notwithstanding the fact that favors in this case are sexual rather than economic) and tells wimmin that the only way to fix it is to "score" as much as males do and "get dirty" just as males do again, which means wimmin degrade themselves even more. Unfortunately, Christina doesn't seem to understand it. On the album cover, almost naked, with undone hair (remember, she is "out of control"), and lots of makeup she poses as the perfect victim. Of course, Christina herself is not a victim, but a very successful businesswomyn, but her songs glorify either romantic or dirty victimhood for other people.
Go To Amazon.com to Buy "Stripped"
Go To Amazon.com to Buy "Christina Aguilera"