I sort of assumed Britney Spears had fallen from the public eye in the last five years or so. She had her share of babies and breakdowns and I just thought she'd probably want to lie low for the rest of her life after that. Apparently I was wrong; the starlet has returned with a new record and a new image. The public still seems to want Britney news despite the new generation of post-modern pop princesses on the scene. She's a vestige of an earlier time, perhaps, but still famous enough and still relevant enough to fit nicely on the timeline between Madonna and Gaga.
She's also gearing up for a little bit of politics. Britney has approved the distribution of 'before' and 'after' magazine shots of herself--that is, photographs before the Photoshopping process and then the final product. These side-by-side images will be included in teaching packs sent to primary schools in an attempt to teach young girls about body image in the media.
Britney's never exactly been stick thin, not even after the retouchers get to her. As a dancer, she's been somewhat muscular her whole live, as well as having the curves that many healthy women have. She's also shorter than your typical ideal at a few inches under average. The photos and their processing really aren't that shocking to look at. You can see where a few lines and shadows are smoothed out, and yes, her legs and torso are considerably slimmed. But is this really a meaningful move on Britney's part? It might be edifying to see how magazine photos are made, sure, but even in the 'before' picture we're looking at a hard standard of beauty. Britney's not a waif, but she's not overweight, either. She's still a blonde white woman with makeup on. Are girls supposed to feel good about the revelation of the pictures if they still don't feel like they stack up to the 'before' standard of beauty? What about young girls who struggle with real weight issues or body problems? They don't seem to be represented here.
Building self-esteem might appear to be a worthy cause, but I seriously doubt it's Britney's ultimate goal with this gesture. She's not teaching that there's more to life than being physically attractive or appealing to the male gaze. All she's taught is that even she needs a little Photoshop as far as the press's standards are concerned. That's not a terribly deep message, nor do I think it'd be particularly helpful to the girls she's trying to reach. It seems a hollow publicity stunt designed to garner her some good will in the media--nothing more. If you really want to reach girls, try stepping back from the notion that beauty is both impossible and necessary and start reinforcing the importance of those inner characteristics that make being human worthwhile.