Comments on: In Defense of Britney Spears at the 2007 VMA’s: a Treatise on the Preservation or Destruction of the Female Self-Image

By: britney

britney — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:28:57 +0000

This was the worst show she made in her career, she should have kept some dignity , but sometimes celebrity loose there nerve.
iam happy she has come back after all her worst days

By: Rhea

Rhea — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:32:21 +0000

When Britney Spears entered show business she was extremely young. She was shaped by the adults around her. She became the ’slut’ they wanted her to be because they thought that image would sell CDs. Britney is an industry. The demands, and who knows what else, that must swirl around her must be intense. I don’t blame her for anything. She never had a chance. It’s too easy to cast misogyny at women in our culture.

By: cognitorex

cognitorex — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:29:46 +0000

Sex Tips, Crash Diets, Perfect Bodies - At Your Checkout Station
.
What would have been classified porn in my youth now appears at every major supermarket checkout station in the nation. The sex tips and the barely clad bodies are titillating and I have mixed feelings that they fill my view when I wait to pay.
But, when I scan the hallelujahs for perfect abs, perfect thighs, and diet claims that girls and women are subject to along with the perfectly thin barely clad idealized females adorning the magazines’ covers I feel a social crime is being committed.
Why should all the weight conscious women of America, particularly those who have a diet related disease have to run this gauntlet?
–cognitorex blogspot / Craig Johnson–

Labels: anorexia, bulemia, diet fads, porn

By: Anastasia

Anastasia — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:04:42 +0000

Everyone’s body isn’t the same and that’s what mitsu and albert don’t get. You may think you can assess a person’s health or how much they work out or whether they ever eat at taco bell by comparing your body size and type and how much you work out against their size and type, or the bodies of random strangers even, but you just can’t. You just absolutely can’t. bodies are different. they are different shapes and sizes. they don’t all respond the same way to exercise and diet. and there is no way on god’s green earth that woman can or should look like she did at 16.

besides that, you seem to be presuming that if she wanted to and could get there, she’d look better if she were stick thin with a ripped six pack. that she looked better when she was adolescent and not yet a full grown woman. that she’d be more beautiful if she had a different, smaller, less curvy body type. it’s an unspoken expectation and it’s the same thing that’s behind she looks good *for being a mother of two*. Right, but she’d look better if she were 14.

Then we turn around and trash nicole ritchie for being too thin and the women down at the mall for “waddling around” all fat like that, aren’t they ashamed??

That’s how sick we are. Women absolutely cannot win. At least not outside of being airbrushed.

By: truth

truth — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:38:13 +0000

I agree with this article 100%. The image of beauty that pervades Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general is sick and completely at odds with actual beauty standards in the real world. Most men find Britney an attractvive woman with a great figure. Young women probably thought Britney was attractive physically, Now they find out this is considered “fat”, wven though she is more in shape than the aveage american. Now they think women who look liket that are fat and can be subject to ridicule.

and, even if she was fat, how does that justify wodespread ridicule? it’s just abnoxious. Luciano Pavarotti was fat, by any measure, yet that didn’t make headlines. “Fat Big Pavarotti Wows Met Opera”. I don’t think so. granted, Britney capitalized on her looks whereas an opera singer is not supposed to be thin, but I still think it’s cruel to lambast someone for being fat (which britney is not).

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:24:08 +0000

Thank you for this. I didn’t watch the VMAs, but I heard about them on the radio, and I heard the DJs talking about how fat and horrible she looked and how she never should have worn that. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn it. I would have liked to see her clean up her image after she had kids (kind of like Madonna did). No she doesn’t have to start driving a mini-van and wearing sweater sets on stage, but she could have tried to set a better example as a mom.

That said, when I watched the video of the show, aside from her kind of lack-luster attitude, I thought she looked amazing! I know that not all women want to look like that, but I wish I looked like that in a bikini, and I haven’t given birth to two children!

Again, thank you for saying what I was thinking.

By: Mark Radulich

Mark Radulich — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:01:05 +0000

Thanks to all of you who commented. Again I don’t so much care about Britney as I do the young girls in this country and how they are treated. Self-image is just one problem, there are tons more.

To Vern…I’ll work on my editing issue.

Thanks again.

By: Jean

Jean — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:18:40 +0000

Britney is not fat! I would love to have a body like that, though I wouldn’t flaunt it around the way she does. As a mother of 3, I want to be a good example to my kids.

By: Albert

Albert — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:13:32 +0000

Umm.. she’s not fat, but she’s not in shape, either. I’m a guy, and I recognize the social problem concerning female body image. However, I also exercise and work out regularly. I’ve also seen women, at the gym, who exercise and work out regularly. They don’t look ANYTHING like the girls in those fashion magazines, but I find them incredibly sexy. They’re toned and have a good amount of meat on their bones. Britney isn’t obese, but she’s got a bit of baggage around the edges. I actually agree with mistsu: I’ve seen much older women than Britney who looked much, much better.

I understand that she has had two kids, but that’s no excuse in entertainment. You need to be in good shape and have your performance down. Britney was a mess, and she shouldn’t have tried to make a comeback if she wasn’t ready.

By: vern

vern — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:06:11 +0000

Oh, and I forgot:

I am a man, and while Britney’s performance left a lot to be desired, her body is beautiful.

By: vern

vern — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:02:50 +0000

This article has some good ideas, but it would have more impact if the writer knew how to write. “Illicit” is not “elicit,” for example. Shorten up the sentences, and omit needless words. That’s omit needless words.

Omit needless words!

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 02:00:35 +0000

I think Britney looked amazing. True she was lazy, but there were certain portions of the performance that showed she still has the potential for a comeback, and her current weight is one of them. She looks great, i bet the people saying she looks fat are these heavyweight jealous people.

By: melissa

melissa — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:58:02 +0000

i want to say that if anyone says bad shit about her right there mess up . i dare them to go though what is with her ex and kids and having no one to trust I think she is doing better than most people would in her shoes. so I give her so much credit ..

By: LAMusing

LAMusing — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:54:56 +0000

Wow. Thank you for your fabulous article. Britney’s performance was awful, but her body looks great. In fact my first thought when I saw her was how much prettier her body is now compared to the “ripped” look of four years ago. Even people that are being supportive are qualifying it with “for a woman with 2 kids”. Are you kidding me? She looks great for a woman with no kids. (Except for the bad weave). This is the shape women come in - when did we become ashamed of our bodies? Ripped six packs and stick thin figures are NOT something for girls to aspire to. I’m really floored by the media’s remarks about her body, and I agree it’s irresponsible of them. I can’t imagine what young girls must think of their own shapes if this is considered fat and flabby.

By: Brad

Brad — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:40:12 +0000

WOW this is the first I have seen pics of Brit at the VMAs!! I think she looks incredible!! To all those self ritious people(media) that think she looked fat need to take good hard them selves in the mirror and see if they would look that good after having two kids and going through all she has been through as of late!! LEAVE HER ALONE IDIOTS(MEDIA)!!! After this i hope she has a huge come back and dont let these morons(media) get to her!! Sorry for the rant!!

By: Chia

Chia — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:09:11 +0000

I don’t think she looked fat for a teacher, or a banker or a doctor, but for the pop queen she once was, yes! I know she just had 2 kids but then maybe she shouldn’t be performing yet. She could have said no, she has a mind of her own and she does use it, as we have seen. Her performance was terrible for even a first timer. I say all this while being a fan. I want her to come back I still have some small hope that she will tone her body up, get better dance moves and sing a little of her songs while performing. Please Britney please!!
PS Kanye West needs to shut up!!

By: tiggy

tiggy — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:05:06 +0000

While I am uncomfortable with the idea that Britney is considered “fat”, lets face it, her entire career is based upon her toned, taut body - she doesn’t have any other real talent. Obviously given this, people are going to notice that her one real gimmick is now gone. Alicia Keys seems to have put on a bit of weight, but how many times have you heard that mentioned? Never! Because she did not make a career out of her body looking a certain way.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:05:02 +0000

Britney looks awesomely good.. i just don’t know why she wore that outfit at the vmas and why didn’t someone tell her about how fake the hair looked…i honestly wished she would’ve dressed a sexy but sophisticated and with more power on her performance… thats all she need it to rock
ooh and poor thing you could just see her lack of confidence, she didn’t even want to move like if she felt uncomfortable in those clothes!!

By: rosy

rosy — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:53 +0000

So well put seriously she is at a healthy weight
and your right it will affect young women when the press
starts focusing on this. Women and girls really do have a tough
image to live up to and it’s about time we realize this

Thanks for saying what most people on the bandwagon won’t

By: Mitsu

Mitsu — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:21:39 +0000

I think your blanket statements detract from your point. I agree with your point, but disagree with this:

“There is not a girl or woman I know in my personal life who wouldn’t trade their current figure for Spears’ current condition in a heartbeat.”

Now, I don’t know the girls and women you do, but I am a 44-year-old woman who wouldn’t want Britney’s figure, and who thinks she looks a little pudgy. Does she have a right to be pudgy after having two kids? Yes, absolutely. Is the media destroying the psyches and self-images of our young women? Yes, and it’s a shame. But I’d just like to see you choose your words more carefully next time. If you are acquainted with a cross-section of women, you may know somebody like me - I am 5′2″ and weigh 115 pounds. That’s not to brag, but just to say, I am also a normal woman, and I consider my size to be normal, and I was rooting for you until I got to the part where it was implied I wanted to look like Britney. I don’t. She is not fat, but I still wouldn’t want her figure. Frankly, if she wanted praise and applause after the show she should have worked out more instead of going to Taco Bell drive-through before the performance.

As much as people point out that the sickly-skinny mores perpetuated by the media are ruining the self-images of our nation’s women, I have also observed a reverse, rebound effect. As the nation’s population grows larger, larger body sizes are beginning to be seen as the norm. The “obesity epidemic” is no joke, and there are lots of people out there to whom larger sizes are starting to look more and more acceptable, without concern for the accompanying health issues, as well as the social issues caused by the deterioration of our work force and burden on taxpayers of the increasing masses of obese people who cannot pay for their mounting healthcare bills. We should not become lackadaisical about this threat to our collective well-being.

The ideal, “normal” weight is somewhere in the middle, somewhere in the range where Britney falls now. I just think that we have to be careful not to lose our perspective in being too reactionary, in either direction.

By: Bobbyjohn

Bobbyjohn — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 22:15:01 +0000

Ok, I’ll be the one to say it, it’s not that she was fat it’s that she was too fat to be wearing what she was wearing. Had she tried to make a comeback as the 25 year old mother of two that she is that would have been one thing. But no, she’s trying to make a comeback as the 18 year old, rail thin slut she used to be and for that she deserves criticism.

There are other girls who aren’t rail thin in the music industry but they don’t put on a tiny bikini and dance around like a stripper on MTV. Aside from that it’s obvious she isn’t taking this comeback seriously, it’s a insult to the fans. She’s just grabbing for some money here….

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:47:22 +0000

Honestly, I feel bad for Britney. She should shoot the stylist who put her in that outfit, because she is not fat by any stretch of the word. But when she’s shoved in a glitter bikini and put on national television, people are going to gossip.

By: krazy

krazy — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:07:08 +0000

I would like to Thank Britney for Dancing and dressing the way she did. I am a mother of four, I have been told that I am not fat but in my mind I am huge. I feel I am about the same size as Britney in the photos So if she is fat, maybe I am correct in thinking I am huge. I think it took alot of courage and I bet she felt very uncomfortable, she is lacking self confidence and I wonder why….?????????? The media is mean to these celebs I feel sorry for her always under the microscope. She is not fat.

By: camille

camille — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:18:33 +0000

STOP HATING PEOPLE THE MEDIA REALLY GET OFF HER BACK YOU PEOPLE JUST DONT STOP UNTIL BRITNEY BREAKS DOWN DAMM SHE IS HUMAN GET OFF IT DO UR THING BRITNEY F#@% WHAT THERE GOING THREW

By: Team Britney

Team Britney — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:07:13 +0000

I am soooooooo glad that I finally found a website that didn’t think Britney Spears looked fat at the VMA’s. I thought she looked great considering she has just had 2 kids! It is true,however, that her performance was no where near what she used to do, but I’m still a Britney Fan. Anybody who thought that she looked fat, really should have their head examined!

By: trish

trish — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:30:28 +0000

I agree. Who are these people calling her fat think they are. She looks good for having two children. I wish after my two kids I looked like that. Just because she doesnt look like she used to. Peoples bodies change after children. Not everyones, but some.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:54:05 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. Yes, her performance was sloppy. No, it did not come close to her past performances. Yes, she should be embarrassed. However, she is absolutely NOT FAT. Sure, she doesn’t have the washboard stomach she had in the past but do people forget- she has had two kids within the last couple years! I would love to have her body before or after bearing children. This is exactly why so many young woman have NO self-esteem. If a 12 year old girl saw people calling Britney Spears fat- can you imagine what that 12 year old would think about herself?

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:49:21 +0000

I can only reiterate all of the above comments and applaud them. Would that I had a body like hers!
Is the medical world partly to blame for the nation’s addiction to thiness? I have noted amongst my friends that those with a little excess weight have far less flus, colds etc. Just a thought - and I hope some wise person is able to help Brittany.

By: hdw

hdw — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:35:21 +0000

Well said. Thanks for saying it.

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:14:56 +0000

I have two kids and I would love to like Brittany. Thank you for speaking out about this. SHE IS NOT FAT. I can’t believe it when someone like Perez calls her fat. Excuse me but get a mirror yourself. I can’t stand the pressure that is placed on women these days. It is unrealistic and sick. Sometimes I am glad that I had boys and that they, hopefully, will not feel the same pressure that girls feel.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:52:50 +0000

Britney would have been fine except she only got wind of what Silverman planned to say, right before her performance. Who wouldn’t have been put off by that? I blame MTV for allowing Silverman to say those horrible things on the air. Britney should sue Silverman and MTV!
And the public need to know the more they allow mags and fashion designers to dictate what we are supposed to look like, more people will fall victim to the eating disorders. Wake up people! Stop being lured by the ads! That’s all it is! They want you to buy their product! Save your money, you are already beautiful!

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:50:52 +0000

Oh, thank you, one thousand times over. When half-starved refugees are asked to lose weight by the current modeling industry, we know there is a problem with unrealistic body images.

The question is, what can we do? I am ready to do almost anything to fight this insanity.

By: Nice

Nice — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:24:56 +0000

I couldn’t have said it better; although, I believe everyone just comparing the old to the new Britney and it’s obvious the old was rather preferable. I have been a Britney fan and I was dissappointed in her “comeback” performance and I thought this would be something good as far as the media is concerned. Past performances were by far BETTER and ENTERTAINING then this year (so is her song), but I still am rooting for Britney! Only if she did her duet/collaboration with Justin!! It would be great to see them two together, even for a song.