Christina Aguilera speaks about physical autonomy and sexual well-being. (Photo: Getty Images)
Christina Aguilera reflects on her journey of “embracing sexuality” and owning her body in the toxic entertainment industry.
The 42-year-old spoke to Allure about her early start as a performer in the Mickey Mouse Club, which began when she was 7. And while the beginning of her career was certainly harmless, looking back, she’s realized a lot about how she must have been feeling about her body and the blurry lines.
“In this business, you get a lot of opinions about your body, about your sexuality, what’s too much and what’s not enough,” she told the publication. “A lot of it comes from male opinions and older business people’s opinions, which shouldn’t have anything to do with your body and your self-image.”
Aguilera later realized she struggled with physical autonomy because of the control she had over outside sources — especially when she rose to fame with hits like “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants.”
“I wasn’t creatively giving messages that really embodied who I am,” she explained. “So my second album was called Stripped. People always thought that had a sexual connotation, but if anything, I’ve spoken my truth about how it feels to be me, to embrace my body, and to be a woman outside of each other’s ideals.”
While the music she created throughout her career was meant to celebrate “all the different emotions of womanhood,” Aguilera didn’t shy away from visual expressions of her femininity, like “being extroverted and over the top and playing with glamor and make.” up.”
Despite the seemingly superficial aspects, she explained that her mission is to empower other women.
“I’ve always wanted women to feel comfortable and confident enough to figure out what makes them feel good,” she said. “Embracing sexuality to feel empowered and raw and out there if that’s the kind of woman you want to be.”
That mission has guided her into her most recent role as co-founder and chief brand consultant for Playground – a women-owned lubricants brand focused on sexual health and wellness.
The story goes on
“I like being a part of something that creates things that are not only pleasurable but also good for you and your vagina, which for us is the epicenter of everything,” Aguilera said. “It’s fun, but it can also be painful. It can be the birth of life. The vagina goes through a lot, so we have to make it feel good. We have to make sure we pamper and care for them.”
It also feels like a step in the right direction for the mother of an eight-year-old daughter, Summer, who Aguilera recognizes as her constant reference.
“I try to be really conscious of what I put in my body, what my daughter sees me putting in my body. We have conversations like, ‘What is a tampon? What’s your period?’ She’s eight, but education is everything. And breaking the conversation into digestible and easy-to-understand pieces helps us take the fear and stigma out of things,” she says.
Ultimately, she hopes to be part of a larger movement to remove stigma and shame when it comes to women’s sexual health.
“As a woman, anything that affects you as a woman should be something that you feel good about sharing,” she says.
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