#FreeBritney was a phrase that resonated with me. The hashtag came about years after Britney Spears was placed under her father’s strict tutelage for 13 years. The idea of a woman being held captive, dehumanized, and stripped of her autonomy might resonate with me as a black woman. While my story is that of a descendant of enslaved African Americans and Britney is that of a wealthy pop star, there are similarities and so much of her story can touch other black women.
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In her new autobiography, “The Woman in Me,” the 41-year-old seethes with anger, but at the same time speaks transparently and honestly about her life, her loves and the pain of living under her father’s rule in a conservatory that doesn’t do anything to her The most necessary thing is not to have an ATM card.
The horrific stories about her father and his control over her name, her music, her life and, in many ways, her soul are summed up when she writes: “I just want to let you know,” he said, “I’m in charge.” .” He added, “I’m Britney Spears now.”
But it was her stories about her relationship with Justin Timberlake – including his cheating and encouraging her to have an abortion during their relationship – that have been making headlines lately. Some fans responded supportively, while the music industry reacted as expected, with Timbaland, one of Timberlake’s frequent collaborators, saying the pop star should have “muzzled” Britney. He has since apologized.
It’s a story that many black women can relate to – that they are blamed for men’s bad behavior. But Britney’s story doesn’t begin and hopefully it doesn’t end there.
My favorite karaoke song is “Baby One More Time”, there is nothing like it in a karaoke bar full of people who have had a few drinks. The way the audience joins in with “My loneliness… is killing me…” makes me feel like a pop star. The song exudes 2000s nostalgia and Britney was the queen of that era.
She represents a time in my life in my own twenties when anything seemed possible. Your book gives back some of that time.
“That was probably the moment in my life when I was most passionate about music,” Britney writes of that time. “I was unknown and I had nothing to lose if I screwed up. There’s so much freedom in being anonymous…It was kind of liberating that I didn’t care if I made mistakes.”
The overarching theme of The Woman in Me is freedom. It is the ability to be yourself, to dream, even to fail and make your own mistakes. It’s a story of femininity and I think it could be a story that almost every black woman can read and see a trace of themselves.
On the back of the book, Britney writes about her childhood in Louisiana, how she laid down and looked at the sky and thought, “I can make my own way in life. I can make my dreams come true.”
I felt that. ‘Cause Britney, baby… no one dreams like sisters.