Feminism and Post-Feminism in relation to Britney Spears

The lyric at this point is “be a little inappropriate”. This portrays a post feminism view as it shows a more “female gaze” outlook as it objectifies the men and makes her appear powerful. The man seems stunned by her behaviour so then shows shock at a woman using her sexuality against him and objectifying men and almost switches it all around and allows him to portray what women feel when it’s the other way round. He then does a backflip and shows excitement about the fact a beautiful woman has just grabbed his bum and the fact he doesn’t complain shows he is allowing the objectification. If she was unattractive, however, he would have an entirely different reaction and would again show how women perhaps feel when it is reversed onto them but that’s another matter.

The way she takes control and exudes power and confidence is admirable and is very post-feminist. HOWEVER, at the end of the video it is shown that the whole “taking control” thing was all a dream. This could be a symbolic representation of the unachievable dream that women will be equal to men.

Post-Feminist interpretation of Britney Spears’ “I Wanna Go”

This is supposed to be a very empowering moment for Britney. She completely controls the police officer whilst stunning a young boy in the process of flashing and exposing herself to them. The policeman becomes very distracted and turns all attention to her. This could be seen as empowering. However, the fact he then “frisks” her and completely objectifies her body could perhaps contradict this idea and only further enforce the need for feminism. Though she is using her “assets” to control a man, it is still from a male gaze in my opinion. This scene is trying to emphasise both post-feminism and feminism as it shows the need to become equal to men but it also only does that through the sexualisation of her body which contradicts the initial reasons for feminism.

Also, the fact she shocks and possibly arouses such a young boy through these actions does not look good on her and if the video was in fact made in the name of feminism or post-feminism it creates a bad name for feminists. However, I highly doubt this video was made with the intention to fight gender stereotypes and for the equality of sexes because the provocative outfit does not adhere to the original ideas about feminism as she is using her sexuality to win over a man and that seems to be the most important thing she strives for. It could be argued that that is post-feminism.

Feminist view on “I Wanna Go” by Britney Spears

Here she is shown on top of a taxi and is in the middle of the shot. She is in complete control of the situation and then proceeds to bringing down the men that keep photographing her with a microphone and they fall. This could represent empowering women which would in turn demote men? This scene clearly shows this and makes the women seem more powerful. However, she is the only woman in the whole video so perhaps it only empowers her and acts on her own agenda of boosting her image. However if the video is a microcosm and she represents all women this could be far more positive as she is portrayed as a strong and independent woman and completely subverts the idea of being passive.