Let’s give it up for the Bad Girl y’all! Britney Spears is a fucking mess, isn’t she? Or is she… ? Although some may be oblivious to what’s going on with Spears (like the urgent issue of war, for example), her troubled life exposed in the media can help us situate the Bad Girl as she is: taunted, created, destroyed and, eventually, forgiven. First, a primer in Spears-ism 101. Back in November, after her failed marriage with backup dancer/aspiring rapper K-Fed, Spears went on a partying rampage. During this time, her labia was photographed as she entered a vehicle, she became best friends with notorious party-goer/heiress Paris Hilton, passed out at a party on New Years’ Eve in Las Vegas (shortly after midnight), shaved her head bald, entered and left two rehab facilities and, most recently, attacked a paparazzo’s van with an umbrella. She is now doing time in a posh rehab facility, reportedly under threats to revoke custody of her two small children. Now, if we look at the other women in the media who have been the centre of public fascination, we have very telling discourse of controlling and creating this Bad Girl. Past obsessions include Marilyn Monroe, Courtney Love, Nicole Richie, Yoko Ono, Lindsay Lohan and, how can anyone forget the fascination that ended in tragedy, Anna Nicole Smith. Every one of these ladies had a different narrative. Courtney Love was the woman who destroyed a budding rock star, and so was Yoko Ono. Nicole Richie clearly had an eating disorder—our constant monitoring of her body and eating patterns attest to this. Marilyn Monroe was called a man-eater and the public was consumed with her beauty during her short life as an actor. Anna Nicole Smith, an ex-Playboy model who married an 89 year-old billionaire at age 26, will probably soon be immortalized as Monroe has been—as a saint for all to idolize. But to what extent do we participate in the production of the Bad Girl? Yes the paparazzi are evil, “eTalk Daily” are dorks and PerezHilton.com is a douchebag. But, as a public, our fascination sells magazines; our webpage hits sell advertising space. Why is the Bad Girl such a source of intrigue? And at which point do we move from being passive observers to being active participators in her demise? Situating her within the context of media manipulation and consumer production is an informed choice. On March 8, International Women’s Day, I invite you all to problematize and question the Bad Girl.
