Reading about this makes me feel both happy and sad. It was 1998, and I was 10 years old when "Baby One More Time" came out, and to a 10-year-old, 17 seemed mature enough to be seen as a sexual object. Now that I'm 30, it's lowkey horrifying to me what we actually did to Britney Spears.
She and Christina Aguilera were objectified from the get-go. That was part of their whole image, an "innocent" girl with a budding sexuality whose age makes her unattainable but not for very long. And to cash in on the whole gimmick, both girls had to have breast augmentation. I've read from a book that it was Britney's mother's idea, and her father was furious because she wasn't even finished growing yet. Christina was a legal adult by that time, but I think it's still unfortunate that she felt it was necessary for her career.
Young Billie Eilish is clearly aware of this and sought to put on an edgier look that, for older audiences, is reminiscent of Avril Lavigne.
The difference is that Lavigne's image is born out of a naturally tomboyish and childlike demeanor. And while she does strike a nice figure, she is slim and athletic. With the right ensemble and a neckline just high enough, she can pull off a tank top without drawing unwanted attention to her body. Billie Eilish, on the other hand, is buxom, and she knows all too well that she could never get away with wearing normal clothes without people noticing and commenting on her enviably generous jugs. And while this image gives her the freedom to be as boisterous as she likes, one can't help but wonder if she is also being restricted to just that, that we essentially forced her into baggy clothes.
Don't get me wrong; I think a sexy image in itself isn't a bad thing. The problem is when it is either imposed on or denied from these performers instead of letting them explore it on their own terms. Avril managed to grow into her sexuality when she was already an adult, and even then, she made sure she wasn't only a sexual object. For Britney Spears in particular, it was a marketing gimmick, and it ended up being psychologically damaging to her. The opposite is probably happening to Billie Eilish right now; even if she were to explore her sexual nature, not covering up could result in excess attention she knows she couldn't deal with.
This is an unfortunate thing.
