
Toward a More Radical Selfie - prismatic
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/11/27/toward-a-more-radical-selfie/
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cafard
"Yet this era was heralded years earlier, in 2007, when Britney Spears shaved
her head and the onlooking public could only digest it as hysterical—the most
misogynistic of characterizations. It now feels avant-garde: she assassinated
her own character. Indeed, she reclaimed her self as something more than just
a brand or commodity. By attacking her appearance (her hair, the root of so
much aesthetic femininity) she drew attention to the ways in which our society
attaches identity to women."

I never knew Britney Spears was so profound.

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rainonmoon
Yes, it's a reflection of the critical myopia of the late 90s/early aughts
that Spears's performance and artistry weren't considered more thoughtfully.
Thankfully that's changing.

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cafard
lest I forget:
[http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0006/britney/](http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/0006/britney/)

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forgottenpass
This article was so bad that a morbid fascination took over and I read the
whole thing. I was gearing up to rip into this until I googled the author and
saw they're only 24. I fell into cliche thought bubbles believing they were
insight when I was 24 too.

Edit: Wait a sec, The _Paris_ Review? Is this some clever Parisian social
satire of the anglosphere? If so, those scamps got me.

~~~
sushid
The article does read like a BS essay I would have written in college. But
what’s with the age discrimination in your post?

The article doesn’t magically get any better if the author were 40 years old.

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forgottenpass
>The article doesn’t magically get any better if the author were 40 years old.

It wouldn't, but I'm more forgiving of someone closer to the college where
they were taught to write the essay the teacher wants but told it's insight.
I'm also more forgiving of someone with less experience seeing the popular
narratives and interpretations of social structures change and learn to
distrust the implied "OK, this time, we've got it figured out."

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bettyx1138
mary knowles, the artist the author talks about, sounds wildly fascinating!

