I Am Not My Hair

After the yearly reunion dinner on Saturday night, I started surfing yahoo news on my mobile phone out of sheer boredom. The first headline was "Bald Britney Appears at LA Tattoo Parlor". It was so immediate I didn't really have time to be shocked. We all know that B girl's been acting out recently but who would have thought she'd take 'rebellion' to such an extent? I was never really aware - or never really wanted to believe - that Britney was in such an unstable place emotionally. After this latest incident, I have come round to the general consensus that she needs help. Not necessarily rehab, but someone who can be straight with her and not sell her story to the press for money later. And the damn media needs to back off really. It's easy for us to look at her and criticise. Trashy apperance, not caring for herself or her children, making compulsive decisions, and the list goes on. However do we really, to quote Britney herself, know "What It's Like To Be Me"?

Imagine going through a messy divorce, having two children in two years, seemingly having no one that you can trust or depend on, being followed by the paparazzi everywhere you go, and having your every move closely scrutinised and picked apart by the media and general public. Of course, you can say that she brought a lot of this on herself - and I would agree that she has self-destructive tendencies - but even then, why do we continue to kick her when she's down? Fact of the matter is, none of us knows what it feels like to have millions of people project their fantasies and crosses onto you, and while Britney has made millions as a result of that, a high price has also been exacted.

Where to go from here? I don't know really. I for one am not hoping for an album this year, much as I was eagerly anticipating new music. On some strange level, I do admire Britney. For having the balls - some may call it stupidity - to do what none of her peers would. Can you ever imagine Beyonce shaving off her precious golden weave? Or Aguilera, for all her alleged proclamations of being raw and gritty, having the guts to stop hiding behind her thick red lipstick and Marilyn Monroe facade? The smug will now proceed to point out that Beyonce and Christina are the ones with relative success, whereas Britney hasn't had a hit in 3 years. Which is exactly my point. They love their success too much to ever risk sacrificing it. Britney on the other hand doesn't really give a fuck at this point. And on some level I admire that. Shaving her head was her way of giving the finger to those who wanted to mould her into something she wasn't. To all those people who used to accuse her of being a manufactured pop star with long, blonde extensions, singing sugary pop tunes in music videos where she resembled Barbie, and making music because she wanted the money/fame/attention. The last vestiges of that were effectively shorn away.

It does make me sad to see how far she's fallen. From golden girl to baldy. But I honestly feel that if Britney can get her act together and ride out these dark times, she truly will emerge a stronger women. The years we spent growing up and maturing, she spent being chaperoned around from one city to the next, being told what to do, a mere puppet on the strings of Jive Records. When you stifle someone for so long, the resulting fissure will only be that much worse. This is Britney's way of growing up. Sure, she could choose easier, less dramatic ways of doing so. But this is Britney after all. She learns the hard way. All we can do is wait. And hope.