Stripped Saysto StandStrong ChristinaAguilera'sVoiceandFeministNarratology. AnnaMariaHedlund UniversityofHalmstad DepartmentofHumanities English41-60 Fall2005 Supervisor:CeciliaBjörkén-Nyberg Abstract Title: Stripped SaystoStandStrong:ChristinaAguilera'sVoiceandFeminist Narratology. Author: AnnaMariaHedlund Document: C-essay,fall2005 Education: English41-60points,DepartmentofHumanities University: UniversityofHalmstad Supervisor: CeciliaBjörkén-Nyberg Throughouthistorywomenhavebeensubjecttooppressionbypatriarchalsociety. However,therehavealwaysbeenthosewhohavetriedtoriseagainstit.Thisstudywill shedlightupononeexample:afemaleartistwhopersonallydefiesthepatriarchalnorms atthesametimeashermusicencouragesotherstodothesame.Themusicianinquestion isChristinaAguilera,andthealbumstudiedis Stripped . Whatthisstudyshowsisthat Stripped canbereadasafeministstatement.The lyricsdealwithtwomainthemes:patriarchalsociety’sobjectificationandoppressionof women,andthestrugglesofloveandrelationships.Whatthesetwothemeshavein commonisthattheybothencouragewomentostandtheirgroundandbelievein themselves. However,thelyricsonthealbumalsosuggestthatAguileraisawareofthefact thathermessagewillnotsuiteveryone.Sheknowsthatsheworkswithinanindustry whosegoalistomakemoneyoutofitsartists,andthereforeshehastokeeprepeating likeamantratoherselfandtoothersthatshe,andhermusic,isnotjustaproductofthis industry.Themessagehermusicbringsactuallymatters. TocometothisconclusionIhaveexaminedAguilera’slyricsintermsofwhat messagestheybringandwhotheirnarrateesmightbe,allinaccordancewithfeminist narratology.Secondarysourcesfromthefieldsofpopularmusicstudies,mediastudies andgenderstudiesaswellasinterviewswithandaboutAguileraandbiographieshave beenconsulted. Keywords: ChristinaAguilera, Stripped ,lyrics,feministnarratology,narrator, narratee,voice,patriarchalsociety,feministstatement,empowerment. TableofContents Introduction:Allowmetointroducemyself ……………………………….. 1 NobodyCanHoldUsDown ……………………………………………………6 Love’sEmbrace …………………………………………………………………. 27 Conclusion:KeeponSingingMySong …………………………………….32 ListofCitedSources ……………………………………………………………34 Introduction: Allowmetointroducemyself Tobeawomaninsocietyhasneverbeeneasy.Notonlydoesonehavetomeetallthe everydaychallengesthatmentoomeet.Patriarchalsocietyalsoimposesrestrictionson thefemalesexinformsofstrictnormativeexpectationsastobehaviour.Thenormtellsa womanhowtotalk,whatsubjectsareappropriateforhertovoice,andoftenevenhow sheshouldpresentherselfvisually.Italsorestrictswhattypesofsocialactivitiesare suitableforawomantoengagein,includingsexualandaggressivesituations.Inother words,societyrestrictsthedefinitionofwhatitmeanstobea“properwoman.”Ifthese expectationsarenotmetandifawomangoesagainstthenorm,patriarchalsocietywill mostlikelyreact. Onewomanwhohashadfirst-handexperienceofthisreactionisChristina Aguilera. In2002,shelaunchedheralbum Stripped asare-introductionofherself,andas awaytoempowerwomen.However,noteveryonewasreadyforhernewpersona.Atthe releaseofthisalbum,thepublicwasalreadyfamiliarwiththesinger’scommercial image,whichwasconstructedtofittheprofiteeringpop-market.Thismeantthat Aguilerawasmainlyassociatedwiththecutepopartistshehadbeenmarketedas. However,afterbreakingwithherpersonalmanager,1whotoagreatextentcontrolledthe singer’screativedirection,Aguileranowwantedtoshowhertruecolours: Comingoffoftheheightofbeingapartofsuchabigpop-crazephenomenon, thatimageryofthatcookie-cuttersweetheart,withoutIbeingme,Ijusthadto takeitalldownandgetitawayfromme.AndthisiswhyIactuallynamedthe album Stripped ,becauseitisaboutbeingemotionallystrippeddownandpretty baretoopenmysoulandheart.(Deol&Vineyard) Thisimagechangerevealedamoreaggressive,rawerandsexierAguilerasingingabout domesticabuse,theunjusttreatmentofwomeninsociety,femalesexuality,andtheneed totakecontrolofyourownlife.Itwouldbeanunderstatementtosaythatitchallenged society’snormofwhatconstitutesawoman. Themaintargetforpeople’scriticismwaswhatwaslabeledAguilera’snew, raunchyimageandherapproachtosexinthealbum’slyrics.MTVorderedoneof 1OnOctober13,2000AguilerafiledaBreachofFiduciaryDutylawsuitagainstherexclusivepersonal managerStevenKurtzforimproper,undueandinappropriateinfluenceoverherprofessionalactivities,as wellasfraud.Accordingtolegaldocuments,KurtzdidnotprotectAguilera’sinterests,butlookedafterhis owninterests,atthecostofhers(Dominguez171-172). 1 Aguilera’svideostobetoneddowninordertobeaired(House).TheIndependent TelevisionCommissionrecievednumerouscomplaintssayingthatthesinger’s performancewastoosuggestivetobebroadcastedearlyintheday(Worthington)and amongthecriticstherewereevensomewhoaccusedthefeministmovementforthe singer’snewimage.SyndicatecoluminstMichelleMalkin,forinstance,arguedin Jewish WorldReview that“Aguileraisasadsymptomofthisculturalzeitgeist....Theeraof radical-feministsexualliberationhasproducedagenerationofshamelessskanks.”In short,thecontroversyChristinaAguileracausedmaybeseenasanexampleofhow societyreactswhenawomanstepsoutsideoftheexpectednormativebehaviour boundaries. AnotherpossiblereasonwhyAguilera’salbum Stripped stirredemotionscanbe tracedbacktotheimportanceofmusic’sfunctionasanagentofsocialization.Several scholarshavesuggestedthatmusicisusedtocreateanidentity(e.g.Frith,Whiteley).If themusicthenpromotesafemaleidentitywhichdefieswhatissociallyconstitutedas appropirate,patriarchalsocietymayverywellattacktheartistconveyingthismessage. AsJohnSheppardsuggests,“[T]heexistenceofmusic,liketheexistenceofwomen,is potentially threateningtomentotheextentthatitsonicallyinsistsonthesocial relatednessofhumanworlds...musicremindsmenofthefragileandatrophiednature oftheircontroloftheworld”(159).Consequently,menhavetosubordinatewomento maintaintheillusionofmalecentrality.Thisis,accordingtoSheppard,achievedthrough malecontrolofculturalreproduction:“[A]sreflectionsofthemaledesiretocontrolthe world,womenthemselvesmustbecontrolledandmanipulated.Thisisaccomplishedby meansofisolationandobjectification”(156).Femaleartistsmusttherefore“package themselves(orbepackaged,asinadvertisingimages)asobjectsamenabletocontrolby men”(154)inordernottooffendpatriarchalsociety.However,noteveryoneconforms tothis. Therearenumerousstudieswhichelucidatehowfemaleartistshavecreatedastir insocietybynotconformingtowhatisexpectedofthemduetotheirsex.Thesoloartist whohasprobablygeneratedthegreatestnumberofstudiesisMadonna.Sinceshemakes creativeuseofthefundamentaldichotomyofthevirginandthevamp,herconstant imagechangeshavebeenstudied.Moreover,ithasbeensuggestedthathermusicserves asareflectionofsocietyanditsattitudestowardssexualityandreligion.Thus,her controloverherowncareerhasbeenanalyzedoverandoveragainbyexpertsinmultiple academicfields(forexampleGuilbert,LewisandWhiteley).Insomeofthesestudiesit 2 hasfurthermorebeenarguedthatMadonnashouldbeviewedassomeonewhoknowsthe socialnormsandchoosestoprovokethemtomakeastatement.MartineTrittolénoisone whomakesthisclaim: Madonnaismorethanawitnessofherepoch,sheisanactivereflectionofit, sheisaniconoclast,andheraestheticsdonotgiveadamnabout‘goodtaste’. Sheseizesthetrendsothemomentwithvampire-likegluttony,recyclesthem inherveryownwayandthenthrowstheminthefaceoftheestablishment. (qtd.inGuilbert148) Anevenmoreaggressivefeministapproachtosocietycanbefoundinthestudies doneontheRiotGrrrls.Themovementbeganin1991asaresultofadecisionmadeata meetingheldinWashingtonstate,USA.Thewomenwhoparticipatedinthismeeting wantedtodiscusshowtoaddresssexism.Theyfeltthatsocietydidnotofferany validationofwomen’sexperiences,andinspiredbytheantiracistriotsinWashington D.C.theydecidedtostarta“girlriot,”whichincludedallfemalebandsandzines 2that expressedfeministandantiracistviewpoints.Theydealtwithtopicssuchasrape,incest, eatingdisorders,andhowsocietyteacheswomentohatethemselves(Schilt6). Moreover,theRiotGrrrlsbecameknownfortheirprovocativewaystoreclaim stereotypesandfeminineglamour.Theywroteslogansandwordsontheirbodies,and onefrequentlyrecurringwordwas‘SLUT.’Thiswordisgenerallyviewedas depreciatory,butTheRiotGrrrlsmadethewordtheirownbywritingitontheirbodies. BikiniKillsingerKathleenHannaexplainsthetacticsin TheSexRevolts:Gender, Rebellion,andRock‘n’Roll (Reynolds&Press):“Whenyoutakeoffyourshirt[onstage] theguysthink“Oh,whataslut”andit’sreallyfunnybecausetheythinkthatandthen theylookatyouanditsaysit”(325).Thus,TheRiotGrrlsappropriatedthewordin ordertocriticizeandchallengethepatriarchalobjectificationofwomen. TheartistsassociatedbothwithRiotGrrrlsandMadonnacanthusbeseenas examplesoffemaleartistswhohaveusedtheirartistrytomakeafeministstatement,and inthisstudyIwillclaimthatAguileraisyetanother.ThisisaconclusionIhavearrived atafteranalysingthealbum’slyricswithintheframesoffeministnarratology.Ihavealso usedinterviewsandbiographiesconnectedtoAguileraandfindingsfromseveral academicfieldssuchaspopularmusicstudies,mediastudies,andgenderstudiesin generaltosupportmythesis. 2Zineisasmallmagazine,usuallyaboutpopularculturewrittenbypeoplewhoarenotprofessional writers(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,1921). 3 Feministnarratologyisafairlynewdiscipline.AccordingtoKathyMezeiin AmbiguousDiscourse ,thefirstonetocallattentiontoitwasSusanS.Lanser(8).In1986 Lansersuggestedin“TowardaFeministNarratology”thatthereareadvantagestobe foundwhencombiningnarratologyandfeminism.Herargumentisthatacombinationof narratology’sorderedheritagefromstructuralismtogetherwiththefeministicaimto studythenarrative’scontextbenefitsbothtraditionswhenananalysisisconducted.She suggeststhat: Anarratologyforfeministcriticismwould....[i]nbothitsconceptsandits terminology,...reflectthemimeticaswellasthesemioticexperiencethatis