I wrote the following essay in December 2002 for a scholarship application. The maximum length was 500 words, and the question to be answered was, “Who is the voice of your generation, and what is that person’s message? Do you agree with it or not?” Here is my response, which helped me to win the scholarship.

The Voice of My Generation

The pop music star Britney Spears is unquestionably a voice of my generation. She has had great success in the music world, having sold millions of albums worldwide. Most young adults at least know her name; many, even those who do not like her music, can belt out one of her songs on the spot. It is through those songs that Spears delivers her messages, messages that contradict each other and corrupt the young girls who idolize her.

In her song “Sometimes,” Spears croons, “sometimes I run, sometimes I hide, sometimes I'm scared of you, but all I really want is to hold you tight, treat you right, be with you day and night…” To some, these lyrics are about domestic abuse. Spears is telling the frightened female partners of abusive men that they should stay with their men, “treat them right,” and “be with them day and night.” These women need to be told that they should get out of their abusive relationships and seek help, not that they should stay with men who physically or verbally assault them.

The lyrics of another one of her songs, “Born to Make You Happy,” say that, just as the title suggests, a woman’s duty is to satisfy her lover, not herself. “I don't know how to live without your love, I was born to make you happy,” Spears sings.

In another of her songs, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” Spears claims to be the slave of the title “U,” ruining the image of the independent woman other female musicians are trying to portray. Young women should be told that they do not need to be in a relationship to be happy and that they should not live to serve another. It is a wonderful thing to give and to make others happy, but not at the expense of one’s own happiness.

In one of her most popular songs, “Oops!… I Did It Again,” Spears warbles about how she plays games with men and makes them believe she is in love with them when she is not. Young girls, to whom Spears is something of a goddess, now believe toying with a man’s emotions is acceptable because Spears does it.

Finally, in her song “What U See (Is What U Get),” Spears sings about the provocative image she has developed. “But now you think I'm wearing too much make-up, That my dress is too tight… What you see is what you get, This is me…” However, in the October 2001 issue of the magazine YM, Spears stated, “There’s a part of me that likes to look and act bad. It’s like playing dress-up.” In the same article, she also said of the fans who ask her for advice, “I just tell them to be themselves… It’s not about trying to be something you’re not.”

Britney Spears is a hypocrite and a bad role model, and for these reasons, I do not agree with the messages she sends out to my generation.

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