Anna Good
The barely-censored nudes the “Gimme More” singer posts to Instagram are nothing new on her account, but they have sparked a slew of negative comments online.
Britney Spears has often posed in lingerie or even less for photoshoots, something that she has been doing since she first appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in her underwear at the age of 17.
Now, at age 40, she is posting the photos in what she describes as a way to take back her body for herself and to remind everyone that she is a “free woman.”
For those that follow Britney on social media, the nude photos that are barely covered with emojis or her hands are nothing new, although they have been posted much more frequently since the termination of her conservatorship back in November.
When the pop star posted nudes to her Instagram as the conservatorship battle came to a head, she explained to fans why she was posting them, which was to reclaim the body that had been out of her own control for so long.
“I bet you’re wondering why I’d expose my body NOW,” she wrote in the caption of her post. “Well it’s because I was born into this world naked and I honestly feel like the weight of the [world] has been on my shoulders and it’s made me view myself that way. I wanted to see myself in a lighter way … naked … like the way I was born.”
She went on to say, “I am a woman …. a beautiful … sensitive woman who needs to look at myself in my purest form … I’m not going to do topless pics for the rest of my life cause that would get boring but it sure as hell helps when you need to be enlightened.”
The latest backlash has come from photos Britney posted on the beach in French Polynesia, where she is completely naked in the water and has censored the photos with diamond emojis.
The photo carousel was captioned with a series of rose emojis, her symbol for freedom from her conservatorship.
There are many who have praised and supported the singer’s freedom of expression. Fans and trolls on the internet, however, have called her out for the nudes, calling her “embarrassing” and “disturbing.”
Just a day after posting the series of photos, Britney posted a follow-up in a caption to an Instagram post, saying once again that the nudes are her way of expressing her freedom.
“Alrightyyy then folks … showing my bod in French Polynesia 🇵🇫 as a rebel and free WOMAN !!!!! I WILL DO BIG LETTERS CAUSE I THINK THAT MEANS IT’S IMPORTANT AND I DON’T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT …. SHOWING THINGS OF IMPORTANCE.”
The wider conversation about the nudes has pointed out that Britney was often applauded for appearing in lingerie for photoshoots and on the covers of magazines when she was in her 20s. The only difference, it seems, is that she is posting the photos under her own choice, at the age of 40.
One user pointed out that there are a wealth of influencers on Instagram who are lauded for posting suggestive nude photos. The only difference? They’re much younger than Britney.
In the end, plenty of Britney’s fans have supported her for defying ageist stereotypes.