Christina Aguilera Reflection

In class we discussed Lieb’s categories, which I found extremely interesting. Lieb talks about the four types of being, which include the transition from good girl, to temptress, to either a diva or a hot mess, and finally a provocateur. The transitions are aided by what Lieb describes as a play within the music industry, where there can be no more than one star fulfilling a role at a particular time, pushing stars to different roles if they have already worn out their current one. I decided to respond to the Christina Aguilera’s video of the song, Hot Body, where she portrays herself as a provocative woman with minimal clothing. The video begins with a warning, reading “ No men were harmed in the making of this video.” This preface is interesting, as it sets the tone for Aguilera to be potentially hazardous to a mans overall well being because of the way she is dressed and the way she is behaving. The music video is set in the desert in California, where Aguilera is wearing skimpy clothing and engages in sexual acts with a man that picks her up in a car while she is hitchhiking. I believe that this song and stage in Christina’s career fits into the second stage of the four types of being that Lieb discusses in her video. Aguilera is clearly communicating her sexual availability in this video, for example, by being a hitchhiker with revealing clothing and provocatively touching the man inside the car. She is also being provocative in the colors she is wearing. There is a lot of neon colors in the video, concentrated in her outfit and hair, calling all attention to her. There were several comments which I found interesting but one that caught my attention was B. Hunt’s comment, where he says “man she is sexy… and improving in all areas.” This comment got 73 thumbs up, which means that several people agreed with his reaction. This sexualization of Christina Aguilera’s body is typical of the temptress stage. Clearly, people watching the video are responding in the way the music industry and producers of the song and video intended, even if the content of the comment seems inappropriate or perverted. Another comment by rocklesson86 states, “I cannot believe she is the same age as Britney Spears, and she aged better.” This comment got 357 thumbs up, no thumbs down and 31 replies meaning it garnered quite a bit of agreement. The comparison to Britney Spears is important, because she is another star that went through Lieb’s categories, also starting as a good girl, but later progression to a temptress and a hot mess. Hopefully Aguilera does not follow the hot mess just as candidly as Britney Spears did, but from the looks of the cycle and the comment, she is definitely following Britney’s footsteps.