Britney Spears’ ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ Is Horribly Offensive
Britney Spears‘ “I’m a Slave 4 U” is one of the most important songs of her career. It’s also the most horribly misguided and offensive moment of the “… Baby One More Time” singer‘s career. Spears said she didn’t mean the song’s lyrics literally. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have some horrific undercurrents.
Britney Spears’ ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ makes use of an inflammatory metaphor
Spears’ “I’m a Slave 4 U” is about dancing in the club and finding a sexy lover. On that level, it’s a pretty standard pop song. The main reason the track got so much attention is that it was Spears’ most sexual release to date and it had a sultry music video featuring the “Womanizer” singer in a sauna. In many fans’ minds. “I’m a Slave 4 U” transitioned Spears from a teen pop star into a singer for a more mature audience.
However, the track is one of many that use slavery as a metaphor for being intensely devoted to something. Michael Jackson’s “Slave to the Rhythm” and Grace Jones’ “Slave to the Rhythm” are two earlier songs with similar themes. It goes without saying that using slavery as a metaphor like this is insensitive to the victims of slavery, past and present. The fact that Spears sexualizes the metaphor makes it even more inflammatory. There are many other ways that Spears could have emphasized her devotion to her lover through her lyrics.
Britney Spears said she wasn’t anyone’s slave
During a 2001 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Spears cited “I’m a Slave 4 U” as a departure from the bubblegum pop she released in her early career. “Well, it’s just more me,” she said regarding her image shift. “That’s why we chose ‘Slave’ as the single, because that’s where I’m at. Not that I’m a slave for anybody!”
She felt “I’m a Slave 4 U” was a balancing act. “But the vibe of the song, it’s very sensual and sexy without being too provocative,” she explained. “I’d get bored singing the same type of songs all the time. I mean, I still love my old stuff, but you have to extend yourself and grow.”
The director of ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ didn’t like the singer’s early music
Music video director Francis Lawrence helmed the clip for “I’m a Slave 4 U.” He told Entertainment Weekly what he thought of the single. “When [teen] pop first came around, I have to say I was one of the people who was not feeling it,” he says. “But Britney’s done the smartest thing she could have by growing up and letting her taste in music grow up. I just don’t know if the people who have been listening with her are going to grow up with her. I mean, a 7-year-old might dance around in her room to ‘Oops!… I Did It Again,’ but ‘I’m a Slave 4 U?'”
There is nothing wrong with Spears wanting to be provocative. There is nothing wrong with her wanting a more risque image. However, making light of slavery for a sexy pop song isn’t the way to go about it. Hopefully, future pop stars will not go down that road.
