The powerful #FreeBritney movement deeply resonated with me. This rallying cry emerged years after Britney Spears was placed in a 13-year-long conservatorship at the hands of her own father. The idea of a woman being held captive, dehumanized, and stripped of her autonomy struck a chord with me as a Black woman. While Britney’s background as a rich pop star differs from my own history as a descendant of enslaved African Americans, there are undeniable parallels, and her story has the potential to deeply connect with other Black women.
In her new autobiography, The Woman in Me, the 41-year-old speaks candidly about her life, love, and the anguish of being under the control of her father’s conservatorship, which denied her even the most basic freedoms, like having an ATM card.
The horrifying tales of her father’s control over her name, music, life, and soul are epitomized in her words: “I just want to let you know,” he said, “I call the shots.” He added, “I’m Britney Spears now.”
But it’s her accounts of her relationship with Justin Timberlake—including his infidelity and pressuring her to have an abortion—that recently made headlines. Some fans were supportive, while others in the music industry, like Timberlake’s frequent collaborator Timbaland, made insensitive remarks. He has since apologized.
This is a story that many Black women can relate to—being blamed for the wrongful actions of men. However, this is not the beginning, nor the end, of Britney’s story.
For me, “Baby One More Time” is my go-to karaoke song. There’s nothing quite like belting it out in a room full of people, feeling like a pop star. The song exudes nostalgia from the 2000s era, and Britney was undeniably the queen of that time.
She represents a period in my 20s when anything felt achievable. Her book evokes that same feeling.
“That’s probably the moment in my life when I had the most passion for music,” Britney writes, “I was unknown, and I had nothing to lose if I messed up. There is so much freedom in being anonymous…I t was kind of liberating that I didn’t really have to care if I made mistakes.”
The overarching theme of The Woman in Me is freedom. It’s about being yourself, daring to dream, and being unafraid of making mistakes. It’s a story of womanhood that I believe resonates with almost any Black woman.
On the back cover of the book, Britney recalls being a child in Louisiana and lying down, looking up at the sky, thinking, “I can make my own way in life. I can make my dreams come true.”
That resonated with me. Because, Britney, baby… nobody dreams like sistahs do.
