Feminism: chat
Britney Spears
pallisers · 24/06/2021 00:02
I know it is a story of more US interest (all over NPR and NYT today) but I am really shocked - but not surprised - by the Britney Spears legal action and wonder what others think.
I remember many years ago thinking she was experiencing post-natal depression or whatever as much of her mental health issues arose after the births of her children (very close together if I remember correctly). But since then she has been in a conservetorship - basically her father ran her finances/life/choices etc for the past 13 years. Meanwhile she was capable of earning millions of dollars as a performer in Vegas but not apparently capable of making her own life decisions? It is like looking at a picture drawn by a child of "Patriarchy". Did Robert Downey Jr spend 13 years with no control over his own money? Did any of the many male performers who struggled with addiction or mental health problems?
www.nytimes.com/live/2021/06/23/arts/britney-spears-conservatorship
Backofthenet20 · 24/06/2021 00:52
I was reading through what she must do. Typically these type of orders are to protect old people who can’t make decisions. Seems like it has been over used here & even if they are bad choices they are hers to make. They are making her keep in an IUD so she doesn’t get pregnant. That seems wrong. So much seems wrong. Clearly she has had mental health issues, but does she need someone to make all of her decisions?…. Let’s hope the court makes a good decision
yupyupyup · 24/06/2021 01:49
It's so sad hearing Britney's own testimony. After all these years of being silenced 
.
She's been forced to take medication and have birth control fitted. It's beyond deplorable.
Let's hope things work out in Britney's favour and that those responsible are held to account. This is the backwards US justice system though... they haven't a clue.
I agree @pallisers, it would never happen to a man (MJ springs to mind, after dangling baby from balcony)
FromEden · 24/06/2021 02:37
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Gingerkittykat · 24/06/2021 04:21
I knew that she was controlled financially but not that they also had control of her medical decisions.
I wonder if refusing to allow her to have her IUD removed is because of medication for her alleged bipolar disorder. Sodium Valporate is a common mood stabiliser which causes severe birth defects.
Even if that is the reason she should be allowed to choose any medical treatment and have control over her own fertility.
FlorenceWintle · 24/06/2021 06:36
I think it may have been necessary at the height of her so-called breakdown but I can’t possibly imagine that she’s been so severely mentally ill that she’s not capable of making any decisions for THIRTEEN years. I’m no doctor but it seems unlikely.
Siablue · 24/06/2021 06:44
There has been a previous thread about her on feminism but yes it is clear that she is being controlled. She may have some degree of mental illness but this level of control is not appropriate.
Having been a victim of coercive control myself I understand how having no control over your own life actually makes you more unwell.
I really hope she can regain control but the system is very badly stacked against her and a lot of people are making a lot of money out of her which they are unlikely to give up voluntarily.
Have you watched the BBC documentary about her it really shows you how unfair the conseratorship system in the US is?
StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind · 24/06/2021 06:47
@FlorenceWintle
If she were that unwell then she shouldn't have been performing and working. This smacks of control and her comparisons to sex trafficking seem completely valid.
Poor woman. I hope everything works out for her and she can live her life how she wants to.
Horehound · 24/06/2021 06:51
Looking at her Instagram she is unwell though. I do not agree with the strictness of her conservatorship but feel she needs some kind of help.
And if she really is so unwell that she has to have all her decisions made for her, then she bloody well shouldn't have been made to work!!
That is outrageous really.
She's a prisoner of her own fortune.
NashvilleQueen · 24/06/2021 06:53
I find it absolutely astonishing. Those old enough to remember her as a young woman will know her behaviour was reported as erratic at the time and I guess there was a lot more that was never reported here. However it was no more excessive than any of those child stars (Bieber, Miley Cyrus etc) and to find that she's endured 13 years of this daily control is horrific.
My 14 y/o daughter is a huge Britney fan and so I've taken more of an interest in the past year than I had for the past decade. And it's just so sad.
My fear is that the judge will say she's still vulnerable and therefore the conservatorship must remain but I really hope not.
AdelindSchade · 24/06/2021 07:00
It's hardly that unusual for people to be compelled to take medication for mh issues if there is thought to be a ery significant risk to them if they don't.
I would not be able to make a judgement about any of this without knowing all the information. Poor Britney, I hope the court does right by her whatever that may entail.
giletrouge · 24/06/2021 07:01
My take on this is that here is an adult woman effectively kept a prisoner, legally and psychologically, in plain sight, by her father, and nothing has been done from the outside to really help and acknowledge her. It's really shocking. And somehow the story that she's incompetent to look after herself has been bought by most of the world. Because, you know, batty woman, caring father.
It's misogyny again. IN PLAIN SIGHT.
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