The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
The Woman in Me is Britney Spears’ autobiography. It was first published last year and published in paperback in the UK recently. I wouldn’t say I was a Britney Spears fan, but like many people, I have been both appalled and fascinated by the way she has been treated, so I was keen to read The Woman in Me. I was very happy when I picked up a copy for £5 from Sainsbury’s.
Written entirely in Britney’s own voice (a bit childlike, a bit keen to please, quite angry), it feels very authentic. It’s a fairly short book, all in chronological order, and I binged it in two days. It tells the story of Britney’s life from childhood, through fame and then the awful conservatorship which kept her under very tight control for 13 years.
Britney grew up with an alcoholic, abusive father and a mother who yelled a lot. She escaped from it all by singing. It wasn’t long before people realised she had a talent. She was working in showbiz from a very young age. And her family benefited from her earnings.
Even before the conservatorship, she had very little control over her life. As a teenager, men commented on her breasts and her outfits, which seemed to be perfectly acceptable in the 90s. She wanted a break from the merry-go-round of performing and recording, but someone would always make her go back to work.
She hoped having children would give her break, but all that happened was she was hardly able to see them. Suffering from postnatal depression, she was forced to lose weight, look sexy and get back on stage.
Everyone remembers the notorious head shaving incident. This was a woman who’d had two babies in the space of a year and was unable to see them, who was drowning from the pressure of being forced to perform and she broke.
The fact that her father, an alcoholic, was able to control her money and her life is almost impossible to believe. People could see her suffering, but nobody seemed to be acting in her best interests to find out why and to try to make things better. While deemed incapable of looking after herself, she was still considered capable of recording music and performing.
The whole thing is very sad and very disturbing. Her family, understandably, don’t come out of this book very well. And nor does Justin Timberlake. One person who does come out of it well is her husband, who we now know wasn’t such a good person after all. It didn’t long for him to up and leave!
There are a lot of similarities with Mel B’s book – Brutally Honest. They are both women in the public eye being manipulated by those who should have cared for them.
If you are interested in Britney Spears, in fame or the treatment of women, I would definitely recommend The Woman in Me. I went in with an open mind and came out believing she was abused far more badly than the media had previously made out.
Excellent review. I listened to her music when I was a kid and I absolutely hate the way she’s been treated by the media and those closest to her. I am so glad the conservatorship is finally over and that she was able to share her story on her own terms. I kind of want to read this but I know it’s the type of book that will leave me fuming!
Thank you! It is definitely worth a read I think, especially for someone who used to listen to her music, but it will undoubtedly make you angry. It should make everyon who reads it angry.
It’s so sad how some people are treated, especially when in the public eye all the time. I hope things improve for her now. She doesn’t need a man.
I really hope things improve for her! It seems crazy that someone in the public eye can be treated like that, but Mel B was obviously also going through a very difficult situation, so it’s clearly not even that unusual.