Beyond glossy tabloids and sensational pop music, #FreeBritney is the tremulous battle for the soul of America’s daughters. Along with her voice, America’s battered sweetheart raises a timeless question regarding forced care (institutionalization), reproductive rights, and freedom.
And so much more.
She is the abused. Downtrodden. Outcast and shamed.
The post-partum mother whose perfection stumbled.
The obedient daughter ravaged by stolen power.
Between the contrasting sheen of blonde locks, limelight and deep stage shadow, Britney’s heart-wrenching plea to regain control of her own life without needing another psychiatric evaluation is a deep cry for the soul of America’s feminine, feeling function. An appeal to acknowledge her trauma without further sacrifice on the cold altar of over-medication and unspeakable manipulation.
Instead of looking away, how do we tend to this moment, with recognition that the daughters of our nation are watching? Even though it’s really none of our business, her initial “breakdown” in 2008 was purportedly related to post-partum delicacy in a high stress and paparazzi frenzied world. Considering the reproductive control aspect, and the history of sedating an emotional Britney, reflection on the term hysteria feels appropriate in the continued fight for Britney’s freedom.
The concept of hysteria is an ancient and controversial one. Dating back millenia, one Greek translation is wandering uterus, a diagnostic tool enabling ancient healers to address imbalances in the body and mind. Freud, however, brought the term to its most controversial infamy in his work with women. He utilized the term to indicate a concurrence of symptoms and concerns based in somatization (symptoms in the body) and high levels of emotionality. It continued to be a stamp of dismissal. With the diagnosis in place, anything a woman shared was approached first with skepticism, and sedation a foremost practice in treatment. If high levels of emotion were present, they were met with higher levels of sedation and control.
In the modern world of psychological thought, the term hysteria is now shunned by many feminists and feminine allies as a misogynistic term coined to control.
Yet the horrifying revelations of the Free Britney movement make it very clear that the underlying misogyny is still in place. Without needing to extract the details, it is crystal clear that Britney Spears has been living in a nightmare world. She has been stripped of autonomy over her own finances, career, body and life.
As I listen nostalgically to Britney’s first album, reminiscing on the purity of her youthful expression, it is impossible to miss the poison lacing her life, even then. Were her early box office hits eerily prophetic? Or already primed to capture the dynamics ruling her world from a young age.
Hit Me Baby One More Time.
Toxic.
I’m A Slave 4U.
Will Britney just continue to be another tragically fallen heroine, abruptly dragged from the golden pedestal of celebrity culture, and remembered for her “mental illness”? Though extreme and heartbreaking, Britney’s story is not unique.
Understanding the weaponized use of hysteria and mental illness and its impact on both ancient and modern society is an important step towards reclaiming the dismissed aspects of the feminine, in Britney and ourselves. In acknowledging the feeling function, the body function, and the intuitive function. Speaking up for truth, even when there is only a slight thread to find. Asking more questions when something feels amiss.
If poring over the details of Britney’s brave statement feels voyeuristic, perhaps today you can honor Britney’s bravery by allowing yourself to feel a little more deeply. What feelings arise as you consider the legal and ethical atrocities studding her world? Rage? Fear? Sadness? Numbness?
Be with whatever shows up. Ground into the breath. Listen to your body, especially if discomfort arises.
In the midst of humanity’s most epically proportioned time, the life of a single woman can be the stone cast, rippling forward into a more humane and conscious relationship with body, mind, and each other. Dismantling celebrity culture and male-oriented systems of power, and lending our voices to those who have been silenced.
When I was 13, I shyly admired Britney’s bravado and style. At 17, I respected her ownership of sass and sexuality. Now 34 year old me is overcome with tenderness and support for Britney’s budding resilience, and the quiet courage grounding every word she says. She put it best:
“Stronger”
Hush, just stop
There’s nothing you can do or say, baby
I’ve had enough
I’m not your property as from today, baby
You might think that I won’t make it on my own
But now I’m
Stronger than yesterday
SunMoon Wellness 
Love, love, love!
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