TOULOUSE
‘What I see when I look at the photo of this little girl at the dawn of this new century is that she knows nothing yet of what the world is going to teach her, and that being a little girl is a joy for her because it means she might become Britney Spears, and that Britney Spears, for her at that time, means singing and dancing, means being at one with her body, without fear or detachment, feeling very much alive; it means keeping herself far, very far from fear, but. ”
With this unconventional novel-essay, the author unravels the story of this iconic figure of pop culture, and articulates, simply and accurately, what this journey reveals about the personal and the political. This highly publicised journey magnifies a thousandfold what society does to little girls, teenage girls and women; what it expects of them; the unattainable ideal that is created for them – for us. And how we live with it.
Louise Chennevière wrote this book in two weeks; I read it in one go, and that’s how I’m going to try to describe it. It needs to come out; we must let it pour forth. It’s an important text that first hurt me, then did me good, and helped me to understand. I believe we must, together, explore these paths: the media, pop culture, domination, the gaze, childhood, and intimacy.
