Perhaps not. Perhaps she's just a child- and drug- and self-abusing, pathetic mess.

Remind me, how is this relevant?

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Why is this relevant or why should anyone care?

Off the top of my head:

1. The number of young girls who suffer eating disorders because of absurd beauty standards--girls who starve themselves because they conclude "Well, if SHE's FAT!, what the hell chance do I have???"

2. The number of couples who have unsatisfying sex lives because women can't shake their hatred and fear of their own bodies.

3. A culture that confines female agency to sex appeal, so much so that a female pop star and 2-time-mom is now "washed up" at 25 and viciously denigrated for not having the body she had before becoming a mother.

4. The pathetic dishonesty and cruelty of entitled men who berate a woman most of whom would never a chance with in their wildest dreams. Not to mention the egocentric quality that goes something like, "If it doesn't cause me pain, I shouldn't have to hear about it."

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but her preformance sucked...

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IMHO

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The problem here is that Britney and the manufactured faux-music system that she at one time topped exists at all, it isn't that their idea of body image is out of wack.

I'm clearly going hyperbolic here, but it's like saying the problem with the Nazis was they had unrealistic body image standards (I mean, not everyone can be blonde and fair skinned right? How unrealistic of those aryans!).

If we're talking about public perception as an indicator of where we are as a society, the fact that we can even recognize a no talent hack like Spears is more the problem than whether the crazy girl is seen as fat now.

And a more minor problem that I see is that Alternet and/or Huffington Post seems way too concerned with fiddling away with these entertainment garbage stories while Rome (or at least our beloved Republic) burns. Enough with all the fluff!

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...she is (unusually) correct regarding Spears' paraded body, in my opinion.

Happily married to a member of the opposite sex, I question, however, what Marcotte's inherent beef with heterosexual males are.

Way to spin the issue of "beauty-value", Amanda.

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...people just enjoy seeing someone fail. She is not fat at all, in fact she looks quite healthy in the body department. In fact she is vuluptuous. So what if her ribs and joints are not protruding through her skin, which is obviously the current standard for beauty. If anything she needs to replace her costume designer, not her trainer or nutritionist. Britney has become a "media icon" and with that comes the unfortunate hazard of the job: People love to watch you fail.

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Britney Spears is to music what George Bush is to foreign policy.

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"I can't help but suspect that the vast majority of the straight men having huge, spastic fits about how Spears betrayed their masturbatory cycles with her fat ass"

First of all, where are these supposed straight men having huge, spastic fits?

Secondly, from the pictures I've seen, any shock is in the contrast between the 18-year-old Britney last seen performing and the present 25-year-old Britney. It's a relative thing, not an absolute thing.

Thirdly, who cares? What a trivial topic. (And yes, I recognize the irony that I'm writing this).

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"everything to do with enjoying the social permission to project all sorts of misogynist feelings onto a woman who asked for it by playing up ridiculous sexist fantasies all the way to the bank."

Ok, here we go with the feminist punch line again.

What can be said? The same old heads of the hydra are evident once again.

1. Women are too perfect to suffer any cristicism in any way.
2. Any man who raised some criticism, however specific and focused, absolutely must be a woman-hater in the broadest possible way.
3. Unsupported assertions about men saying these things to begin with (no links, no references).
4. Tar and feather all men for what a few might do.

All this means:

5. These sorts of articles have no credibility at all with any person that has at least half a brain and uses it now and then.

Thanks and have a good day.

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Sorry I'm all over the place here, but I seem to be riled up.

I love Naomi Wolf as much as the next girl. But the unfortunate fact of the matter is that Britney has done much more damage to the feminist movement than any catty InTouch headline ever could.

She is a colossal failure at both career and motherhood. She has always tried to skate by on looks over substance. She relies on sex appeal to bolster her self-esteem, and grows dependent on men (bad men). She is not self-sufficient or independent or "strong" or a "sista."

Fat or not-fat, Britney is feminism's own worst enemy.

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there is little to debate about whether or not this is "important" in the face of the other tragedies rampant in our country/world: if people RESPECTED EACH OTHER instead of calling women in the spotlight "fat" or "untalented in the first place" then that would be a step in the right direction for ALL OF HUMANKIND. this is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG in regards to HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER. maybe if britney was RESPECTED in the first place, not just some masturbatory fantasy (as well as being a "map" to feminine beauty/social standards for young girls), then maybe our culture would have a healthier body-mass. instead, we are distracted by distractions: the main distraction is the debate about whether or not this is important enough for the news; that is the distraction from the issue that as a society, we'd rather see beautiful women ripped to pieces for bad decisions that are probably being MADE FOR THEM -- which shows great insight to how we treat our own. on the facade, we adore our celebrities; but at the core, we love to abhor them. it's the double-standard turning 'round and 'round........what is being entirely missed is how the masses of our society are being manipulated into thinking this is a distraction from "bigger events".....when this is just another illustration of how AMERICANS HATE EVERYONE EQUALLY.
if we were able to work together in the direction of respecting one another, addressing these kinds of issues instead of dismissing them (and dismissing all the individuals who are deeply effected by these kinds of issues) then we could start cracking open some compassion for not only each other, but for the rest of the world.
i'm not a fan of britney's, but i don't like to see the complete disregard for her as a human being.

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I don't give a rats ass about Ms. Spears or any celebrity for that matter, but the comments all week about her so called "fatness" pisses me off. She's a woman with curves. That's what most healthy thinking men like in a woman. But sadly today we are force fed (pun not intended) a steady diet of anorexic women in the public spotlight.

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Every time I walk by the myriads of magazines & papers at store checkouts, I wonder why it is that so many people feel the need to live vicariously the lives of the infamous.

I can understand interest in skill levels of actors and performers, the roles they play on film, their music, and their perspectives on what they do. What I question is the endless persistence in following the minutia of their very existence, and the more extreme the details, the higher the demand for more.

Are consumer's own lives so lacking in depth and interest that they have get their kicks through someone else?

Why on earth would anyone care if Britany Spears gained a few pounds or not? If it's not a problem for her, why is it a problem for anyone else? Why would they need or want her to have the emaciated body form of many popular entertainers, male and female? The males who criticized what they perceived as a few extra pounds need to be sent to the gulag for some re-education and counseling.

Do we really need or want the distorted behaviors of many "stars" to be broadcast far and wide for others, especially impressionable young people, to emulate? What shining examples of success many of these young, drug and/or alcohol blurred individuals become.

For that matter, would the behavior be as bizarre if their every move weren't watched, followed, and photographed for the benefit of ravenous consumers.

Spend more time with the family, get a hobby, volunteer to help someone, exercise, take up a dangerous occupation, get involved in the democratic process, or save what's left of it. At least focus on public figures who've figured out how to excel in their trade AND maintain a stable, healthy personal environment.

Leave the sick puppies to take whatever direction they choose to take, but quit making those behaviors profitable and important.

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I don't live in the land of idol worship - but I have to say the intense publicity surrounding Brittany and the all the hate from people she doesn't even know is crazy - anyone with any sort of intelligence could figure out that brittany has been suffering from post natal depression and with a creep of a playboy husband she is living the life of many women down the ages before her -

the fickle whim of the public is damning - the back stabbing is intense, the hate Brittany, pick on Brittany - hell I didn't even know who Brittany was untill a couple of years ago - the soft porn aspect of the music industry just doesn't appeal to my maturity but hell - leave the girl alone - the old saying

if you can't say anything nice - don't say anything at all

I give her my full support as a woman coming through post natal depression - hormones all a flux - a scumbag partner and two little babies - it doesn't matter how much money you have - that is bound to suck - the attacks and the I love to hate Brittany BS just shows what a low level intelligence the US cultivates - it goes with the idol worshiping territory - the celluloid illusions

get a life

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I fail to see how the comments of one person translates into a condemnation of all hetrosexual men.

Be that as it may, the real tragedy here is the power that EMTV has over what people listen to. Rather than put someone on who has actual talent (say, K.T. Tunstall), they insted give prime time to someone who apparently can't even lip-synch.

If the writer wants to go after bone-headed hetrosexual men, then go after those who perpetuate the bimbo-ization of women in the mass media, who give public access to yet another half-dressed Madonna wanna-be, rather than a reactionary pawn in their game.

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Yes, she is now a scum sucking white trash piglet....with money I might add.

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One of the worst, and most useless postings ever on AlterNet.

I enjoy a good, hot-headed rant as much as anybody, but this was just a bilge dump. Pretty close to the kind of keech that gets deleted from the comment sections.

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Not I--Bush is planning to attack Iran, there is no end to the Iraq debacle. Is AlterNet desperate for material?

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Skinny Horndogs like virginal looking women and bought into Britney Spaniel partly for this reason. Now she is matronly and perhaps only the father of her child(ren) fully appreciates her metamorphosis.

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Um, I live in NYC metro area. I see MANY more women in shape, taking care of themselves than I do men. I do see a significantly large number of men w/ beer guts, fat asses, rolls of fat and man boobs. Let's count how many men on TV are out of shape and less than perfect physiques. Now let's count how many women on TV are out of shape and less than perfect physiques....
Seriously women, let's get together and bash all the men on tv/fim/radio who are "fat" or out of shape, we'll have content for at least a month, maybe longer.
poor Britney - she has 2 kids, a loser husband who is obviously just using her for her money and extreme pressure to look perfect. dealing with all that, she looked pretty good. Let most men deal w/ just one of the above things and most of them will become a blubbering infantile mess.

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She's not fat, she's just stupid. What was her last hit? Been a while? Show Biz is a rough world and she's just another washed up and spit out bimbo.

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That she came to this business awfully young (The Mickey Mouse Club) and was groomed for this and nothing else, had the road mapped out for her very early and now this is what makes or breaks her. No wonder she's a mess. All these unkind things aimed towards her are forgetting that she's really just a child celebrity who lasted longer than most did.

But the article really isn't about her, if you notice; it's about culture and society's attitudes towards a celebrity who turned out to be a human being. It's the ancient problem of putting anyone on a pedestal. We put 'em up, we tear 'em down. It is about us, not Britney.

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