So here it is again, with an update.

We talk about Brittany Spears a lot @ my house.
My daughter is crazy about her, has been since Kindergarten. (now a 3rd grader.)
Naturally rebellious, my kid idealizes the pop star fashion thing, mostly because it bothers me, and also because she can pull it off, in this hip, Spy Kids kind of way she has. She's a dancer, and very fashion-conscious. So she watched every single one of Brittany and Kevin's "Support the Troops, yay G.W.!" concerts, and still bought peace buttons at church (We're Unitarian), and wore them with pride.
I told her I had a hard time with all the Pro-War messages, and she rolled her eyes at me, and said, "god, Mom, I just like the music."
So she can't believe her style idol went bald. Asks me why I think she did it. My answer shocks me. I tell her Brittany's turning queer. That Federline would do that to any naive Christian girl.
Whaa?
Poor kid. Having comedians for parents has to be a pain in the neck(especially sardonic ones, like me or Sam Kinisson, God rest his angry soul.). So I backed up a bit, and explained how Brittany started out a teen star, with a squeaky-clean, girl-next door image, and how she had sworn to "Save herself for marriage," and how poorly that usually works out.
Explaining the queer comment, I told her how Brit kissed Maddonna onstage and made buckets of money.

I had forgotten that my poor kid had encountered a bit of homophobia in school, and realized she isn't yet aware of how uncomfortable it is to be queer, or that my marriage to her dad didn't actually make me "straight."
I didn't open that can of worms, I think it's better to wait for the questions, but it's interesting how often Brittany Spears comes up in conversation, kind of like an archetype.
I have a baby close to Brittany's baby's age, so I can't help but think of her as a sister. A lost one. I like to think that if I were in her shoes, I might make the same mistakes, cuz Lord knows I've made enough in these shoes.

After I wrote all that, I saw those photos of the Pop Star going Postal on the Paparazzi. I cheered. I actually cheered for Brittany Spears, as she acted out the ugliest part of her dysfunction. I'm usually way too uptight to cheer on any kind of fight. But that was golden. She assaulted someone who represents the image factory that fucked up her life, by convincing all of the world (and herself, too, probably, poor girl.) that she is NOT just like the rest of us. Because she IS a regular human. So is Whitney Houston. So is Lindsay Lohan, mamas.
So is Michael friggin Jackson, jackson.
Dingo found this website that has pix of what celebs would look like if they hadn't had plastic surgery. So of course I had to check out MJ. And it was kind of a let-down. He looked like a regular person. Could have been my neighbor. In fact, I HAVE a neighbor who walks, talks, and dresses like Little Richard. I see him on the bus, and I KNOW he's just like a regular person, like MJ would be without all the money and mystique. And I pity that poor freaky guy who used to own the Elephant Man. Cuz the neighbor I see on the bus looks a lot happier.

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