Christina Aguilera considers "embracing sexuality" and owning her body in the toxic entertainment industry. The 42-year-old told Allure about her 7-year Mickey Mouse Club employment.
Though her job started innocently, she's realised how she was made to feel about her body and the blurred lines. "In this job, you'll get a lot of opinions coming at you about your body,
about your sexuality, what's too much, what's too little," she told the journal. "Much of it comes from male and older businessmen's ideas, which shouldn't affect your body and self-image."
When she rose to stardom with "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants," Aguilera realised that external factors controlled her body.
"I wasn't creatively expressing who I was," she said. "Stripped was my sophomore album. Many believed that had a sexual connotation,
but it was me stating my truth about being me, enjoying my body, and being a woman outside of other people's standards."
Aguilera's music celebrated "the many emotions of being a woman," but she also "played with glitz and makeup" and "was outgoing and over-the-top."
She said she wanted to empower women despite the superficiality. "I've always wanted women to feel safe and comfortable exploring what makes them feel good," she remarked.
"Embracing sexuality to feel empowered, raw, and out there, if that's the woman you want to be." As cofounder and chief brand advisor of Playground,