"It's Britney Bitch!" A three-word phrase that makes my heart flutter. A phrase that feels as if espresso has been injected into my body intravenously. The iconic catchphrase spoken before the beat of 'Gimme More' drops became viral before viral was a thang. Squadrons of teenage girls and gaggles of gays squealed in unanimous ecstasy every single time Britney announced it was in fact her.
And people were crafty little creatures too. Soon, it wasn't just Britney, bitch. It was Madeline. It was Sarah. It was David. Some way, some how, the phrase was universally socially acceptable as a way of announcing oneself's presence. I'll never forget one particular high school class clown strutting into a tear-jerkingly boring Math class fifteen minutes late yelling "It's Lindsay, bitch!" as she took her seat. Best. Math. Class. Ever.
But aside from the personalized spin-offs that "It's Britney, Bitch!" took on, it was a phrase that somehow - unintentionally perhaps - echoed empowerment. Circa 2016, everything is marketed to women as 'empowerment', whereas the real core-shaking empowerment seems to have lost its meaning, its pathos, its call to action.
With some bizarre twist and turn of events, "It's Britney, Bitch" gave girls a feeling of badass the mainstream media often prevents them from feeling. It was also the first time in my memory that I recall the expletive 'bitch' used in a non-pejorative way. And the idea of reclaiming a word used to vilify women as somewhat of an empowering slogan for women is the cornerstone for fighting for social justice in a world that refutes it.
Perhaps this is a stretch. Perhaps I'm overanalyzing a simple, three-worded catchphrase. But I just can't dismiss or trivialize anything Britney does.
So a happiest of (belated by 1 day) birthdays to Britney Spears! In celebration of the birth which arguably changed the course of history more so than Moses, I'm looking back on 5 fashion moments where this Queen brought the slayage. For kicks and gigs, I Photoshopped her into this jaw-dropping Marchesa gown since I would love to see her rock the living daylights out of it next time she reminds us why she's wifey for lifey.
