Miley Cyrus, Amanda Bynes, Lindsey Lohan, Demi Lovato, and most famously Britney Spears all walked down the path from a child star to a sexual icon to a woman in a painful and extremely publicized struggle with substance use and mental health. Although It’s not a phenomenon exclusive to young women, the pattern forces a question: why do talented girls have to prove their worth by sexualizing their image, especially when time after time it leads to tragedy and disaster? Isn’t their talent, amazing as it is, enough to establish their career on its own? The answer probably has something to do with our culture’s correlation of sex and agency.
In this 7 Minute Video we talk about Olivia Rodrigo’s journey from her first album, to her second, the cultural idea that woman gain power and personhood through sexual freedom, and how Jesus treated women.
