Slowly but surely, all the early aughts icons that the world both loved and loved to hate are coming forth with their stories of trauma that they were forced to endure, all for the name of the celebrity news cycle. Christina Aguilera joins women like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, among others, who are revealing just what it was like to be them in an era where the media loved to attack young women in headlines, and what that pressure did to them.
In a new interview for Health, Aguilera states that it’s “a really hard thing to stick to in this business, especially when you’ve grown up under a microscope at a time when society was very critical of young women.”
Aguilera came under misogynist scrutiny when she appeared fuller figured in 2011, with headlines calling her “fat” and putting everything she did, ate, or wore, under a microscope. “I was still at an age where I was understanding myself and life,” she says of the era. “Media, at the time, was also big on pitting women against each other. And there was a bullying mentality going on in the tabloids. It’s tough to look back on. I’ve had to work through a lot of insecurities in front of everybody.”
But she reveals that what helped her through those times was simply being honest.
“Entering this business, I hated being super skinny,” she reveals in the interview. “Once I turned 21, I started filling out a little bit, and I was loving my new curves. I appreciated having a booty. I’ve always said that women are way more interesting to look at than men!”
“I have a hard time looking at the early pictures of myself because I remember feeling so insecure. I would never want to relive my 20s–you’re so in your own head and finding your confidence. As you age, you stop comparing yourself to other people and start appreciating your own body and owning it.”
The Ecuadorian-American songstress says she’s been working on an English and a Spanish (“20 years overdue”) album while in quarantine, but says she’s “months away from anything being announced.”
“No matter what I’ve been through–successes, childhood trauma, hardships–I still have a fighting spirit,” she says. “I never want to stop learning and growing to be the best person I can be.”
