The very fine line of respectability

"Sweat dripping over my body/Dance and getting just a little naughty

I need that ? to get me off/Sweatin' Otill my clothes come off"

-Christina Aguilera, "Dirrty"

"Give it up, do as I say/Give it up and let me have my way/I'll give you love, I'll hit you like a truck/I'll give you love, I'll teach you how to ?"

-Madonna,"Erotica"

Women confuse me in more ways than one. Yet one of the many phenomena that amaze me the most is the fact that women have a way of banding together every now and then to form some blanketed opinion with which they all agree. For example, ask any female over the age of 18 about Madonna. She will respond by saying how much she loves Madonna and might even sing "Like a Prayer" or "Lucky Star" for you. Then ask her about Christina Aguilera. A negative response will mostly likely ensue. You may hear the words "fake" and "whore." This fact perplexes me. After all, both are pop stars that made it big during their youths. Both are blonde and very attractive. Most importantly, both are very explicit about their views on sex, both through their music and images. So why is there so much animosity towards Christina Aguilera and so much respect towards Madonna? Is there a subtle difference between their respective images? Is it only because Madonna was an original and Aguilera followed years later? Or is it solely a musical thing? The answer is subtle, but it's there.

Before we begin an analysis of this phenomenon, let's get a few things straight. Madonna is the biggest selling female artist in history. Christina Aguilera, although extremely famous, is not Madonna and probably never will be. Second of all, let's forget about the post-1999 "spiritual," weirder Madonna with the British accent that everyone loves to make fun of. Let's also forget about any of Madonna's acting attempts. We're comparing two talented singers and performers who are not shy about their need for sex and the willingness to pursue it.

Perhaps Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey said it best, when, during a Weekend Update skit, she commented, "I think Christina Aguilera's new video gave my TV genital warts." Now this is how women feel about Christina Aguilera. Sure, Aguilera's desperate attempt for a new image is laughable, yet even when she still had her teeny-bopper image, the public didn't respect her sexuality. Rumors began circulating of her sexual escapades with Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst. We heard her name in Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" ("Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs/so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst/and hear Oem argue over who she gave head to first"). She didn't have quite the slutty image that she does now, but her songs, although she claimed they were innocent, had questionable lyrics ("You gotta rub me the right way"). Thus, it seemed as though the public took her "good girl that is sometimes naughty" image and made her into a tramp.

On the other hand, Madonna's first single was "Like a Virgin," a video that was unabashed about its content of blatant sex. It was certainly controversial, but as the music industry shows time and again, controversy sells albums and concert tickets like hotcakes. Before long, Madonna had broken all sorts of records for album and ticket sales. For Christ sake, Madonna wrote a book called Sex, outlining her sexual fantasies through photographs and writings. She had an album called Erotica, and the title track was just about as sexually explicit as music gets (see the lyrics above). Is Madonna simply the unequaled Queen of Sex, and any other woman that tries to rival her is nothing but a cheap imitation?

My opinion is that the underlying factor does, in fact, have a good deal to do with the music. Yet, it is not only the music, it is the way it comes across to the listener or viewer of the music videos. First of all, Madonna wrote or co-wrote the majority of her hits. Aguilera does not write her own music. This is a litmus test for the respectability of any artist.

The other, and probably most important factor, is that Madonna is like a dominatrix, while Aguilera is a delicate, horny, little girl. Madonna dresses in tight black leather with a whip in her hand in one of her videos, while Aguilera dresses like a teenager, or more recently like an all-out whore. Madonna has songs like "Express Yourself," while Aguilera is simply less "girl-power" oriented.

In short, Madonna represents sexual power, a hidden aspect in every woman, no matter how shy or submissive. Aguilera is a teeny-bopper-turned-whore who just likes it when guys touch her. For two women who on the surface are so similar, it is incredibly surprising that they have completely different psychological effects on the girls that listen to and watch them. Their differences, although they can eventually be seen, are much subtler to the male eye, which is transfixed on the chest area most of the time, with the volume on "MUTE."