What would the early 2000s have been without Christina Aguilera?
An icon of feisty femininity, Xtina has long held her pop culture crown.
One album that undoubtedly secured her icon legacy was 2002’s Stripped.
It gave us less of the sticky sweetness the songstress had broken into the industry with, and more of the rough-edged angst anthems that a lot of women had been waiting to proudly blast on their CD players. Especially coming from Xtina’s songbook, the album held a lot of weight at the time for women around the world who were frustrated with other people dictating their narratives.
Given that Xtina had a very different presence in the media prior to the album’s release, it was branded in the same way that many young stars associated with bubblegum music are – ‘concerning’.
Of the backlash the album received, Xtina shared with Rolling Stone:
“It made me sad how conservative and judgmental a lot of people were, and I was never coming on the scene to impose anything upon anyone. I just wanted to live my life and not conform.”
The album was, for millions of fans around the world, nothing short of liberating. And despite all the naysayers, it still is.
“Just because my album’s name is Stripped, doesn’t mean that you can take my clothes off.”
Xtina really summed up hyper-sexualisation in a single sentence.
In honour of the 2002 CD-player shaker, Xtina’s nostalgia led her to recreate the above quote (originally said to an onstage dancer) and dressed up in honour of her 21-year-old self – down to the black highlights that once inspired Kylie Jenner’s own Halloween fit.
“Where my Fighters at?” Xtina asked, to which TikTok exploded.
Have a look and get ready to embrace Xtina’s empowered era at its rawest:
@xtinaWhere my Fighters at? 🔥♬ original sound – Christina Aguilera
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Feature Image:Getty/ Frank Tropper
