Britney Spears Explains Why She Takes Naked Photos (and Often Posts Them on Social Media)

(Image credit: Getty)

published 23 October 2023

Even someone with the most passive possible knowledge of Britney Spears knows that she’s spent most of her adult life locked in a cage, be it one of fame, or the paparazzi, or one of her infamous, years-long conservatorship.

And even someone with the most passive possible knowledge of psychology knows that, when someone who hasn’t been free in so long tastes freedom, they take it and run with it all the way.

Closeup of Britney Spears in a black outfit

That’s exactly what seems to have happened in the case of Spears and the nude photos she often takes and posts to social media. (You do you, Britney.) In an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir, The Woman in Me—which, after so much anticipation, finally drops tomorrow—Spears addresses this head on: “I know that a lot of people don’t understand why I love taking pictures of myself naked or in new dresses,” she writes. “But I think if they’d been photographed by other people thousands of times, prodded and posed for other people’s approval, they’d understand that I get a lot of joy from posing the way I feel sexy and taking my own picture.”

"The Woman in Me" by Britney Spears

Self-expression is a beautiful gift, one that we’re glad to see Spears finally able to enjoy. Instead of criticizing, let’s let her fully be herself—she’s waited a long time for the ability to do so. Own your power, Britney.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.