Christina Aguilera has never shied away from embracing her sexuality—whether fans like it or not. And she’s certainly no stranger to the harsh, judgmental criticism women often receive when they are openly comfortable with their bodies.
In fact, one could say that Aguilera got the worst of it just as she started to come into her own. After winning the Grammy for best new artist following the monumental success of her self-titled debut album in 2000, Aguilera sought to free herself from her “contrived” pop princess persona, craving a different creative direction for the next.
“In my entire career, I've always been someone who’s been very outspoken and comfortable, especially since I grew up in an industry that was very male-dominated. I was always told how I should dress and what I should wear, skewed from a male point of view,” Aguilera tells Glamour. “As I grew to be older, I stepped more into empowering myself and listening to my authentic voice and what that means to me, and realized how the topic of sexuality and sexual wellness and awareness for oneself as a woman can be seen as so shameful, something many women don’t want to talk about, or something viewed by a man as something negative to label even if they’re just empowering themselves.”
This resulted in 2002’s Stripped, the first album over which Aguilera had complete creative control. At just 21—the same age as the album is now—Aguilera personally oversaw the music and lyrics, all of which boldly tackled themes of sexuality, empowerment, and feminism. But while undeniably a groundbreaking artistic feat, the album, its track list, and videos—especially “Dirrty”—left some audiences outraged.
Why? Because Aguilera dared to be sexy during a time when women were assigned one of two labels: good or bad. Being “too sexy” was “bad”—especially for pop stars. Having just earned autonomy over her music and outward expression (see: the external shift from butter-blond good girl next door to two-toned provocateur with a topless album cover), Aguilera used this to her advantage, debuting a sultry alter-ego aptly named Xtina. This way, her “bad” persona was someone else entirely.
Things have come a long way in the past 21 years, both for Aguilera as an artist and society at large. Women are no longer (quite as) vilified for embracing their sexual side, and Aguilera now proudly promotes sexual liberation and wellness as part of her latest business venture.
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