Pink and Christina Talk About Sex

Christina Aguilera has never shied away from selling her music with overt sexuality, and she recently took yet another shimmy away from her original straight-laced persona when she told a UK interviewer that "Two women are way sexier than two men in bed. We have a better feel for our bodies."

She went on to add, "I love experimenting with my sexuality. Sex is a beautiful thing. I like having sex. It’s fun."

Not one to be outdone, pop star and lesbian look-alike Pink recently told the UK’s Heat Magazine "I’m trisexual. I’ll try anything once."

So does this mean that Christina and Pink are finally coming out? Or is it yet another example of pop stars exploiting lesbianism for profit?

I believe it's neither. Instead, Christina and Pink are following in the footsteps of the many women before them — from the leaders of the sexual revolution in the 1960s to Madonna and Angelina Jolie in the 1990s — who have declared their love for and right to have sex.

Women who, like Pink nor Christina, are not concerned with identifying themselves as gay or straight; they are simply insisting that they like to have sex, and it doesn’t matter whether their partner is a man or a woman. It’s the media that wants them to choose a box.

"I love experimenting with my sexuality," Christina told Zoo Magazine in January. "If that means girls then so be it. It would be wrong to hide this side of my personality." This is part of Christina's overall attitude towards sex. "I have casual sex, I love casual sex," she said in the same inteview, and continued. "What is so wrong with a 22-year-old woman showing her sexuality? If people want to insult me, let them. Call me a slag [British slang for a prostitute]. If being a slag means being a strong woman, I'll gladly be that."

You have to admire Christina’s gumption, since she obviously recognizes that our society still adheres to a double standard in which male promiscuity is expected but sexy women are castigated as sluts, but refuses to let it control her.

Of course, Christina definitely plays up her sex appeal at times to sell records (witness last year's kiss with Madonna at the Video Music Awards), but she is arguably controlling her image rather than being controlled by it.

on the Earth" and openly discussing her willingness to experiment. When asked why she is often linked with lesbianism, Pink answers, "I don’t know. I guess 'cos I’m tough (laughs). A lot of my friends are gay, most of my girlfriends are. I don’t mind at all." But frequent public displays of affection with other women--like Pink's kiss with Terminator 3 actress Kristanna Loken in Monte Carlo last October--may have something to do with it, too.

Not that Pink bothers to deny it: when asked about her kiss with Loken in an interview with Q Magazine this month, for example, Pink responded, "Whatever you saw, it all happened…. We just danced and she kissed me. She tried to dominate me." Then she added, "I won’t be dominated."

It's refreshing that Pink doesn't mind being labeled a lesbian; she does point out in the same interview that she still likes men, but the fact remains that Pink is not frightened of the L word.

Although the lack of more than a few commercially successful out lesbian and bisexual musicians is frustrating, Pink and Christina's acceptance of lesbianism and lack of concern over whether she is perceived as gay shows that the stigma surrounding homosexuality has certainly declined in our society.

"People are getting a lot more open-minded about people being gay," Pink told The Sun. "I’m really glad about that because I hate prejudice - I hate bullies."

The stigma surrounding women’s overt sexuality has declined as well, but the recent brouhaha over Janet Jackson’s breast misadventure at the Superbowl makes it clear that we still have a long way to go.

Some people may yawn over Pink and Christina’s titillating sex lives, or even relegate them to the category of publicity stunt, but by insisting on their rights to sleep with whomever they wish, by claiming a freedom that is generally only granted to men, they are helping to create a more hospitable environment for all forms of women's sexuality.