 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Stripped
- By Christina Aguilera
- Genre: Pop
Common Sense Media says
Great music, but confusing messages.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there are definitely some mixed messages here. Songs such as "Beautiful" and "Keep on Singin' My Song" are about loving and believing in yourself, and "Can't Hold Us Down" discusses the unfairness of double standards ("The guy gets all the glory the more he can score/while the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore"), but other tracks such as "Get Mine Get Yours" ("We make love but don't fall in love/We spend time, just enough, so you get yours and I get mine") suggest that commitment-free sex and sexy posturing are the ways to act.
What's the story?
Christina Aguilera wants to prove to us that she has grown up. In the provocatively titled STRIPPED, she moves away from her bubblegum pop princess image and attempts to capture a more mature audience. She is sometimes successful; in songs such as the haunting and deeply personal "I'm Okay," she shares what it was like to grow up in fear of her abusive father. This song, which she wrote and composed, suggests a depth that many probably never suspected she had. And the message of self-love in the heartfelt "Beautiful" is something that fans of all ages can appreciate. Bottom line: Most of the music here is excellent, but you may want to talk with your teens about some of the conflicting messages.
Is it any good?
Unfortunately, Aguilera feels that she needs to do more than sing about her painful past or hidden fears to attract an older crowd -- she seems to think she has to shock them into listening. "Dirrty," the ultra-sexual first single, is the worst song on the CD. Its in-your-face sexuality is just desperate, not erotic. "Get Mine Get Yours" is equally raunchy and uninspired -- plus its glorification of sex without love is at odds with her previous messages of self-worth. You might want to point out to your kids that people who truly feel good about and respect themselves don't feel the need to engage in no-strings sex.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the seemingly contradictory messages: Is it confusing that Aguilera sings about self-acceptance and self-love when she's wearing little more than underwear? Does the sexy image that she has carefully cultivated take away from the positive messages of many of her songs? What about the double standard she sings about?
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AGE
My Favorite Album
"Stripped" is not only the best album of 2002, it is my favorite album of all time. Naturally, my review may be a little biased. This CD is an excellent blend of pop, rock, r&b, latin, and gospel. However, sprinkled through the superior music are some offensive lyrics. In additon to using D**n, hell, b**ch, a**, and the repeating of bull****, she also uses slu* and wh***. Sex is hinted at on "Underappreciated" and "Walk Away", but gets explicit on "Get Mine, Get Yours" (musically an excellent song, but it is about casual sex) and "Dirrty" (again, a great song but it describes raunchy partying). There is a mention of "head" (oral sex) on "Can't Hold Us Down". However, there are positve, uplifting messages on "Soar", "Cruz", "Keep On Singin' My Song", and especially "Beautiful" (my favorite song). The social behavior is good, because Christina is sending messages on "Soar" and "Beautiful" about loving yourself and being true to yourself. In conclusion, "Stripped" may be more "dirrty" than anything out there, but it's also more "beautiful" than any other CD you'll hear.
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AGE
Although some songs my be inappropriate for younger kids and teens, the lyrics represent who Xtina is and how she feels. Features some awesome songs with true meaning and substance! Love "Can't Hold Us Down" with Lil Kim!
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AGE
The liner notes have a small picture of oral sex
The CD has songs with swears and sex. In fact, I later noticed one of the pictures in the liner notes has a picture of oral sex. Anyone can buy this CD, and even if it had a "Parental Advisory" label, the minimum age to buy would still only be 17, as opposed to 21, which it should be.
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Kid, 11 years old
August 17, 2010
AGE
Only good song is Beautiful
That song has good messages like "I am beautiful/No matter what they say/Cause words can't bring me down". Don't play the other tracks as colorful swears are sprinkled throughout except for Beautiful.
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Kid, 11 years old
November 27, 2011
AGE
The Best Album I've Ever heard
Pop songs today are far sexualized and most of them would be rated PAUSE for 17, but this album is beautiful. Pop music was good five to ten years ago but pop music of the 2010s so far has been terrible. I like this better. "Can't Hold Us Down" would be rated ON for age 14. Without the word "Whore" it would be ON for 9. Without a positive message it would be NOT FOR KIDS. "Fighter" would be PAUSE for age 6. At age 5- people don't need to know about love, but once you get to age 6 there's only ten years until love is a big deal so people need to know about dealing with their boyfriend (or girlfriend). "Beautiful" should be rated ON for age 3. "Beautiful" kind of advertises her dirty music, but at about 2 or 3 people are going into preschool. They need to know how to deal with bullying. "Dirrty" should be PAUSE for 12. In that song they talk about a lot of drinking, partying, and sex but it also teaches positive lesson to be free and "Dirrty" is clean of swears. "The Voice Within" should be rated ON for age 5. This song does teach the same lesson as beautiful, but has a less basic lesson. You can listen to it at age 1 but it just doesn't mean anything. It doesn't really teach a useful lesson until about Elementry School or Middle School. Besides the songs that have been played on the radio there are all these other side songs that also count for something down below.
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AGE
Iffy Stiffy
There's some iffy stuff in "Stripped". There's lots of oral sex and some splattered swearing (a*s, b*tch, da**, sh**, etc.). Some material might be inappropreite for younger children, so I vote this for 12 and up.
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| Artist: | Christina Aguilera |
| Release date: | October 29, 2002 |
| Label: | RCA |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Parental advisory: | No |
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