Why Britney's Behaving Badly

Nov. 30, 2006 — -- Britney Spears has everyone baffled.

The one-time princess of pop has devolved into the poster girl for the crotch-shot club.

Since Nov. 22, cameras have captured Spears' nether regions on four separate occasions. Photographs of the recently separated mother of two's private parts now litter the Internet.

Spears' behavior is the buzz of the Internet, tabloids, office water coolers and even dinner parties. The question on everyone's lips: What the hell is going on?

Bethany Marshall, a psychoanalyst and relationship specialist, thinks Spears may be acting out against the people who cultivated her pop princess image and her estranged husband, Kevin Federline.

"When you're in a marriage and you're controlled by a lot of people, you repress your personality," Marshall said. "When all of that breaks loose, it's like the hinges come off the door."

Marshall speculated that Spears' exhibitionism could also be her way of getting back at a husband who may not have truly loved her.

"Kevin was naughty. He partied. She may be subconsciously doing to him what he did to her," she said.

Like a peacock preening its feathers to attract a mate, by flashing her privates, Spears may be trying to lure a new man.

"It is inappropriate, but it's sort of her saying, 'I'm back on the market,'" Marshall said.

As for Spears' habit of hitting the town after dark, Marshall said partying was probably helping her cope with her split from K-Fed.

"A lot of newly divorcing people do a lot of naughty things, but the cameras aren't rolling the whole time," she said. "She wants to have a good time just like any other man or woman who's going through a divorce."

The Real Britney Comes Out

From the medical community to the Internet's social networks, people are buzzing about what's going on in Spears' head.

Even the pop star's diehard fans have flooded her MySpace profile page with questions and criticisms about her recent vulgarities.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has a theory about Spears, and fans hoping for the return of the sweet songstress may not like it.

"I thought I knew Britney. And then over the last two years, I was wondering who this girl was. Then I thought that maybe this is the real Britney -- the one that would walk around barefoot, the one that would eat Cheetos, the one that married the loser," he said.

"She's trashy," Hilton said.

"It's sad to say, but the Britney that everyone fell in love with, the one that wore the schoolgirl outfit, she was fake. That was an image that was created by her very smart handlers," he said, referring to the longtime personal publicist Spears recently fired.

As to whether flashing her privates will be an enduring part of Spears' personality, Marshall says only time will tell.

What's certain is that today's Spears is far removed from the teen sensation of yore.

"It's as if everyone glued her together, and now the glue is cracking," Marshall said.