Bow Down, B*tches: B-Day Girl Christina Can Teach Beyoncé A Lesson Or 10 In Pop Feminism

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[Photo Credit: RCA]

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[Photo Credit: RCA]

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[Photo Credit: RCA]

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[Photo Credit: Rolling Stone/Albert Watson]

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It's Christina Aguilera's birthday today! And while we've all been caught up the December Beylizzard that accompanied the drop of Beyoncé's new visual album, it's time to poke our heads outside to pay that other pop diva with pipes her due (we'll let you finish your birthday later, Taylor Swift). Now, I'm sure you're content to spend now through the spring thaw rhapsodizing about Iliad-like qualities of King Bey's epic audio-video release, analyzing its staunch feminist undertones. But let's not forget that, at 33, X-Tina has been a strong feminist force in pop music for most of her career.

There's room for all under the modern feminism umbrella, but Beyoncé is not the greatest feminist pop singer of all time. Yeah, I said it. Stingers down, BeyHive! Christina's "Dirrty" chaps didn't invent the wheel either. Though it shouldn't be lost on fans of strong female figures in music that The Voice coach has been preaching the same empowerment gospel as Yoncé. Except, you know, with markedly more detractors in a world of Twitter slut-shaming that shows not all booty-baring lingerie is created equal.

Say what you will, but Christina's firm ideals of womanly self-acceptance, sexual ownership, and her vocal support for the elevation of female status in society has been expressed through her music since her late teens. Don't believe me? Click through our gallery for proof of why the "Beautiful" star has really been holding us ladies down for more than a decade.