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Miley Cyrus (AKA Hannah Montana) and Vanity Fair controversy
05/04/08
My daughter loves Miley Cyrus and I'm happy she does: Cyrus and her Disney Channel (and station) mates make the best quality, most decent comedy television and pop music today.
Cyrus is also a gust of fresh air compared to the destructive Spears, Lohan, et. al. She makes a point of being a Christian in what must be a very faith-challenging business.
About the Vanity Fair picture controversy:
I'm glad that Cyrus is concerned about her image. She could have downplayed her responsibility to my daughter, but didn't.
When I first heard about the picture controversy, I didn't think that it was too much of a big deal. Yes, she's under age and, as a high school teacher, I know the last message girls need is: "be sexier," but the pictures weren't in the nude; How much worse could they be than Brooke Shields' Calvin Klein ad from the eighties?
Then, I saw the first picture above and thought about the issue some more. The photo does seem racy for a 15 year old. Acting or looking "sexy" (as opposed to "cute") is meant to attract a certain type of attention- namely "sexual attention." What other purpose could there be? Comfort? A 15 year old girl shouldn't encourage men to think of her that way (same for married women and women who want a certain kind of relationship). After all, Miley's not available for that activity, right?
Plus: Shields and Madonna shortly thereafter have to take some of the blame for modern teenage girls' immodest dress and aggressive sexual mores (Check out MySpace.). If you don't think Shields and Madonna encouraged such conduct (No, I didn't complain at the time.) and fostered the social problems associated with them, then you're saying that advertising doesn't affect behavior and companies spend billions of dollars on it for nothing.
Tags: cyrus controversy, is cyrus a bad example
), 06:12:14 pm, 314 words PermalinkCategories: American Politics, Culture :: 3 comments »
3 comments
Aside from the moral considerations, it was a dumb business move in my book. This girl, unlike Britney Spears, became famous entertaining kids. She works for Disney. What's attractive about her is squeaky clean image. These photos put her in the realm of all the other "pop tarts" that have come down the line. She could have waited a couple of years before doing a provocative photo spread. She created a controversy that was totally unnecessary. There's something about that picture that makes her look she was just used. Smudged lipstick, etc. Not a good move.
I think you're right, although as a plain business move, she did get a lot of attention. We'll see if she expanded without losing her base. 
Miley Cyrus is a talented singer and performer, and she really didn't need to resort to this kind of publicity. I think Billy Ray should have stepped in and given her a little more guidance about proceeding with this. But it's done, and I think Miley has moved on. 
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