Apparently the release of this photo caused quite an uproar amongst mothers of Miley's 8-12 year old fan base who claim that the photo is obscene, offensive, and lewd. The backlash caused Disney and Miley's PR people to spring into damage control mode as they quickly issued an apology saying that Miley was manipulated and that magazine unfairly took advantage of her during the photo shot. .
Our initial response to this whole hysteria was confusion. We didn't understand how this image could be perceived as a lewd given the world we live in today, and we fall pretty far to the right on the ol' political spectrum. The famous words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart come to mind when he made a ruling on what is and what is not obscene/pornographic, "I can't describe it but I know it when I see it." Well we don't see it.
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We are not interested in arguing about the details of who is responsible for the photos or about whether it is ethical for Vanity Fair to publish them. As far as we are concerned Miley and her peeps are free to make whatever marketing decisions they deem valuable and if you have a problem with that you can blame the capitalistic money machine that drives those kind of decisions. Our issue is with the reaction to the photo, not the nature of the photo.
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Let us pose a series of questions in hopes of stimulating some deeper thought on the issue. (P.S. We would love to hear what you guys think even if it is stark contrast to our opinion)
Is it obscene because she is "nude"?
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Is it obscene because of her age? If she were 18 would it still be offensive?
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Is it obscene because it is a photograph? If it were a painting would is still be obscene?
.Is it obscene because other young starlets before her have gone on to make bad choices when they are older?
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Is it obscene because of who she is? Does she have a bigger responsibility because so many young girls look up to her?
To us she appears no more nude than any actress at the Oscars wearing a low backed dress or any girl in a Target commercial modeling a bright summer halter top, but we don't hear any outrage from parents threatening to boycott department stores or awards shows.If it is obscene because of her age we pause to wonder how many offended mothers would turn down $100,000 to pose their 15 year old that way. Hmm...hypocrisy sucks.
If it is obscene because it is a photograph we wonder if the offended also object to well know images in art (i.e. The Birth of Venus and The David) and why they don't consider photography a legitimate artistic medium.
If it worrisome because it may foreshadow a downward spiral similar to that of other young performers (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan). We submit that it is unfair to judge young Miley's current actions or predict her future behavior based on the irresponsible actions of others. We believe she has the right to prove herself to be sensible or reckless, we don't think it is our position to label her either way simply because B Spears decided to dive head first into the kiddie pool.Finally if it obscene because of who she is and as a parent you have certain
image you expect her to uphold then you should be less concerned about what affect this picture may have on your 12 year old and more worried about what affect junior high will have on your 12 year old. If as a parent you are afraid of and uncomfortable with sexuality around your "tween", even in its subtlest form as in this photo, then you have much more to be concerned about than an innocent picture on a magazine cover.
3 comments:
I don't think I can disagree with the argument that perhaps the photo is a tad bit inappropriate for a 15-year-old girl...and on the cover of an adult magazine no less. BUT...that is her parents lack of sensible judgement. After all, you really can't expect a 15-year-old to be able to make sound career decisions. With that being said, I think it is aboslutely ridiculous for pepole to take offense to a celebrity taking a sexy picture. I mean, whaa? As I told Megan...getting offended over a celebrity taking a slutty picture is like getting mad at a dog for pooping on the lawn. That is just what they do. If you don't want to look at it then DON'T. And if you don't want your tween looking at it then be a responsible parent and don't let them look at it...or better yet...have a converstaion with them about why you think its wrong. Come on people. Get a grip. And P.S. anyone who thinks Disney is anything other than a money making machine that cares about anything other than money living in a fantasy. Disney is churning out soon-to-be teen snakolas faster than I can say Mickey Mouse Club. And that was my little rant. The end.
If Miley Cyrus actually acted and LOOKED like another 15 year old (I am picturing the teeny-weeny Mia Maids in my Young Womens)then it might be weird. But she looks older than me. She already lost her youth when she pulled on the miniskirt, caked on the make-up and wore a strappy push-up gown to the Oscars. She just seems SO OLD! So to be honest, it didn't phase me at all. She just looked like another star showing some skin.
I think that the picture is inappropriate for a 15-year-old, but the thing that I find disturbing is how sickly she looks. As my husband put it "she looks like one of the Olsen twins that isn't eating enough." Yeah, that's a healthy image for her "fan-base."
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