RUTHIE KELLY: Parents hypocritically upset over Cyrus' pics
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: Opinion
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But like the other pop teen queens who came before her, Cyrus was sexualized long ago. That isn't the real problem. The upsetting part is that her sexuality used to be innocent because she was sending signals with miniskirts and makeup but didn't really understand what those signs meant. The symbols are meant to be understood by adults who aren't part of her actual fan base. Her appeal laid in her inexperience - her powerlessness. Her appearance has always been suggestive, but she wouldn't really know what to do in a sexual situation, so it was a type of make-believe.
But Cyrus is 15 years old now and is starting to grow up. She's beginning to take control and embrace her sexuality, and use it the way she wants to, as opposed to the way she was directed. Being sexual on any level seems so monumental, new and powerful at age 15. But just when she matures to the point of wanting to embrace and explore that side of herself is when she becomes the most dangerous because then she is the one who takes control. It's a problem for managers when their charges begin to understand the power of that miniskirt they've been shoved into since they were 11.
Take a look at these so-called "upsetting" images. One set of photos was from a shoot for Vanity Fair, in which she is on the cover wearing only a sheet with her back exposed, and wearing a dress with a slightly revealing top inside the magazine. The second set of photos, which appear to have been taken informally, are much more racy; she is shown pulling down her white tank top to reveal her lime green bra. Interestingly, protesting viewers are just as, if not more, upset by Cyrus' cuddling with a boy in some of the photos - even though she's much more clothed in the shots where he appears.
Because it isn't uncommon for 15-year-olds to have boyfriends doesn't seem to register with the hysterical parents crying foul. They feel Cyrus' apparent interest in a boy is most damning because it shows that her previously performed sexuality is no longer an act.
Disney strives to make its stars role models, but it's proving impossible because it's dealing with a massive contradiction. Girls are supposed to be pretty, groomed as the sexually appealing women society expects. But when they get too sexual, the parents get upset, suspecting that their daughters are also being groomed to be "whores." As a result, you get characters and stars that are pretty, perfect and always made up, dressed in high heels and short shorts, and when with their boyfriends they … hold hands and sing about monogamy. They're permitted to develop to a certain point, but then they must be chaste, even as legal adults, long past the time when their peers look to them for cues. And especially with Disney, the young actresses and their characters are one and the same - a perverted version of reality television.
Sexualizing young girls is nothing new, but it's particularly troubling that there's only an uproar when the girls begin to try and take control. It's much less disturbing to see 15-year-old Cyrus acting sexual than when she was 11 years old. That is a part of being a teenager, a part of growing up.
Disney should try something new, rather than paradoxically sexualizing children and infantilizing adults. It should just let Cyrus develop at the pace she wants, as a testament to the journey all girls make in order to become women. It's usually messy and sometimes painful, but ultimately Cyrus could be a role model who is real, rather than a caricature.
That's who I'd rather have my little sisters watching.
-Ruthie Kelly is a journalism junior and a staff columnist.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed - include your full name, major and year in school.
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