Source I
The majority of people who first
fell in love with Miley Cyrus fell in love with the good girl Hannah Montana. Then they watched her grow up over the years
into a hyper sexualized adolescent Miley Cyrus.
All girls go through the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and
therefore look for a role model to help them through this difficult time. I do not feel that Miley Cyrus is a good role
model. Also she is not a good
representation of women for a number of reasons.
First we look at Hannah Montana, the
pseudonym of the character Miley Stewart when she is a pop star on stage. Yes this may seem good because it represents
young girls who have a dream of making it big one day. However the character is narrow in her
representation because her father (Billy Ray Stewart/Cyrus) has been in the
music industry, they are well off, there is no mother figure in the picture,
and most notably she is that ideal female image (white, thin, blonde). Also this show presents a double bind through
the lead character. Miley is an ordinary
every day girl and yet she is a mega superstar on the other hand. Further her need for an alter ego proves that
it is quite impossible for us to be two contradictory identities in one being.
Next she started to break free from Disney’s
capitalist nature and her good girl image.
This mainly started with the song and video of “Can’t Be Tamed”. Although the lyrics of the song are some bit
positive, the video was sexualized. In
the song it says “They try to change me but they realize they can't...I can't
be tamed...I can't be changed...And if you try to hold me back, I might explode”
(Source III). She is saying that women
can’t be held back from doing what they want, they can’t be domesticated like a
pet. Miley is also issuing a warning
saying that the longer and more you oppress us the faster and harder you will
fall.
Source IV
When you actually watch the
video you realize that’s not the message.
In the video Miley is wearing a skimpy black outfit, has wings, and is
seen breaking free from a cage. She is
saying that she is a sexual animal that cannot be dominated or taken control of
in a sexual relationship. However by the
end of the video she goes back into the cage, ultimately stating that she is
dominated but when she gets mad she has her way.
Now we come to 2013. She’s engaged, has a new look, she culturally
appropriates twerking, goes crazy at the VMAs, her engagement falls apart, and
her new album comes out. This is all part
of her new image being a carefree sex crazed being trying to break out of the
innocent Hannah Montana image and transition into womanhood. To Miley the VMA performance was a way of
breaking out and being empowering, however I disagree with that. It misrepresents what other women feel is
empowering and growing up. To me
empowering would be getting a job they said I would never reach. Or it's saying
I don’t care what you think to the world without having to parade yourself
around half nude. Therefore Miley Cyrus
misrepresents women because she has had her own experiences, and she is not yet
a woman.
Source V.
Sources
