BlogHer - Miley Cyrus - Comments

two more cents

washwords — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:56:01 -0500

Not much to say that hasn't been covered already, very eloquently my Mir's original posting and all you talented women speaking your minds... but... I have to agree with Denise and co. here (and give you credit Denise for being the first to raise a different voice)...

I'm 35 (only saying, in case my generation is why I have a different take) and I have to say my first reaction was one of bafflement to this whole "scandal."

Jamie Lynn Spears just got a RAISE for being a PREGNANT teenager celebrity. And has anyone been to facebook/ my space/ any bar mitzvah lately. I have and the way parents seem to ENCOURAGE the wildly inappropriate clothing. In suburban DC at least there's a term - prostitots- and it wasn't invented by adults, it was coined by fellow young men and women, who see their peers this way and cast this judgement.

To me, it's the lingerie stores for children, the going "prom-night-shopping" with your teenage daughter (I've seen it, more than once, and it's not dress shopping, it's victoria's secret) that's a danger to our society, NOT this beautiful photograph by one of America's most beloved and talented photographers.

I have to disagree that 15 is "a child, a child!!!" It's not. 15-year-olds are enrolling in the army in Israel, preparing to leave their homes and begin their young adult lives right here in the U.S. of A., and yes, discovering their sexuality.

When Brooke Shields did her photos/ads/Blue Lagoon, she was the "cool, older teenager" - I thought she was beautiful and yes, sexy, but it didn't make me see my own coming into womanhood any differently. I also remember wearing a bikini myself in public for the first time about that age and realizing I was attractive, or posing for myself in a sheet in the mirror, or after meeting a boy to see how I might look different.

I WISH I had an annie leibowitz to capture those moments. It'd be nice to remember now that cellulite and gray hairs are starting to appear....

jfa/ washy

http://washwords.wordpress.com

washwords.dc@gmail.com

well..

Raquita — Sun, 04 May 2008 09:35:21 -0500

I thought Raven Samone did very well at avoid the STOOPID. Shes not Miley famous but I think that shows her handler intelegence in controlling the beast that fame can be. Shes made enough money she and her family can be comfortable for a long time, and she can probably go to teh mall with out getting completely mobed.

Shes smart and has a decent head on her shoulders, I'd say If I were the Cyrus family I'd be aiming more Raven and less Britney.. .

be peaceful, be poetry
http://blaquepen.com/wobl

Miley's Misstep?

PrincessP — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:54:37 -0500

I agree (and disagree) with many here. Most of all, I find fault with the parents and Annie L in this situation. Plain and simple, Miley is still a child. I don't care if she is in the public eye. She is a minor, and the moment a photographer asked her to TAKE HER TOP OFF for a photograph should have been the moment that her parents said NO WAY. Forgive me for shouting while typing, but give me a break. A child is a child, and they have exploited this one.

No matter how tasteful they 'might' (and I question that 'might') have thought they were being, there should have been no question in Billy Ray's mind when they asked his daughter to start removing articles of clothing. Period. Done. End of story. End of photo shoot. Serious flaw in parental judgment.

http://www.whitetrashmom.com/

http://family.go.com/blog/princess_peg/

My kids watch Hannah

Liz Thompson — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:20:10 -0500

My kids watch Hannah Montana. So? How did we handle Mileygate at our house?

14-year-old: "Well, that was totally STUPID!"

12-year-old: "Like, Mom would have NEVER let us do that!"

Me: "Yeah."

6-year-old: "What?"

Me: "Nevermind."

Kids are going to screw-up, regardless of who's watching, but at least my kids don't know from greedy and The Boy (he's 9) doesn't watch, so...PHEW!

Nice write-up, Mir.

--------------------------------------------

This Full House

This Full House Reviews

Imperfect Parent

Art and Money

One Bite — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:18:30 -0500

As an artitistic shot I think it's a beautiful photograph. As a commercial thing, I think it's gross and takes advantage of an under aged girl. I can see Leibowitz wanting to take this photo. However, the magazine was remiss in using it to shill their product.

Tough Call

mecca2425 — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:05:29 -0500

I'm having a hard time with this one. On one hand I can't imagine wanting my daughter to pose for such a shot. On the other hand, I'm hesitant to judge others' parenting and really do feel for Miley and her family over what was likely a beautiful photo shoot.

Cecelia, Cool Baby Kid

Miley Cyrus

merlotmom — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:36:35 -0500

Thank you Mir for such a thorough article though I disagree with you.

Thank you Denise, Ashley, Rachelle, et al, for coming out on this one. I have done so on my blog for the past two days but I've felt in the minority (still am, but now I know I have some support!)

I have said all I have to say in those posts but I will reiterate she is NOT topless! This is a media ploy to garner audience and ratings. She is NOT in a bed as one of your commenters said. She's outside on a photo stage. I agree with Denise that Miley has worked professionally long enough that you cannot equate her with a typical suburban 15 year old. I think she and her family have done an incredible job of maintaining "normalcy". I wish she would have chosen a different picture (I like some of the others better) but that's my opinion. I think it wasn't the best choice because the media vultures are always circling but I think it's been blown out of proportion. Her tv show is good, clean fun with heart (unlike many other kids shows). I think parents letting the media tell them what's right and wrong.

merlotmom

www.merlotmom.com

Other celebs

lilmommythatcould — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:04:46 -0500

As for other celeberties who like Miley had questionable photos, the track record is not good. Brooke Shields has had a rocky relationship with her mother, and I don't have to say much about Britney or Lohan. Maybe when more young teen stars come out on top even with questionable photos I will be willing to let it slide more.

In theory... I agree BUT,

JenInShanghai — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:39:31 -0500

These pictures don't appear to me to be provocative. She is a 15 year old whose parents were at the photo shoot watching. Annie is not a creepy lurker hanging around a playground trying to coerce young girls into pornographic shots.

In general YES, I think kids are growing up too fast these days, but insinuating that Miley is on a "slippery slope" to who knows where because of this, is blowing this specific situation out of proportion.

Vanity Fair should be the target of criticism here, not Miley.

Yes, She's A Minor

Megan Smith — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:26:52 -0500

But she's a minor with her parents' permission.

And I guess the bottom line is, I don't have a problem with the pictures or the poses. I'm more appalled at what I see some fifteen year olds wear at the beach these days, without their parents' permission, than I am with these photos.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute
Video Runway

Dissenting Opinion

Rachelle Mee-Chapman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:58:14 -0500

Denise,

I am totally on board with you 100%.

I have teenagers in my life, including a tween daughter, and I would be fine with letting them take a photo like this if they were developmentally and emotionally interested in doing so. It's a pose from classical art, and captures that twlight age between being a kid and moving towards a being a grown up. Which was probably part of Annie's point.

I wrote about it a lot already on the Contributing Editors mail list, and am burned out on the topic now. But I wanted to drop this quick line to say you are not alone.

Rachelle Mee-Chapman http://www.magpie-girl.com

Okay, forget the role model part

Mir Kamin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:32:27 -0500

Again, Cyrus wasn't (and won't be) a role model for my kids; for me, that's not the issue. I take issue with any underage child appearing in a provocative, scantily-clad, sexually-tinged pose on the cover of a major magazine. Better? ;)

--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer Mommy & Family contributing editor)

Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Having it all with less: Want Not

Re: Radcliffe

Mir Kamin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:30:06 -0500

I agree completely that Radcliffe's decision was a brilliant career move. But I also think bringing him up is comparing apples to oranges -- he was a legal adult when he made that decision. My problem here is that Cyrus is a minor. Totally different circumstances.

--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer Mommy & Family contributing editor)

Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Having it all with less: Want Not

Double Standards

Lovebabz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:50:31 -0500

So Fred the Porn Man who shoots children in provacative photos everyday in his basement isn't an artist? I am not buying this in regards to Annie Liebowitz doesn't get a pass because she is a famous photgrapher! She fucked up and exploited a kid for her own artistic expression and MONEY! Vanity Fair knew this would be controversial to sell magazines...please!

Are you kidding me, why hold the entertainment industry to a different standard? Putting a child naked under sheets ain't art--if she was of age that's different. She should not have to stand there and aoplogize. The Grown-ups around her ought to be doing so.

Why are we so willing to see children in these sexually suggestive photos as if it's some rite of passage. Do we like this or do we say, "she not My kid" This is not about being role models, or turning off the TV. It is about You and I as parents, aunts, cousins, sister-friends saying ENOUGH already. She is my kid, she is your kid, they are all our kids and we have to do a better job of protecting, guiding and nurturing. Today it's Miley at 15, tomorrow will it be some other nubile 12 year old? Or is there a line somehwere and we haven't reached it?

Love, Babz

Of course I shouldn't be,

kperfetto — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:37:08 -0500

Of course I shouldn't be, but I'm pretty shocked by the reaction the "topless" photo has generated. I love Annie Leibovitz's work, and find nothing wrong with it, and if Miley Cyrus hadn't admitted to being ashamed or embarrassed by the shoot, would there be any "controversy." (Answer? Probably, yes.) Granted, I'm not a parent, and I am a photographer. So maybe I've trained myself to look at things a little differently.

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