Miley Cyrus

A note from Yours Truly: This is a current events paper I wrote for women's studies class. As you may be able to tell, I get pretty into my current events papers :)
This one comes with a trigger warning. It's on the topic of sexuality, so it may seem - what's the word - graphic, at times. However, my purpose in this paper is to raise awareness on the way that women are objectified by men and the way that the media (in this paper, specifically Miley Cyrus) plays a leading contribution in this. 

I especially had fun with this paper, so please do read on! Hope it makes you think and makes you chuckle!

If you had never heard the name Miley Cyrus before the VMAs this year – which would have been rather unlikely – you have definitely heard it now! This mermaid-haired, doe eyed, Disney star turned crop-cut, blonde bombshell, sex-symbol has made an impression on us all. And not necessarily a good one! Is she crying out for attention? Did she twerk on TV for all to see because she knew it would spark a morbid curiosity in us? Does she have any clue what she’s doing? The article Miley Cyrus: Pimping herself out or hardest working woman in showbiz? on FoxNews.com gave me some things to consider.

            According to the article by Fox News, Sinead O’Conner, an Irish pop-star, expressed her Miley-opinion on her personal website in the form of a letter to Miley herself. She began this letter by saying that everything in it was meant in a caring, motherly way. She begged Miley to realize that she is a pawn of the music industry, that no one in it actually cares about her, and that if those working closely to her had not expressed their concern for her well-being, they should be fired immediately. O’Conner pleaded with Miley to open her eyes and see that she is an extremely talented artist and that all of this over-sexualization is totally unnecessary. Lastly, O’Conner pulled the role model card. "Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women. The message you keep sending is that its somehow cool to be prostituted.. its so not cool Miley.. its dangerous," Sinead stated.

            Many rappers who Miley Cyrus now calls colleagues disagree with Sinead O’Conner altogether. On the contrary, they believe that Miley Cyrus is a genius! Kanye West and Pharell have both requested her appearances on their albums and Mike WiLL Made-It, the executive producer of Miley’s freshly released album, Bangerz, insists that this is a clear indication that Miley Cyrus is talented. Still, there are some who believe it has nothing to do with talent, but say, “Who cares? She’s popular, and that’s all that matters, right?”

            One thing is certain about Miley’s recent performances and that is that they have exuded sexuality. So what’s wrong with that? The world as we know it is progressing in the realm of sexuality all the time! We’re in an age where everywhere we turn, we are being fed sexuality; on TV shows, in advertisements, in games, in clothing, etcetera. How is Miley twerking on live television any more obscene than what we are already accustomed to?

            In my opinion, Miss Cyrus is sexually objectifying herself. She is making herself into the very thing that radical heterosexuals and feminists all over are battling against. In an article called Radical Sexuality, author Naomi Wolf draws on all of the rules for being in a heterosexual relationship while at the same time, being a warrior against gender injustice. She makes it very clear throughout the entire article that sexuality is a good thing, but that it becomes dangerous when women allow themselves to be made the sexual object of men. Wolf urges women to take on very progressive, feminist tasks in their relationships – don’t depend on the man to be Mr. Fix-It, the man should pay for half the contraceptives, etc. – and to move away from this idea of “submitting to a man” entirely.

            The problem is, Miley Cyrus has thrown herself into a time machine. Unfortunately, the nation’s roving eyes are following her journey and absorbing the likely unintentional message of sexual submission she’s sending. Recall that scandalous VMA performance with me, for a moment. She bore down to a very small latex bra and underwear for Robin Thicke’s uber-sexist hit-song, Blurred Lines. Thicke’s controversial song, boasting the lyrics “I know you want it” could be an a whole paper on its own, and I cannot express how sexually degrading it is to women, but when you factor nearly-naked Miley – uhh – bending down in sexual submission on live television to the tune…well, that’s just the cherry on top! As Sinead O’Conner stated in her “Dear Miley” on her website, she’s setting an example for us women. We are taking in all of this and subconsciously wondering, “Is that what men like?” This is disheartening and worrisome.

            My mind wanders back to a video I watched for this class on an attractive young lady who got dolled up and gallivanted all around town asking men for sex as a part of a social experiment for Whatever. Surprisingly, she had a 50% success rate on this excursion. I dug a little deeper and watched the male version of this same experiment. More interestingly, still, the guy asked 100 girls to have sex with him and not a single one agreed. To me, this is yet another example of how women are viewed by men as sexual objects and Miley is only contributing to this viewpoint.

            In Dworkin’s strongly opinionated article, Pornography, she voices both fear and disgust at the way “women’s bodies are possessed by men.” Now, Cyrus may not have made an appearance in pornography….yet, but I believe that Dworkin is expressing a concern that can be applied directly to Miley’s case. Women are not the sexual property of men! However, this primal belief does not come from nowhere. It comes from history. It comes from pornography. It comes from the media – through songs like Thicke’s Blurred Lines and performances like Miley’s on the VMAs. In a sense, it is ingrained in man’s very being to sexualize women.

            Miley Cyrus is one of the hottest topics of conversation these days. She is, unarguably, the girl of the hour. Regardless of whether Miley is seeking publicity or simply “doin’ her thing” as she belts out in the lyrics of one of the tracks on her new album, Bangerz, Miley has transformed herself into a sexual muse for men, and we’re all watching. Whether we know it or not, we are absorbing the things she is doing, the words she is singing, and the outfits she is wearing and we are subconsciously applying it to our lives. This is dangerous for women. We must fight men’s tendency to sexualize us, and – whether Miley Cyrus likes it or not – she must stop!