Nothing has really changed. Well, besides her hair, her clothing options, her performances, that tongue of hers... Where was I going with this again? Oh yes, she is still a great and strong person and she should not be called all of these horrible names e.g " Slut," "Skank," or etc. She is just expressing herself permissively.
The media portrays a strong independent women as having good manners, always covering up, being respectful, and all of that bull*#!@. Thus brain washing society that if a female does not categorize into this dominant discourse, then they are automatically not considered to be strong or independent, but instead slutty or skanky. What makes a person a slut though? Well dictionary.com defines it as "an immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute." Now knowing the definition of slut, what is the definition of moral? Well moral is defined as the principles of right and wrong behavior. Who is it to say that what Miley is doing is immoral? Even though Miley is more revealing now and her performances are provocative she is just doing what any entertainer has to do, which is to entertain.
Yes you might be saying "Well even though she is entertaining she doesn't have to shake her butt everywhere," or "Why is she so revealing," but the truth is that she is just dancing. She is twerking-a type of dancing in which the dancer, usually a woman, shakes her hips up-and-down bouncing motion causing the dancer's buttocks to shake, "wobble" and "bounce." Just like back in the days when "The Twist," "The Pony," and "The Mash Potato" were considered scandalous and sinless, but now we find it to be just fun and innocent. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqPSKWLBkHE got this line from Glee). And what is so wrong with Miley and her revealing parts of her body? It is her body, and if she is confident about it then she should have the rights to show them.
Miley Cyrus is a good person. She is telling her fans that they should just be themselves and not worry about what other people might think of them. Being able to express yourself is the only way for someone to actually be completely free, and the only way to do that is to do you and ignore what the haters have to think of it.
"This is our house
This is our rules
And we can’t stop
And we won’t stop
Can’t you see it’s we who own the night
Can’t you see it we who bout’ that life" (Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop)
Questions:
1. Why is it okay for some people to be naked and it is considered art, but when Miley does it she is a "Slut" or a "Skank?"
2. How come Taylor Swift has been with more guys than Miley Cyrus, but no one talks bad about her?
3. Why do you think Miley Cyrus is a good/bad role model?
4. Does Miley Cyrus deserve all of these negative review, and why?
Nice post, Steven! I really do agree that Miley does get a lot of bashing from people, I however feel very indifferent towards her actions. To answer your first question, I find it very contradicting when you can see sculptures or paintings of naked men and women and people find it beautiful but as soon as it is a person, especially a well known celebrity, people go crazy and start insulting them. Notice however, they mostly do that to women. It's rare when you see men acting this way and people being very judgmental towards them. It'll be big for a day and then people forget about it. Question 2: I know Taylor does actually get a lot of heat with the guys she's been with. Maybe not media wise but on social networking sites I've seen people calling her "Tay-WHORE Swift" and other mean things. They accuse her of going out with these men to get material for her music (almost all the songs on her album are about a guy) and stuff like that. Question 3: I don't see Miley as neither a good role model nor a bad one. Again I'm very indifferent towards her and I wouldn't call her my role model because I feel like there are better examples out there but to those do see her at their role model then that's okay, she's human and she makes mistakes but she still does have some good qualities. Question 4. Nobody deserves negative review but if they come seeking attention the way she does, it's going to pop up. I'm sure she knows the society we live in and that there are some people who don't approve of the way she's acting. She'll probably always get negative review because she's such a big celebrity and people are very judgmental. But yeah, again great post Steven!
ReplyDeleteI do agree that maybe Miley is getting a lot of flak that isn't properly deserved. Being one that does not really follow her at all or listen to her music, it's surprising so much attention she is getting from her scandalous performance. To the point that I hear so much about it. All it took was a few bad moves for her to go from "sweetheart" to "slutty", people have taken a very judgemental stance with her.
ReplyDeleteAlso to answer the first question, I would have to say that the way Miley acted was in such a revolting manner to most, that it'd be considered inappropriate, while the style of mainstream nude models could be seen as elegant. Nice post Steven, nice and controversial.
To address your second question, Taylor gets a lot of criticism as well. Many people label her as a "slut", and the media loves to make her look like a desperate, clingy ex-girlfriend. The point is that both of these girls don't deserve the negativity surrounding them. It's just because they're women, and in society's eyes women are always supposed to be sweet and innocent. When we try to break out of that box, we're considered immoral. Men aren't criticized for how many women they date, which goes to show that there's a huge double standard.
ReplyDeleteWe learn that we cannot truly judge someone by their actions, but rather the reason behind their actions. In Miley's case, you addressed that she was doing it for publicity and for entertainment - and I agree! She shouldn't be getting all of this hate from people who don't know enough about her and I don't think she deserves to be put down for doing things that makes her look bad towards society. From what we can see, and what the rest of society sees, "women" should be acting lady-like and polite, rather than doing these "twerk" like dances and lashing her tongue out to fans. People shouldn't be allowed to judge and compare them with the dominant discourse, even if it seems outrageous.
ReplyDeleteI would like to answer question number four:
ReplyDeleteI most definitely dont think that Miley should receive these negative comments. Why? Well, because Miley is just doing her! Shes just being herself. Now, is being yourself a bad thing? Miley being herself hurting anyone out there. The only reason why Miley is drawing so much attention from others is because shes famous. What i mean by that is, think about it. Me, for example... if i were dance a certain way, or dress a certain way, change me attitude, no one will cares.I wont appear on the news, I wont appear on the television. Life goes on... but with Miley its different cause shes famous. Society is failed to understand that, Miley is just a regular person like you and I. if you seen any of Miley's interview you will know that she is actually doing this all with a motive, which is telling her fans to be theirselves.
I like to contradict your argument. The only reason why she receiving all these negative comments is the way she is acting. Its not a bad thing that Miley is telling her fans to be themselves but people look up to her because she used to be a great role to everyone. Would you want your son/ daughter to dance and dress like Miley? I dont think so. I would also like to say that the only way Miley is acting like this is because of the publicity. She's been inactive since her Hannah Montana days and she probably lost a lot of fans and the only way to get her name out there again is to do something crazy to get people talking about her
DeleteThe thing with Miley Cyrus is that she has always been the target for abuse since her Hanna Montana days. People hated that show because she acted too much like a kid which is funny because Hanna Montana is a kids show. She wanted to reinvent herself and so she became the opposite of what she used to be hoping that she would not get so much hatred, that was not a good idea. Taylor Swift talking about boys has been made fun of too much already. Miley does not necessarily deserve all this negative feedback but i am not complaining because she acted like a complete self aware slut in "we can't stop". She is a role model as bad as Nicki Minaj, have your kids avoid her like the bubonic plaque.
ReplyDeleteIn response to questions two, I believe the resason why Taylor is not misunderstood for a slut would be because of the way she presents herself. Taylor has created this sweet innocent appearence, compared to Miley who switched from being a Disney sweetheart to a grown up show stoper. I understand that Miley wants to be more mature and appear adult like but, the way she approched her ideal personality, causes her fans and listeners to misjudge her. In addition, creating provocative videos does not help build her image any better.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. Miley Cyrus attention might be good, but she just does not have a good way of portraying it
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DeleteI want to respond to your third question. I really do think Miley Cyrus is a good person! I honestly used to love Miley Cryrus actually, like she was one of my idols back then and although I'm no longer a huge fan of hers as I was in the past, I don't like the change in her image. I know that this can represent the fact that she is maturing and I agree with you Steven, about Miley being a good person. But her actions and the change of her image just leads fans wondering why she is acting this way compared to the young and innocent Miley Cyrus.
ReplyDeleteI for one do not think that anyone naked is art. No one talks bad about Taylor Swift because they look past how many people she has been with and instead look at how she dresses and portrays herself. I think she is a bad role model because of the way she shows herself off to the media. And finally i do think she deserves all the negative publicity that she is getting because of how she shows herself off. but anyway amazing post steven.
ReplyDeleteGood point Belal, and i do respect your honesty towards Miley.
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ReplyDeleteGreat post Steven! I would like to respond to your third question. I feel that Miley Cyrus has completely changed from what she was in the past. I used to watch Hannah Montana and love that show. Back then, Miley Cyrus was a great role model to young children. However, once she changed she brought many fans to confusion. Miley Cyrus changed completely and gave herself a new look. She is responsible for giving herself a bad image. Once I watched the music video of wrecking ball I couldn't believe my eyes. I think Miley Cyrus did this only for attention. I think she wanted to show everyone that she is not a kid anymore and is a full grown adult who can do whatever she wants. The new Miley Cyrus is not so appealing to me and I think that now she is not really a woman to look up to and is less of a role model than she used to be.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that she is not always going to be that little girl. Everybody has to grow up, and that is what Miley did. I appreciate your honesty on how you feel towards Miley but i have to disagree with you. She is somebody that should be looked up too, and way more than what she use to be because she is true to herself now. She isn't putting a front just for the public anymore, instead she is staying true to herself.
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