Dear ol’ dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, must be so proud of his daughter right now. Entertainment Tonight has announced that 15 year-old Miley Cyrus, also known as Hanna Montana, will be going topless on Vanity Fair.
I’m not surprised actually. I figured it was only a matter of time before she was added to the increasing number of teen pop stars heading down the path towards becoming a tramp, right along with Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.
Parents aren’t paying close enough attention to the fact that very young girls are seeing Miley Cyrus and other pop stars as their role models, wanting to look like them, dress like them, act like them. And don’t forget all the makeup little girls as young as 5 or 6 are begging parents to buy them, while parents spend their money buying Hanna Montana dolls, clothes and all the other crap marketers are throwing at young kids.
It’s time that parents really start thinking seriously about the Sexualization of Children, and how marketers are targeting very young children, causing young girls and boys to grow up way too fast. The only way marketers are going to be forced to stop sexualizing children is when parents finally stand up and say, “We’re not going to take it anymore!”, and boycott stores that market this sort of smut to kids.
I’ve got a suggestion for parents of what should be done with all the Hanna Montana crap that parents have bought for their kids. Bonfire anyone? That would make a nice video on YouTube or MySpace.
*Further Reading:
So Sexy, So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture
I think that if her dad’s approved this, he’s setting himself up for an achey breaky heart…
I don’t understand the reasoning behind this
I wonder what she thinks could possibly be in it for her. Except money. I mean, she’s got a comparatively clean-cut image up to this point and I think that’s helped with her show.
this is digusting. miley and her father need to get a grip. i have 14 year old and 17 year old daughters and i would murder them if they did this.
I knew this would happen. That’s why I don’t let my girls (9,7) watch those shows except for Raven. I don’t even let them watch High School Musical.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise to parents, as this sort of thing has been happening for years, right under the unsuspecting noses of parents.
Think about all the millions of dollars parents have spent on Miley’s concerts, toys and other crap, for their little girls who look up to as a role model to follow. Ick.
Thank God I have sons, not daughters. I wouldn’t want to spend all my time policing their reading and viewing habits.
This just blows my mind. For starters, why in the world would Vanity Fair want to have a 15 yr old on the cover of their magazine that, I’m guessing, has far too few clothes on. Second, why would she want to? It’s such a bad bad move on her part.
Doesn’t she have enough? What will this gain her? Nothing worthwhile.
Another good reason to burn the TV and homeschool the kids.
Puritan Christian America strikes again. It’s incredible to me how sad some of the comments are here. Each is stated as if it’s a given that this photo is a bad thing. Please explain, with links to authoritative sources, what negative things result from this. In Germany, there are frontal topless women on billboards on main streets, for all ages to see, selling soda pop. In museums throughout the world (but yeah, not in Puritan America) there are incredibly beautiful painting and sculptures that show all of the human body. Just saw a traveling Roman exhibit from the Louvre. Wow, fully exposed male naughty bits everywhere. I took my 14-year-old daughter to see it. Please educate me on how your narrow minded views, taken as if there is factual information to back them up (other than your upbringing), are correct. The human brain is a sad thing. It fears demons that do not exist. The bare back of Miley is not going to encourage your kids to have sex. They already want to. Sexuality is as natural as food, and God meant it to be that way. Miley and her family obviously view their lives differently. You don’t like it? Stop watching her show, buying her CDs. But don’t for a second think that your view of what is proper is the norm. It’s merely a norm for you.
It’s a sad, sad state of affairs. I know Disney is a business, but do they not encourage their kids in the moral direction? Britney, Christina, Hilary, Justin, now Miley….ugh.
BTW, congrats on the NYTimes interview…
I think we’re all being a little naive here. This is the way entertainment works. Clearly, Miley’s career was not blossoming the way her parents and handlers wanted. Or it was on a downhill path. Really, she is getting to the age where she can no longer be a kid on TV. So, what to do? Well, that image has to be smashed. She needs to be recreated in the eyes of the public. Cyrus can no longer be a neutered pre-adult. Instead, as she matures (sexually), she must (as most women in the entertainment business are) eroticized. This is not a completely unnatural process. Remember, women of Miley’s age were perhaps two years away from marriage (and all the connubial ‘bliss’ it implies) only a century ago. However, the media’s role in remaking Miley’s image complicates things in that her fans are used to seeing her as asexual and, suddenly, she’s being eroticized. Still, her image has likely changed more with adults (who are aware of and/or read Vanity Fair) than with her young fans. And these adults are the ones having such a hard time reconciling the two media-constructed images. What’s that about?
I’m gonna go out on a limb and ask how many of the posters have seen the photograph in question? Unfortunately, this is just what MC’s handlers want to have happen – more people TALKING about her. I for one think the picture is tame, especially when you compare it to some of the actions taken by her peers – Jamie Lynn Spears anyone? Her pregnancy crossed a line much more than this one photograph.
“Bonfire anyone? That would make a nice video on YouTube or MySpace.”
Oh for crying out loud. Great idea, Hitler. Make sure you have some stirring march tunes in the video and lots of chanting.
Topless??? Balderdash, she doesn’t appear topless. It’s no wonder the world views most Americans as hypocritical morons. The more you neo-Puritanicals try to suppress something, the more important it seems to curious innocents, leading to the psychological dichotomies plaguing our psyches.
Quick! Someone cover your children’s eyes before they realize Miley is a girl!!
Give me a break. Your puritanical death-grip on your children will accomplish nothing. You don’t give your children enough credit, and in turn, it will bite you on the butt.
Lighten up! This photo is about as immoral as a blade of grass. Why are you so afraid of the human body?? Why not just neuter your kids at birth so they never worry about sex ever again.
Your ferocity borders on radical Islam where the female body is equally feared.
Don’t believe for a second that because Miley’s back is exposed that your children will suddenly burst into a frenzy of promiscuity. If they did, it’s not the photo, it’s your control-freak parenting. Normal children won’t give this a second thought.
Frankly, the unbelievable stupidity of the “shock” here is blinding.
Grow up.
“Ok, honey, just take your top off. It will be artistic.”
Annie Liebovitz is a pedophile.
Miley’s parents officially crossed into pimp territory.
And Disney better show me some repercussions to this.
They know better. They are done toying with my children. Goodbye, Cyrus family.
For one thing, she isn’t topless. This artice sounds like a paranoid old crow worried that all men are going to run off with younger women 18+.
(At least the smart ones do LOL).
I agree with the bonfire comment. And zen ve should march on poland!
It is obvious that none of you have seen the photograph and that your comments are based on hearsay and third-hand tales from Lin Burrus. First, the cover of the June issue of Vanity Fair features Bobby Kennedy, not Miley Cyrus. Second, Ms. Cyrus is not topless in the photograph. All that is shown is her face, hair, back, right arm. and a portion of her left hand.
Tha fact that Ms. Burress refers to Ms. Cyrus as a “tramp” and uses the word “crap” says a lot more about Ms. Burress than it does about Ms. Cyrus.
To put a 15 year old regardless of “what they already want to do” into even the most harmlessly intended but obviously insinuated sexual situation is criminal. I’d even go so far as to add that its child pornography.
Isn’t this on the celebrity “What not to do with your kids so they don’t end up with out of control stalkers” list?
and Mr. Backwash America…… sex with a 15 year old is illegal. If its your argument that god intended it….. Guess we’ll see you on “To Catch a Predator” soon. Wave will ya?
She’s not topless, she is not baring her breasts for everyone to see. She is covered from the front and is only showing her back and shoulders. Not much more than would be shown had she been wearing a one piece swimsuit. It is a very artistic photo.
I think it is very unfortunate that Miley Cyrus has posed for this unbecoming photograph, and I would like to know who at Disney (and contact address) I should complain to.
Bravo to both Backwash America and Pasha. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
OK, so let me get this straight. You are upset over the fact that a “star”, “celebrity” is going to be on the front cover of Vanity Fair? You make it sound like she is doing a XXX video and poster for Vanity Fair! Which obviously she is not.
Instead of getting on Miley’s case=——You should be mad at Vanity Fair. It is no secret, that MAGAZINES put “COVERS” of any sort to sell their publication. Period.
I see nothing wrong with that.
And….you make a really big deal about nothing.
I mean, let’s channel the anger towards the real issue that is facing America—-The War! Why have we been at war for more than 5 Years—and still….the war continues??!!!
That is the real problem, and not Miley/Hannah Montana.
Smut, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Interesting that the response here is to start burning things.
Miley Cyrus doesn’t buy make up and provocative clothing for your children; you do. You also give them a moral compass, well you would if you stopped indulging every whining request and stopped using the television as a baby sitter. Take some responsibility for the children you bring into the world and in your spare time do some reading on the difference between art and pornography.
In a free market what sells is what determines what is on the shelf, if you don’t want to participate you don’t have to.
In a free society people are free to act within the law and do things you disagree with, imagine if she came out as gay!
A million children in the USA are homeless and you get your knickers in a twist over this?
I was greatly disappointed when I heard this news. But I’m not sure what disappoints me most: the fact that Miley and family thought this was a good idea; the fact that VF thought this was a good idea; the fact that Disney thought this was a good idea; or the collective yawn from our culture about a 15-year-old being on the cover of VF in only a satin bed sheet. Would it be different if she was 14? 13? 10? At some point I hope we’d all be outraged, but I’m not so certain.
Just a note to @Backwash America, @Pasha, @sos, @Jeff R and so on, we’re talking about a girl, who in most jurisdictions, is under aged.
What she does after she comes of age is her choice, but in the meantime, what happens now can affect her for the rest of her life.
And, so what if posters here are viewing things from the perspective of their own backgrounds and beliefs? Aren’t your comments based on your own background and beliefs?
Apart from that, Miley and/or her handlers seem to have realized that they may have made a mistake:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/mileys-not-smiling-about-racy-photos/2008/04/28/1209234718477.html
Really? This is what will make you stop watching and supporting Miley Cyrus? Not because this kind of lowest-common-denominator entertainment is making your children (and therefore our future leaders) dumber by the day, but because you can see her bare back? Would you also be offended if it were a bare back swimsuit instead of a sheet?
hmmm … ok, after seeing the picture in question, calling it “topless” is just a little bit of an exaggeration (IMO).
Was it a “good” idea for her to do “artistic” photos at 15 … probably not.
But, will I be banning Hanna Montana from my daughter’s tv set?
… No.
As has been highlighted in some of the recent posts on this blog, there are more than enough “real problems” in the world to be worrying about.
No offense to those who feel differently, but this strikes me a much ado about nothing.
… and realistically, the primary effect of all the huffing and puffing will probably be that Vanity Fair sells more magazines this month.
Just my two pennies,
Todd
You can read the interview and see a slide show of the photo shoot at Vanityfair.com. The final photo is embedded in the interview article, on the second page if I recall. I can see why she’s embarrassed by the interview – it’s fairly condescending. It definitely reads like the interviewer didn’t think much of Cyrus and felt they had something better to do with their time.
It’s a fairly tasteful photo – unless you have a problem with the girl being fifteen.
But it’s obvious from the photo shoot that her father was there (though I’ve read he left early, leaving her in the care of other adults); what’s more, it’s obvious from Miley’s comments and those of Vanity Fair that she and her handlers saw the photo and gave it approval at the shoot.
Here’s the best quote from the article, in response to a “Do you feel you always have to watch yourself?” question:
“Not really. That’s what my parents are for. They’re there to take care of that, and I can just do what I love.â€
Oops. Too bad they left early.
I think you need to catch a grip, Linn. Not only is your comment about making a bonfire out of Hannah Montana merchandise outrageous, but stating that Miley is headed down the path to being a tramp is mean spirited and way off base. For crying out loud, by the way the media was going about it, I thought she really was topless!
The only thing I agree with here is your comment on the sexualization of children, girls especially. I have been blogging and complaining about it myself but honestly, in this case, I don’t see the big deal.
I have a 7 years old daughter who loves Hannah Montana but that doesn’t mean that I run to the store and buy all her CDs and all the clothes with her face…there must be a public for a merchandise to be purchase (whether an CD or a Vanity Fair Magazine)…if children are being sexually exposed at any age (specially under age) we must question why, as adults, we continually allow such things from TV networks and the Media in general and why are we so afraid to talk to our kids in a normal way about what is real and not and specially about sex. The more informed they are (according to their age of course) will help them protect themselves more (from the media paraphernalia among other things) and respond better to situations like this
Have any of you who protest so much actually seen the picture? She’s not topless, she’s backless. I can’t believe adults would so mercilessly persue a 15 year old for a professionally taken, beautiful portrait that shows less than what’s typically seen at a swimming pool. I should hope, for your kids’ sake, that as parents you’d have learned to not to rush to judgement, and as adults, not to judge.
I’m tired of people blaming kids for the actions of adults! This is why there’s such a category as ‘minor.’ Come on, when your father and one of the world’s most famous photographers want you to do something, and you’re only fifteen–would you say ‘no’? I don’t think either the photographer or her father should have pursued this idea until she was at least 18, and perhaps 21. If anyone is offended, they should aim that at the grownups.
And BTW, for an adult, the pictures aren’t racy at all. She isn’t really showing anything. “Backless” isn’t “Topless.”
BTW…I agree about too many grownup things being pushed at little girls. Those Bratz dolls, for example…ick. I say, let kids be kids. Childhood is a right. Being a grownup is a privilege. And if you want a bonfire…you can throw BRC’s ‘crap’ in there.
As a very beautiful photo, literally showing nothing more than her back – what many evening dresses show nowadays – it certainly doesn’t warrant being a rallying cry for bonfires. I understand the point that she is 15 and that there might be a question of whether the photo is appropriate, but when you exaggerate and claim the photo is topless, you show yourself to be incapable of being rational.
Come on guys. Literally, “topless” means without a top on. In the photo, Miley does not have a top on. So technically, she is indeed topless. Just because you can’t see her front doesn’t mean she isn’t actually topless.
In their interview with Miley, Vanity Fair itself refers to the photoshoot as being topless, so there you go.
The problem I’ve seen a lot of people have with the photo is that even though her front is covered, the hair and the makeup– as well as her being covered with a bedsheet– seem to IMPLY something sexual, far more than her not having a top on. What’re people supposed to think when they see a photograph of a young girl with mused hair and smudged lipstick wrapped in a bedsheet? Duh.
Also, the snide references to the writer as comparable or reminiscent of Hitler are simply idiotic. As much as you might feel she is overreacting to the photograph, implying that she’s Hitler-like in some way is even more offensive.
I’ll admit the Hitler-like comments are a little low, but the author of this blog does seem intent on imposing, through her words, her own morality and idea of gender norms while portraying them as some sort of grandiose truth (which is certainly her right, it is her blog).
That said… I’m not sure I see this photo as being that big a deal… it’s not highly sexualized, it’s in an adult magazine… etc.
When it comes down to it, how is this photo that much more exploitative than Disney’s entire franchise? Aren’t they selling a particular incarnation of Miley Cyrus too? Yes, it’s more palatable, but I don’t see a huge difference. She’s a person, not a commodity.
As for the Press Statement, of course they’re going to release something along those lines when people like the author if this blog suggest bonfires (and then get a mention in the NYT). Ironically the hubbub may draw more attention to the photo than if it had simply been allowed to pass.
First off, if your children have to rely on someone like Ms. Cyrus for a role model, then I would say you have miserably failed as a parent. Secondly, the picture shows less than what would be seen on a beach. I can’t say this is what I would want my daughter doing, but then again, my wife and I do our best to provide the appropriate role model for our kids.
Hey Backwash here is the thing you were viewing those things your daughter wasn’t one of them!
Yeah, the Hitler comparisons are a bit off-base. Oliver Cromwell comparisons work much better.
If I had kids, I wouldn’t let them watch Miley Cyrus. Not on account of the photos, but on account of the fact that it is garbage. Only The History Channel and Jeopardy! for my kids. They are going to hate me so much…
I get a kick out of you folks that are upset because the author is supposedly forcing her idea of “gender norms” upon us. This is what the media does all the time with all of their “norms” and what producers are doing with so many shows aimed at our children. And then the name calling. Grow up and realize the shows and media attention impress our youngsters more than the art that was mentioned in a previous post. To me, she’s too young for such a provocative photo (backless, topless, whatever). But before these photos came out, before Hannah Montana, I realized Disney wasn’t a producer of safe programs. I grew up without them and so will my children.
if you look at the pic as merely “having her back out”, then no, the pic is just fine, as it is common for women/girls to wear halter tops in the summer/warm weather. however, if you look at the pic as a fifteen year old girl, naked in a bedsheet, then, it’s a prett smarmy picture, at the very least (and a pedophiles wet dream otherwise).
A 15 YEAR OLD GIRL NAKED IN A BEDSHEET IS NOT ART. PERIOD.
it’s seductive. not harmless.
this wasn’t marketed for children, as it’s not in “highlights”. this was marketed for adults — which, is even sicker.
and yes, in europe there are many topless advertisements — but the pics aren’t of children.
i think that the comment stating that it was an effort to make over her career, was the most on-point. her little girl routine is getting as old as she is. and to stay relevant, she’s got to evolve.
Give me a break. Miley Cyrus is about as good a role model on tv as you can expect for your kids. How about taking responsibility and being the role model for your daughters. You are all being so naive. Those of you with teens-did you know that the average age for the first sexual encounter is 14. Do you really know what your kids are watching and doing? If this is the worst mistake Miley makes than God bless her.
I haven’t banned HM from my daughter – yet. But I will be talking with her about Ms. Cyrus’ inappropriate pictures. And not just these, but the ones where she’s laying across her boyfriend in a black bra – and the one where she looks like she’s almost kissing a girl who are sharing candy.
Pretty much, one more strike and Miley Cyrus is gone from our house.
And for those comparing the sheet that Cyrus posed with to a bathing suit – that’s apples and oranges. The VF shot looks like she’s just had sex – so many movies and TV shows use that image for women post-sex.
A bathing suit indicates swimming.
Swimming and sex are two different things. Wake up, America.
Mrs. Mecomber…
Yeah right…we wouldn’t want our children to grow-up to be able to spot rubish when they see it! Let’s just pirate them away and turn them all into social retards with no clue about society and how to make responsible, decent choices about life and what it throws in their faces! I want my children to know that this crap exists and that they have a choice…be in the world, not of it.
This is on the verge of child pornograhpy. She’s a minor, 15, did one of her parents approve this photo?
You all need to grow up… Yes thats right, you need to grow up. Not Miley.
Dont get me wrong I think the photos in the shoot were inappropriate but you all seem to forget that we all were once 15 too and made our own stupid mistakes.
Your all up in arms because Miley did this shoot and Oh my god, its going to ruin my perfect children… Guess what, unless you keep your child under 24 hour parental surveillance wrapped in a bubble, your children are far from perfect, just like you are now and were then.
Miley is a celebrity which means that her life is under 24 hour surveillance of the non-parental type. Your outrage should not be directed at Miley, but at ourselves, a nation that loves controversy and putting down those who have achieved more than us, and those who take/find/publish these types of photos.
Grow up and get a life people or at the very least get real and stop complaining about how some pictures of Miley Cyrus ruined your perfect little child. Chances are, your perfect little child was ruined well before these photos turned up, especially considering that your child had to see these pictures somewhere, likely a place where there was more controversial information than Miley’s questionables pictures… Unless of course you gave the pictures to them, in which case your ruining your own child.
As a final note to those parents who do keep their children under 24 hour parental surveillance and wrapped in a bubble… Let me be the first to congratulate you…
You have a perfect child that is now crippled for life because you refused to allow your child to make their own mistakes and grow and learn from them. When the time comes for them to enter the real world, the cruel world you tried so hard to protect them from with your bubble, the world will chew them up and spit them out and the only one to blame for that is their overprotective parental unit that prevented them from getting the life experience they needed when they were young.
Some of you people act like your children will never in their life see stuff like this. Children younger than this see more than this in schools. If you think you can shelter your child from tv just because a photo that was taken, than you might as well lock them intheir rooms until they are of legal age. Kids today learn way more about sex from peers at school than their own parents. As stated eariler, you are the ones buying the clothes and the makeup for your children, not the characters on tv, and I doubt that it has anything to do with role models on tv, and more with the pressure of trying to fit in with friends and other peers. Children today probably know more about sex than you want them to know. They have “friends with benefits”, and are doing things in school restrooms. You don’t see that on tv. Miley is growing up, and you can’t expect her to stay innocent forever.
Kids have to grow up eventually. You can’t hide the world from them forever. Get used to it.
Are you kidding me? I bet you loved David Cassidy in the Partridge Family. I bet you remember those nostalgic days, and wish for such wholesome entertainment for your children. But I bet you are forgetting David Cassidy, totally naked (read: visible pubic hair) on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. You probably didn’t even know about the cover at the time, and rightfully so. You were a little kid and had no business reading Rolling Stone. And David had every right to do that photo, he was a grown man. Let your child enjoy Miley as Hannah Montana and leave the fashion magazines (read: Vanity Fair) to its appropriate readers. Likewise, monitor your child’s use of internet and TV. You would have to deal with less “sexualization†of your child at a young age if they were watching Disney, than watching “tabloid†entertainment on TV or reading it on the internet. Maybe you should take responsibility for what your child sees and how they interpret it, and not expect 15 year old Miley do it for you.
I think people are missing the 15 years old thing. I don’t care what Vanity Fair does with women 18 and older. I’ve seen some lovely stuff on there which I’m sure would offend people who don’t like nudity or hinted nudity.
But if Miley were facing the other way (without her top…it’s not just a backless dress), it would be child pornography. And that’s a really tight line to walk. The picture is artistic, but it basically says “from the other side, I’m naked,” which is artistic or harmless to but also skirts the line with kiddie porn. And exploitation of a young woman.
Yet Again,
Backwash America’s comments about sex being natural did not come off as advocating pedophilia. He was just pointing out that kids are having sex and it is natural for them to want to have sex. In no way did I get a sense that Backwash America was in any way advocating pedophilia or wanting to have sex with underage girls. The take I got was that he was pointing out that sex is a natural thing.
Just as Ms. K pointed out the average age of first sexual encounters is now 14. That means that there are people first having sex younger than 14 and older than 14 but it averages to 14. So Backwash America’s comments were entirely valid and made perfect logical sense
Your conclusion that Backwash America’s comments advocate pedophilia say a lot about you and your beliefs and your lack of ability to accept that which differs from your world view.
Oh WOW – what a fright! Clicked on a poster’s ( 15 clevelandMom) hyperlinked name and up came VERY GRAPHIC gay p0rn photos with very loud voice over saying “Hey I am looking at gay p0rn”. The very clever addition to this site was that the pop up boxes moved so I couldn’t shut them down – I had to restart my computer and hopefully they are gone.
Ok I am a 47 year old woman who is not easily shocked BUT my two year old granddaughter was with me in the room and when she heard the very loud male voice she became frightened and rushed over to me who was of course trying desperately to rid my screen of the pics. So to whoever set this clever little scene up thanks a lot for exposing my two year old to your idea of a ‘joke’. An early morning catch up on current affairs ended up in a shocked nanny and a scared 2 year old.
YOU ARE TOO CLEVER!!!!
Daffodil, I’m truly sorry about that. The offensive poster/link/comment has been deleted. I’m very sorry that person’s “comment” got through.
Entertainment Tonight has just said that Billy Ray Cyrus, with wife and child, left the photo shoot prior to the ominous photo being taken. Bad move Billy.
Reports also say that Miley was “manipulated” into allowing the photo to be taken, while another report said that when Billy Ray saw the photo he was “mortified”.
I cannot believe that a beautiful, innocent , classic style of photography used to showcase Miley Cyrus can be so terribly misconstrued. I am more concerned about you people that have interpreted the picture with sexual under and overtones – Maybe it’s you who is jaded and not those of us who see a photograph of simple beauty. Shame on you!
Has anyone read “The Brave New World” lately? You should if you haven’t. Maybe you’d wake up to something!
Yeah Miley being “topless” in a photo shoot may not seem like a big deal to most people, but 1 we’re not in Europe and we don’t walk around wearing nothing.
We’re supposed to be the civilized ones, who have respect for ourselves and our bodies. Yeah, sculptures of people with their Junk there being displayed for people to look at, is one thing. It’s artwork. But for people to take it literal and actually walk around the neighborhood with virtually no clothes on, that’s just asking for something to happen to you.
But Jeez. this girl is what? 15 years old? Why would a 15 year old girl want a picture of herself looking like she just had sex? Yeah kids know about sex at an early age, but they don’t actually start learning something till later. That’s why there is “sex-ed” and parents.
This girl has a lot of very young people who look up to her, and want to be just like her. So how would you like it if your young daughters saw this picture of their “idol” and decided that their going to go to their friend’s house and take photos just like Miley?
Would it matter to you then that YOUR kids are doing it? If you’re saying “yes” to that, then there is something wrong. Why is it ok for your kids idol to look provocative, but when your kids start doing the same thing, that’s when you make a big deal out of it?
I’m thankful that my mom raised me the way that she did.
Come on people! I’ve seen more “naked†15 year olds in magazine ads and walking around in public. Ooooh… she’s showing her naked back! So what? Has everyone gone crazy out there? There are kids her age dying every day in Iraq, or being slaughtered in Darfur. Police just discovered that some sicko in Austria began raping his own daughter at the age of 11, and has since fathered at least 6 children with her! If parents want something to get upset about, what about these things? Where is everyone’s priorities? For God’s sake, open your eyes and look at the real world! Leave Miley Cyrus out of your pathetic fear mongering.
Wow… lol, any of you old Hens been to the beach lately? or have some of you people lost your minds? I’m sure there would be dozens of more naked teen girl “tramps” you could sit around and judge.
And if your kid sees a stranger acting the role of a fake character on TV as a legit “role model”, you have failed as a parent. Characters on TV are FAKE, PRETENDING to be someone they are not… shouldn’t your kids at least have real live actual people as role models before you can comment what’s lame & whats ‘normal’?
Hello Lin’s daughter: I just want let you know that I’ve lived in Europe for 42 years, and we don’t ‘walk around wearing nothing’. And I don’t know who appointed you the ‘civilised ones’, but I think you’ll find quite a lot of our continent very civilised if you ever visit. For example, we don’t have beauty pageants for pre-pubescent girls. Also, in the US the number of teenage moms is 10x that in the Netherlands, 5x Germany and France, so some of us are obviously doing something right in this context.
It’s off the topic to discuss what this something might be, so I will leave you to a ‘civilised’ discussion of the best way to burn TV tie-in consumer products that you didn’t need to buy in the first place.
Topless? Who are you kidding?
The photography taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair is very decent. It shows a 15 year-old girl about to become a woman, and the ambiguity of her age; how much “kid” is left in her and how much “woman” has she become already?
I’m sorry to say your comment and battle over this beautiful picture has something evil in it. As a matter of fact, it makes me understand why Muslims in the Middle-East cover their pubescent girls from head to foot.
Sooo….Miley is going to get Dixie Chicked?
Seriously, this might be the exact same overreaction as what happened when Natalie Maines said what we have all been thinking about this horrible Administration (she was just ahead of her time). Remember the bulldozers? Realized how much you now wish you had that stuff BACK because Natalie was right, and they did nothing wrong?
Let’s all stop before we mail the death threats and tell Miley to “shut up and sing or her life will be over” or tell a 3-4 year old child to say to “screw her”.
Oh no, Miley did a single tasteful non-nude(only in our culture would anyone consider being covered except for her back a NUDE shot) and she’s a pariah for life! BURN HER LIKE A WITCH! DESTROY HER MERCHANDISE! She made a questionable decision with her parents approval, and because the US has to have scapegoats, down she falls like Humpty Dumpty, never to be put back together again. You’re all the same sorts who condemn Michelangelo’s David as indecent.
You judgmental sheep make me sick.
Lin heard ‘topless’ and went into a rage. She hasn’t even seen the picture. It’s tasteful, decent, beautiful. What does topless mean for her? If you don’t wear a gurka like in Afghanistan? Topless means, you see her uncovered breasts, which is not the case here.
But I guess it only counts to feed the killing furor of some people who would rather “murder [their children] if they would do this” (comment 4).
What did Lin really do? She ashamed a 15 year old over a proud and decent thing and forced her to say that she’d been coerced into it. Her parents were there! Lin, child abuse or any abuse of another person is an evil thing. And that’s what you did for the sake of sensationalism. So shame on you, not on Miley.
“i have 14 year old and 17 year old daughters and i would murder them if they did this.”
OK–tell me again whom we should be worried about, and how they treat children? Murder?
Will you post pictures so others can support you? I mean protest. I mean–hmmm.
I had to stop reading other comments because it was clouding my initial reaction. I blame her parents. Not Vanity Fair, not Miley.. but her parents.. she still had to get permission from them to do this shoot because she is underage.. Vanity Fair is trying to sell magazines..
It’s a beautiful photograph of a lovely girl by a talented visionary photographer and would be a lot more palatable if it was a WOMAN and you didn’t KNOW that it’s a 15-year-old kid. It’s also a very provocative photo. I’d expect to see a pose such as that if one of my female friends were to show me ‘boudoir’ photography she had done for her husband/lover, not in a photo of a 15-year old girl.
I think a lot of people find it particularly disturbing because her current target audience (it seems) tends to be even younger than she is. I don’t hear the 15, 16, 17 year olds talking about Miley Cyrus, generally it’s the 6-14 crowd from what I can tell (although we allow very limited television time in my home, my 8-year old stepson watches Hannah Montana at his mothers house). Interestingly enough, it appears to me that Miley is made up to look even younger, not older, in the photo. Lollita? Yeah, that does bother me.
This CHILD (yes as a mother and now new grandmother, I consider her a child still) had parents/handlers/managers all on scene at that photoshoot with her. In this digital age, the photos were immediately viewable and I’m sure Miley’s ‘people’ had final approval prior to press. I think this is a case of them getting negative feedback they never expected and they’re now scrambling for damage control. Annie Leibovitz is famous for her provocative, bordering on the verge of erotic photos, so I don’t think that the Miley camp can call ‘foul’ on this one. I agree that the smudgy eye makeup and lipstick, along with the come-hither look, does make her look like she’s just had a romp in the sack in the photo, definitely inappropriate for a 15-year-old. My co-worker is concerned about the impression this is going to make on her 11-year-old daughter who loves Miley/Hannah and is preparing to have a talk with her about it this evening. It’s sad.
Get a grip. Parents – over sensitive freaks so obsessed with protecting your primary investements — little people. If you don’t like something – don’t look or listen. What did you expect from Annie, you know her work. That’s what she does. By the way, read the contract Mr. and Mrs. Billy-Ray. Too bad your achy breaky heart is your own fault. Shame on you for blaming your daughter – fame comes with a price and aren’t we all so proud to be the ones teaching Miley just how much her life in the limelight costs. Grow up and take responsibility for the quality of your daugther’s life not just the profits that come with it. This is America — we love this stuff — look at your children’s games, phones, clothes, music, you make it all and feed it to them spoonful after loving spoonful. You’re reactionary stance is pathetic and so are your parenting skills.
Who are you to give any advice to how they raise their child? Do you have a doctorate in parenting? Have you heard both sides of the story before passing a judgement? To lump people together because of their actions or beliefs is tantamount to Natziism. “Bonfire Anyone” that comment is just what the Natzis did to books and some questionable art in World War II Germany. Quit being a Natzi. Leave well enough alone!
Out of EVERYTHING I’ve read in this page, there are only few truths that stuck out to me. Are you people dumb? Who lets their tv control their kids? Sure, they can idolize celebrities, but this does not mean that this role model, Miley, is responsible for all of these little girls that want to be like them. It’s their parents responsibility. YOU are RESPONSIBLE for telling your kid that a person can be a role model, but they need their OWN development as a person. Do NOT let your kids think that they can take after some celebrity and they’ll be okay.
Parents need to understand that these celebrities their kids idolize need to live their own lives and make their own decisions. No one just goes out to be a role model and take the responsibility of millions of kids all over the world. A horrible parent thinks that who their kids idolize is going to be G rated their whole life. An even worse parent lets role models raise their kids in development anyway. In short, stop blaming Miley when the real person at fault is you: “Oh, Miley took some ‘racy’ pictures, I’m not letting my kids watch her cause she’s a tramp!”
And about the pictures. This doesn’t make the photographer a “pedophile”. In an artist perspective, it’s just art. Annie Leibovitz took photographs like she always does. It’s her art, and it’s how she works. Get over it. Besides, these aren’t even that bad. Whoever compares these to that of Lindsay Lohan’s or Britney Spears’ pictures are sadly mistaken. To start, neither has been role models in yeeeaaars. Miley Cyrus cannot compare to Lindsay Lohan; she hasn’t gone to rehab and doesn’t volunteer to strip in movies. If anything, it’d still be a shock if Miley ended up there now because I believe she has been raised better than Lohan. Just looking at her you know she’s happier. Back to the point, usually Lohan defines the words trashy, trampy and damn right disgusting in her pictures. Mileys happen to be more tasteful, apparently a word that not many American parents know exists. No one in this world can compare any pictures of Miley’s to Lindsays, and if they do, they are in denial and are just trying to find something bad about her. The one fault I can find about this is the fact she is 15, but even still, it’s not like Vanessa Hudgens. Once again, look up the word tasteful. Then compare pictures again.
Whoever agrees with this biased crap article needs to look at the bare facts. Miley is a teenager who cannot live her life so clean cut to protect daughters around the world to keep their parent’s happy. It’s their parents responsibility. And those pictures could have been worse. If you are to tell me that a word defining these photos is ‘racy’ then I weep to know how sheltered you are. This is what happens when a horrible censorship across the country goes to far and makes people misjudge another’s actions, when in fact, they’re doing absolutely nothing wrong to begin with.
YOUR MY HERO LIN!!!
KEEP ATTACKING THESE BRAINWASHED AMERICANS!!!!
I just wanted to point out that when Annie Leibovitz asked the Queen of England to remove her crown for a portrait, the Queen declined and politely informed her of her breach of etiquette. When Annie Leibovitz asked Miley Cyrus to take off her shirt, Miley did it.
It’s time you re-evaluate who you are allowing your children to view as role models. There are plenty of women out there who would make great role-models for your daughters – a fifteen year old girl isn’t one of them.
Bonfine anyone? My god. You Americans make overreaction an art form. Remember The Beatles bonfires in the US of the 60s? What a joke!
A bit of perspective here, please. If Miley Cyrus was caught in a homemade p*rn film, for instance, that’s one thing. This is nothing but a storm in a teacup.
The only thing worse than bratty kids is bratty, self-righteous, stuck-up parents. That a 15-year old had a picture of her back taken by a world-class photographer for a world-class magazine is not nearly as scandalous as the fact that a self-aggrandizing net nanny has received so much attention for fussing about it.
Like the hype over Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction”, such protests serve only to increase viewing of the supposedly offensive material.
Bonfire? What a great idea. It sure stopped those Beatles didn’t it? I mean you could have a conversation with your child about why you think the picture is wrong and why you won’t buy any more Hannah Montana stuff, but that would mean teaching our children and expecting them to THINK. Forget that, let’s react with violence. Bonfire away fellow travelers!
Lin,
Not a bad site overall and mostly on target.
But with this post you missed the target by a mile. The Offending agents are you, Vanity Fair, Leibowitz, her parents and well you. I agree with David. You are blaming a kid, yes a kid, for the way she is being raised. Disney had to buy in. Boycott them. Achey Cyrus had to buy in . Boycott him. Vanity had to buy in. Boycott them.
Lead a march to have the photographer arrested for child p0/Rn. Go after the magazine. The kid is NOT the issue. Find the real target. Or does that not draw readers to sell your stuff to – Marketers will be marketers. What are you trading in?
BTW, do you flag words to make it difficult to post?
Mike, there have been a large number of spammy comments/links etc that have been flagged and deleted. My apologies if one of those was from anyone legit.
My stance on these pictures is that it should never have happened. She is a 15 yr old teenage girl, not a grown woman. I’ve read and heard varying reports about whether the parents were there or not during the entire photo shoot, and I place responsibility on the adults who should have known better than to have a teen girl pictured this way.
As my So Sexy, So Soon post (linked at end of the Miley story) makes very clear, young children are being sexualized at younger and younger ages, and it’s having a profound effect on both boys and girls.
Parents must carefully consider what is happening in modern culture with clothing styles for kids, and what parents can do to help their children not become sexualized by advertisers, media, and the products being targeted towards children.
Many people are obviously upset about my bonfire suggestion and that’s fine. Everyone has their opinion, just I do and I have a right to express it, as it is my blog. It just happens that my post was apparently the only public reaction to the Entertainment Tonight story at the time and that is why the NY Times and others jumped on the story. The title of this post (“topless”) contains the exact words heard when Entertainment Tonight discussed the photo shoot, and I stand by it. In the photo, she looks as though she just finished having sex, with moused up hair etc, and I personally find it disgusting.
Everyone is welcome to their opinion, for or against the photo, and my opinion for my blog is that it was an extremely poor choice.
I have to agree, that younger and younger the media (and our society as a whole) encourages children to act older and older.
I have to say the actual pics of Miley were tame. What concerned me more is her quote that SEX AND THE CITY is her FAVORITE show. Um…15 year olds watching programming about casual sex and with full frontal nudity is wrong in my opinion (and probably at least inappropriate to most).
My DH says, so what, you know all the teens watch that and worse? At least she’s a good/mature kid in the entertainment industry.
Yeah, and wouldn’t we all have said that about Jamie Lyn Spears even just days before it was announced she’s just another knocked up teenage mom?
Hi Robin, it wasn’t until well after doing my little rant about Miley’s photo shoot that I learned she watches that show. And I agree that many people, teens and parents included, would say that watching that show and others like it is really no big deal. What a shame that is. Thanks for your input on this topic.
I actually found the image to be quite lovely. It reminded me of renaissance paintings. The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been some digitized angel wings on her… I saw nothing sexual in the image at all, and I think it takes a dirty mind to see something sexual in the image.
i’ve never heard of anything more preposterous in my life. are you evangelical “christians” or Muslim terrorists? you’ve got to be one or the other – or some other form of seriously deranged – to think there’s anything remotely unsavory about this gorgeous photo – which, by the way, is no more revealing than any evening gown – by one of the world’s top celebrity photographers.
i can’t believe such idiocy exists in the world. just get a life and go live it – and preferably somewhere offline and private, where you won’t continue to poison the minds of the gullible with your nonsensical, sensationalist rhetoric.
Gee I keep getting drawn back on this one!
@Tiger what planet are you from?
There are lot’s of people upset about this that aren’t evangelical christians – so how do you come to the conclusion that anyone that objects to this are evangelicals, and that they are the same as muslim terrorists?
The fact is that the girl is under age, and has been exploited, whether by Disney or her parents is unknown, but definitely by Vanity Fair.
THAT’s what’s wrong here!
Hey isn’t this the perfect thing to get upset about! Miley is not Hanna, Hanna is pretend. Seeing anything sexual (or worse pornographic) says much more about the viewer than the picture.
American policy removes aid from health facilities that acknowledges the existence of abortion and by doing so kills children, American foreign aid for education in Pakistan is cut so the boys get a radical muslim education, American policy refuses to treat drug addiction as a health issue and the drugs keep coming, American policy promotes abstinence as a way of reducing teen pregnancy, how is that working out?.
But hey wait a second, look, a pouting teenager and you can see some bare back, now that’s something to get upset about.
I find it almost comical the number of people who simply don’t “get it”. The photo shoot with a 15 year old child celebrity going topless to sell magazines is just one more example of how media and marketers are targeting and sexualizing children from a very young age. But people would much rather ignore the fact that young children are mimicking these celebs as young as 4 and 5 years old.
Of course I blame the parents. Of course I do! I blame Billy Ray Cyrus for leaving the photo shoot early, and leaving his daughter in the care of other relatives who obviously didn’t have a backbone to say Hell No! to the photographer or to Miley, and put an immediate stop to the photo shoot.
A 15 yr old teen girl is not going to be able to stand up to a well known photographer, as Miley has since stated in her apology messages spread across the internet, and her father should have stayed there throughout the entire shoot so he could prevent the photo from ever being taken. Billy Ray has been quoted on numerous news sites saying that when he saw the photo he was “mortified”.
A 15 yr old girl has no business doing a photo shoot where it is obvious (and confirmed in the news) that Miley’s hair was wet down and messed up on purpose in order to give the appearance of someone just having had sex. Inappropriate!!!
When you reach 15 you are sexually curious and interested in things that you weren’t interested in when you were younger. Miley is 15 not 10. She is going to act like a 15 year old. The photo was pretty racy, but it wasn’t nudity and it was taken in an artistic fashion. Everyone makes mistakes and getting mad at Miley isn’t going to do anything. Everyone does something stupid on occasion and this was one of the stupid things she did. Also parents shouldn’t let the TV raise their children, you need to sit with your child and talk about what he/she has just seen and tell them why it is inappropriate.
I don’t have kids, but if i did, i would definitely let them watch Hannah Montana. The show gives very valuable life lessons and is really funny and not in any rude way! I mean are you people insane? Of course the topless photos were very suggestive, especially for a young 15 year old, but it was a stupid media trick that was created to get more reviews for both the photographer and the magazine! She is a perfectly normal teen celebrity who is obviously sorry that any of this stuff happened. And for you all to just add to the fire is retarted. If you don’t want your kids to look up to her, thats fine, but don’t punish your children! I have a younger sister who watches that show, and sometimes I even watch it with her. She knows about the topless photos of her and thinks that Miley was very stupid to go and do that. And she in no way, shape, or form looks up to miley as role model. I mean think about it, some of you people may have even seen movies like the 40 year old virgin or other clearly suggestive movies, do you look up to those people? probally not. I love the show and the fact that this happened is really sad, whether or not her parents knew about it is none of our business. I mean what teenagers don’t mess up somewhere in their life? This is just a large bump in the road that she is obviously trying to get around by publically apoligizing. I mean seriously, if you don’t want your kids to watch the show anymore, fine, but a bonfire to all her CDs and merchandise-GET A LIFE!
Vanity Fair was stupid to shoot her in this way, and her parents/managers were all stupid to allow it…bad judgment all around. She’s too young for that kind of shoot. But that’s all it is, stupidity. It does not negate the tenor and tone of the show or the music- both of which are pretty tame.
you know what i used to look up to her and want to be her friend but know i know that she is an ugly tramp
and it is sooooo stupid that her parents act like there is no child mollesters(if i spelled that right) she is just a brittany spears wanna-be looked at what happend to jamie lynn spears. Its like disneys gone bad and wild
It is very disturbing that so many people feel that Miley Cyrus doing a photo shoot with barely any clothes on at the age of 15 is harmless and innocent. There was nothing innocent about that photo shoot.
I don’t mind saying (all of my friends can vouch for that!) that I’m still livid that Disney did nothing to make an example of Miley over this trampy debacle. In fact, Hanna Montana merchandise was heavily promoted and was quite a brisk seller for many, many retailers during the Christmas holidays.
This has sent a message loud & clear to me that Disney no longer cares about the wholesome image that they’ve banked on for decades and instead is motivated purely by the same corrupted greed that drives what I might used to consider lesser media companies.
As much as I’ve been a huge fan of theirs in the past, I’ll be doing my level best to avoid spending any of my family’s money on anything Disney-related from here out. (Sadly, I’m not at all sure how to reconcile that intent with the fact that I dearly love and wish to continue supporting Pixar’s efforts.)
I hear ya Rob. Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana CRAP is everywhere in the stores, everywhere you look there’s some product or toy of some kind staring ya in the face. I guess no one has ever heard of promoting TOO much of her junk at one time.
Recently there was news quoting Miley saying that she now thinks the photo shoot was great and aspires to be a professional photographer. Yawn……