The seduction of Hannah Montana
First Britney. Then Lindsay. And now: Miley Cyrus. Do they ever learn?
By “they,” I don’t mean the girls. I mean their parents. Where are they? What the hell are they thinking?
I don’t know how many times I’ve asked those questions over the years as a parade of young Hollywood starlets has burst onto the scene with wholesome charm, achieved dizzying fame and fortune, and then crashed back to Earth half-naked with corrupted souls and drug-glazed eyes.
Are parents without scruples more likely to sacrifice their daughters to the wolves of the entertainment industry? Or does show business sap all the common sense out of mothers and fathers who should know better? Either way, they are guilty of child abandonment.
Cyrus, for those of you without girls in the house, is the 15-year-old singer/actress with a runaway hit TV show (“Hannah Montana”), lucrative concert tour, and a Disney empire valued at nearly $1 billion. (Fortunately, my 7-year-old daughter is more fanatical about horses than cable pop stars.) The Mickey Mouse company is now in full meltdown mode over Cyrus’s latest photo shoot gone awry.
The photographer was famed celebrity snapper Annie Leibovitz. The magazine is Vanity Fair. Why those two names didn’t set off alarm bells the size of Texas for the Cyrus adults is beyond me. Leibovitz has a reputation for talking subjects into titillating poses under the guise of “art.” She put Demi Moore naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair.
She also put rising glamour girls Keira Knightly and Scarlett Johansson on the magazine’s cover unclothed; Johansson’s back side was completely exposed. Another promising young actress, Rachel McAdams, had the dignity, class, and self-posession to refuse to appear in the photo spread. When she arrived on set and discovered what the editors were up to, she walked out and fired her representative.
So where were Miley’s parents during the photo shoot? Dad hung out for a while posing for some of the photos (which featured bare-midriffed Miley draped across his knee); Vanity Fair quickly posted some video footage of those scenes to somehow “prove” that Miley wasn’t manipulated:
But according to the NYPost, Billy Ray left the set before the controversial nude photo was taken–and somehow, Miley’s grandmother and teacher who were left to supervise her had no clue about what was going on, either:
Miley’s parents did leave the shoot and were not present for the final shot, nor did they see any digital images of the shot in question,” a Miley spokeswoman told The Post yesterday.
Her grandmother and her teacher were left to supervise, according to People magazine.
“Annie convinced them it was going to be artistic,” a source told People. “Her parents are mortified.”
According to the Vanity Fair article, Miley herself recognized she was being coaxed into the shot by a cunning Leibovitz:
And though the pose was Annie Leibovitz’s idea, the topless but demure portrait accompanying this article could be seen as another baby step, as it were, toward a more mature profile. “I think it’s really artsy,” Cyrus says. “It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, O.K.”
Somebody should have been there to say no. And there were ample opportunities to intervene.
Like when Leibovitz coaxed the 15-year-old into taking her clothes off.
Or when she coaxed the teenager into getting made up with smoky eyes and ruby-stained lips.
Or when she gave the girl a silk blanket and mussed up her hair and told her to look over her shoulder and look like she had just awoken after a one-night stand.
The adults surrounding Miley Cyrus shamelessly abdicated their responsibility to protect her best interests. Mom and Dad got caught up in the Vanity Fair glam. Vanity Fair didn’t see a 15-year-old girl. They saw magazine sale dollar signs. And Annie Leibovitz saw skin, skin, skin and another notch in her belt.
The parents, grandmother, and teacher are not alone in shouldering blame. Shame on Liebovitz and the pretentious left-wing editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter.
“Artists” and “literary magazine editors?” Nonsense. They’re the elitist version of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis and his video camera operators, coaxing girls to take it all off–just with more refined tones and high-minded pretentiousness.
***
Andrew Bolt lays into Graydon Carter: “Ah, yes, the poseur Carter, who pushes sleaze while preaching eco-salvation like some New Age prophet - a Gulfstream prophet in a Dior hairshirt, that is. Such a phoney. Save the environment, he bellows, while trashing the environment that actually matters most. Our moral one.”
Leibovitz used the trick dirty-old-men artists have employed to seduce vulnerable girls through the ages: she persuaded Miley that the pictures were “artistic”. But this is no celebration of young beauty. It is a blatant bedroom shot. Leibovitz saw the shock potential, the lip-smacking titillation, in posing a star known for her wholesome, girlish role in Disney’s Hannah Montana as if photographed by her deflowering first boyfriend.
What is more cynical is the decision by Vanity Fair’s supposed high-moralist Graydon Carter to publish the pictures. He saw their potential in selling his magazine’s special teen issue, since the chief excitement surrounding girl-women such as Cyrus concerns their entry on to the sexual marketplace. Years ago a website even ticked off the days and hours until the moment Britney Spears was “legal”.
It is the madness of Britney, and the drug problems and food disorders of Lindsay Lohan – both were also preteen Disney stars – that should prey upon the consciences of Leibovitz, Carter and Miley’s parents, who attended the shoot. Miley should be guided with care and respect into the adult stage of her career (if that’s what she wants), bypassing the money and headline-making phase of ravaged Lolita.
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Celebrity parents…what do you expect.
“Miley’s parents did leave the shoot and were not present for the final shot, nor did they see any digital images of the shot in question”
oh, so vanity fair totally lied about that part earlier today …
/color me sadly unshocked
The Left defended the works of Maplethorp, so of course they would see this as being nothing.
But somewhere, some place, you would think a dad might think having his teenage daughter laying across him wasn’t the right thing to do.
And for those who think “no publicity is bad publicity,” I would wager this stunt actually costs her little empire several million in lost revenue.
That sums it up perf.
I guess I’m jaded by todays world, but this seems like much ado about nothing to me.
I give everyone the benefit of the doubt once, but I’ll remember this.
They only do it cause we buy it…
don’t buy it.
I’m getting weary of hearing about this. Yes, somebody should have been responsible enough to stop the crew from getting Miley–a 15 year old girl–to pose like this. It’s not the role model issue or the effects on her career that concern me about this–it’s that she is so young and the presence of her father in some of the pictures imply that everyone was okay with this shot, and it’s clear that they weren’t.
This doesn’t compare to Britney Spears’s first Rolling Stone cover–the one where she’s posed in lingerie with a Tinky Winky doll. Or the GQ Hayden Panettiere spread where she was dressed in lingerie and put in “little girl” situations (hula hooping, on a bed, with a teddy bear…) I just think the story’s gotten a little too much attention. It’s good that parents know this is out there to keep it away from their kids, but it doesn’t need to be updated every hour. (I love Fox News, but come on…)
And as an aside, I don’t even think the picture is all that flattering. She looks pale, almost dead–especially with that red lipstick. And the way she’s hunched over makes her look malnourished, like she can’t sit up straight. They could have taken a much more mature, sophisticated picture without having her look naked.
I really do feel sorry for the girl — she was in an exciting situation for a 15 year old and was really coerced into what happened.
SHAME on Vanity Fair and Liebowitz!!
Why is it that every time I hear the word “artistic” anymore it’s at best associated with soft core porn, and at worst stuff that I don’t even want to mention?
Well, it’s the first I’ve posted on it. And you don’t have to click through if you don’t want to, you know.
Jaded? Perverted is more like it. There is no way a 15 year old should be naked in front of anyone except perhaps Mom or a doctor. You probably feel the FLDS flap is being blown way out of proportion.
Jellibean — you are so right.
the word ‘Sophisticated’ somewhere along the lines came to have a sexual undertone, and I can’t figure out why
JSHII — sorry - missed your post on the same thing……you certainly did say it better.
Exactly what is wrong with nude photography? not talking about hannah, but demi,scarlet, etc. just because theyre nude doesnt meet its perverted porn! leibovitz is one of the greatest and most accomplished photographers alive, not some decieving smut peddler. are you seriously suggesting that if you pose nude for an artful photograph or painting you are classless? and honestly you see more provacative clothing on teens at a beach or pool.
Billy Ray knew exactly what the outcome of the photo shoot would be. Now he acts all violated when the photos are made public and the critisism mounts. What a class A hypocrite and horrible parent.
Michelle:
I know. I meant in the context of the news… I was honestly curious about what you had to say about it. In this case, I’d rather hear how it’s affecting people who have kids, tracking the media, or are involved/invested in the issue rather than the same re-hash of the facts.
Everyone involved seems so eager to deflect the blame, including this young girl. The real loser is the American consumer. The real winner is Vanity Fair. Right or wrong, more people are looking at their magazine right now than were a week ago.
In my mind, Leibowitz is no better than a pimp. Using 15-year old skin to sell magazines is pedophilic, at best.
bounder — just because he made a bad decision doesn’t make him a completely horrible parent…
What state were the pictures taken in and what are the laws concerning using a minor in a nudity oriented material or performance in that state?
This is nothing new - remember 1978 and Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby? How about her ads for calvin klein jeans?
Stuff like this makes me glad (in a sad way) that I have a son and not a daughter.
She’s 15 years old. She’s far from adulthood and should be worried about things like homework and friends, not posing for Vanity Fair. What’s worse, most of the girls who idolize her are not older than her. My co-worker’s daughter is 11 and thinks Hannah Montana is the greatest.
What the hell are we doing to our girls? Then we wonder why they crash - get into drugs, wind up pregnant at 16, face eating disorders, depression, and such. We allow this stuff to pervade our culture and then we scratch our heads at the fallout that does eventually happen. We throw birth control pills at them, deluge them with with Oprah-couch therapy and can’t figure out why they’re just not happy. Gee…I wonder.
They could have. But that doesn’t sell. I believe the term for this was “heroin chic” back in the 1990s.
And, ultimately, it comes down to us parents to say “No” - to not allow shows like “Hannah Montana” into our house and to scrutinize everything our kids want to watch and participate in because this trash is often sneaked in the back door when they think parents aren’t paying attention.
Exploiting a 15-year old girl is much ado about nothing?
MissMarciLyn:
I agree COMPLETELY with your comment that Miley got caught up in an exciting situation and ended up coerced into doing something she shouldn’t have.
Some of the shots on the VF website *are* sophisticated and mature. That one shot and the response it’s getting shows how immature Miley still is–unable to say no to Annie, believing that partial nudity is more mature (in a sophisticated, good-for-her-image way), etc.
If you don’t see something terribly wrong in this situation, you aren’t jaded , you’re worse than ignorant. This is using an innocent person. It’s the abuse of innocence. It’s finally the picture of what I have always railed against….. the parent trying to be a friend to the kid. You’re not a friend, you’re a frickin’ parent. Yes, I’m a parent.
$1,000,000,000
I hope this happened in Texas.
Sure looks like child abuse to me.
Where is Child Protective Services to take this child away from the abusive parents.
Where is the law enforcement? Are they arresting those involved in this child porn?
“leibovitz is one of the greatest and most accomplished photographers alive”
um, if true, that would surely mean the state of photography is today’s world is in the toilet …
Every time I saw her picture I prayed - “GOD, not her” as I could see it coming.
Thank God for horses eh Michelle?
I sure would like to kick Billy in the hind end. I blame him most of all. Care to take me up on it Billy?
B-illy
R-eally
S-ucks
Something that strikes me as odd -
The whole country is up in arms about the polygamist compound in Texas and upset about all these pregnant teen girls. However, we constantly preach the virtues of consenual, casual sex, regardless of age, and we cling (yes, I said cling) to our “right” to have sex when and where and with whom we want.
We condone sex, but not pregnancy. We want all the fun with none of the consequences.
How does the relate to Cyrus? What frightens me most is that many people are attracted to underage girls. Pedophilia is enough of a problem already. We encourage our girls to dress sexy, we let our daughters listen to misogynist, sex-crazed music, and now we see Cyrus taking her clothes off and putting on a blanket, disguised as “art,” when in fact it’s little more than eye candy for men. It’s a little disturbing, if you ask me.
Annie Leibovitz should be brought up on charges.
As an evangelical Christian, I am shocked that this actress and her family who claims to be Christian would allow this seduction by Vanity Fair. PRAY for our families so that they can be protected from the madness that is Hollywood.
I think the Miley pic with the towel is tastefully done, and is constructed very well. I think the shot is pleasing to the eye, and is sensual but not provocative…….
for a woman 18 or older. For a 15 yr. old, I have serious doubts about her family’s competence. It is disturbing to me that a juvenile was allowed to appear in this pose for this libertine rag.
Never bought the rag, never will.
I think it’s sickening.I’m not sure which is worst the pic of her with the sheet or the one of her with her father in an almost insestuous looking pose.If an average person took a pic like this of a minor you can bet the authorities would be parked on their doorstep. Thankfully we don’t have cable anymore.When we used to have the Disney channel it was full of shows with little kids always trying to pick up the opposite sex.These were like 10 yr olds.Have you heard of the new Dakota Fanning movie where there is a rape scene involving her, oh that’s art as well I guess.These parents are all about $$$$$$$ and it’s just a shame the way Hollywood is always trying to sexualize children.
We are supposed to turn our daughters into half naked jail bait. Why?
I’m not sure that makes a (mostly)naked 15-year old in a photo shoot acceptable.
When is “Dateline NBC” going to put those responsible for this sordid episode on “To Catch a Predator?”
I am absolutely stunned. This is unacceptable, yet I am told it is legal.
It makes me sick. I don’t want to go browsing on the web and have to look at near-naked 15-year-olds.
I mean, you’ve got Mrs. NY gov call girl who’s suing Girls Gone Wild because she was 17 when they had her do stuff.
These companies really should know better, because they do run the risk of lawsuit.
I can appreciate art as much as anyone else, but I don’t feel right about this.
Sorry folks, but this’ll my last post on this particular thread.
Disney has all the cards here.
They must by this time have morals clauses in the contracts of at least the headline characters. Claim it defaulted upon.
The Cyruses could then sue VF because what VF did caused the default. You hope for, you pray for, but do not place legal responsibility for, proper behavior from 15 yr old kids. Grandmother or teacher would not be likely to have written releases to authorize that behavior. Miley’s agent either wrote or approved the VF contract, and should have had clauses against violating the Disney contract.
I had been wondering where Miley Cyrus’ parents were when these photos were taken, especially given how Billy Ray Cyrus and his wife were managing and controlling their daughter’s career. Well, now we know, don’t we?
At least Miley has the grace to be “mortified” by the pics, according to most of the news coverage of the VF photo shoot. Too bad her parents aren’t at least as embarassed about the situation as their daughter is, especially since they’re supposed to be the “responsible” adults here…
And Annie Leibovitz ought to be horsewhipped.
I don’t know her family (there is a statement about the obvious, no). But her father, BRC, ever since the lights seem to dim for him and his singing career I’ve noticed how he has seemed to hang on to this little one in what appears to me his own reorientation into the limelight. Maybe I am wrong…but flat out, not ok to exploit a fifteen year old like this. Scarlett, Kiera, Demi and the rest of them are old enough to make their own decisions. But this….just not ok.
This is not the responsibility of a 15 year old.
(OTher actresses besides Ms. Rachel McAdams that also seem to keep dignity are Ms. Mandy Moore and Ms. Hilary Duff)
But coming from a culture that seems to be okay Dakota Fanning participate in an on screne rape scene….
Big fat OY!!!
jhn1:
I don’t think Disney has “all the cards.” They gave them up when they gave Vanessa Hudgens a pass for her nude photos that surfaced on the web. I don’t think they could get away with terminating Miley’s contract for this if they didn’t terminate Vanessa’s.
Disney is in it for the money, too, and they’ll keep Miley on as long as they can. This will blow over, and Disney is best-served (business-wise) to give her a slap on the wrist and wait for the next scandal to overshadow this one.
Before everyone starts rushing to blame Leibovitz, let’s not forget that these aren’t the first pictures of her dressing or acting extremely provocatively. There have been pictures of her with her shirt pulled up all the way to her bra, draped across her boyfriend. Pulling her shirt down to the camera to show off her bra. Dressed in mini-skirts and tight dresses at award show. Wearing halter tops. Pretending to make out with a girlfriend in front of a camera. It’s not as if she was an innocent little church girl prior to Vanity Fair. Far from.
“Leibovitz ought to be horsewhipped”
oh hell, she’d prolly enjoy that …
:-~
# 43 M
fair enough, but those were supposed to be “private” pix. [yeah, yeah, i know, it's 2008 ... ]
annie’s record in this area is pretty clear so she does not get a pass, but [imo] the blame shakes out this way:
mum and dad, then
annie, then
teacher/g’ma [neither of which should ever be left in charge again] and lastly, miley herself
# 44 B
no worries …
do u have kids? ’cause if i didn’t i might have been inclined to go somewhat with your intiial take, but due to the fact this actually directly affects me that way i take the stand i do …
Exactly right. Exploitation run amuk.
Exactly right. Exploitation run amuk.
MissMarciLyn #14
No need to be sorry - this issue has come up before (not with Miley, but with others) and I simply remembered what went through my mind the last time I heard the word “artistic”. Another word that gets used - or misused - exactly the same way is “sophisticated”.
sigh…
In the video she was taking ques from her dad. She would look at him with seeking eyes. At times she even looked uncomfortable but he continued so she did too.
She says now that she is embarrassed. If she is now and wasn’t then its because his ques were moving her foward. She trusted him and look what happened.
The heathens and Jews were rebuked by our Creator God in the Old Testament for sacrificing their children to the god Baal. One of the things this supposed deity required was that it was done with much sensuality.
I think the main reason why Lindsay and Britney are so screwed up is that their parents pimped them out and sexualized them at a young age. This type of stuff is disgusting. This is literally pimping out your underage daughter for financial gain, plain and simple.
MM, I thank you for posting it and think your analysis is right on!
Englishqueen, I rarely think you are right, but post #22, couldn’t have been said much better.
Fixed it to reflect Arizona.
The real issue here isn’t Miley so much as the oversexualization of our culture - especially of young girls. Miley is simply the latest example.
Does anyone else remember the woman in England that wanted to give pole dancing lessons to preteen girls?
Englishqueen01 had it exactly correct when she mentioned that Miley’s biggest fans are younger than Miley. Do we really want our 11 year old daughters to appear naked in a bunch of pictures “because Miley did it”?
As for Billy Ray - I think he actually believed that Anne wouldn’t be so stupid as to do something like this. I know it’s naive, but even our gracious hostess Michelle has been caught up in something similar in an interview where she honestly believed she would be treated fairly, only to find out otherwise.
As for Vanity Fair and Anne Leibowitz - they knew better. Enough said.
The sexualization of American children today is sickening. This is another example.
I have two daughters, ages 7 and 5. I am trying to raise them to be proud of themselves, without thinking they have to be “sexy” or show a lot of skin. And if you think the word “sexy” is something no 7 or 5 year old should know - you are right! But it’s out there people - they hear it on tv and at school.
When will modesty come back in style?
“When will modesty come back in style?”
when we cull the “if it feels good do it” generation out of the boardrooms, faculty lounges, and govt. offices .. .
/i.e. at least 1/2 a generation to go …
These parents better get a clue before their daughter ends up like Britney!!!! Hollyweird corrupts.
I guess I should approve of your Obamesque “bat turn” on your opinion if you are serious.
Bottom line: I have a four month old daughter, and after watching the way that little girls emulate an hold these girls/women up as role models, one absolutely has to be concerned with the oversexualization and exploitation of underage girls in this society.
I see Miley Cyrus following the same path as Spears, Lohan and a host of other so called stars, who burn brightly but burn out quickly, usually with the help of parents living vicariously (and financially) through their children and so called “artists” such as Liebovitz, who always seem to manage to get these young girls (anyone ever see young boys? I don’t read Vanity Fair) in compromising positions, always unclothed, for the sake of “art.” Seems to be a trend here.
I don’t know what people see in the whole “Hannah Montana” craze, but at least she was squeaky clean up to this point.
Let us hope she learned her lesson early, and we aren’t treated to the oft repeated soap opera-esque nightmare of another child star gone bad.
Uhh, are there other pics? All I’m seeing is a pic of a girl’s back.
You’ve got to be kidding, right. Has anyone been to the beach before?
So why isn’t Leibowitz charged with child pornography?
I almost forgot: this reminds me of that prepubescent child porn that passes for advertising from the likes of Abercrombie and Fitch.
Sometimes, the line between child porn and “art” is thin and vacillating indeed.
Are you serious?
Look at this picture of Cyrus from the Grammys.
Miley at the Grammys
Her parents were with her for this picture. Look at how she’s dressed. Do you really think if they had been at the shoot, they would have objected? It’s all about the $$$.
This is nothing like the A&F porn. A&F is showing porn. This is a pic of a girl’s back.
If you guys think this is porn, go to a middle school or high school basketball or football game and watch the cheerleaders. That’s porn. I’m stunned when young girls spread their legs open in front of hundreds of parents and everyone cheers.
I was in 8th grade when Britney, Christina, et al. became popular, and I never felt pressured to dress or act that way. I think the best solution to this problem on a personal level is to actually parent one’s children–to be engaged in their activities and be heavy influences in their lives. This is something that I read a lot about here in MM’s stories AND in the comments (thankfully!) but don’t often see in mainstream society. If girls or boys are taught not to buy into our oversexed society, these ideals will eventually bleed into popular culture.
I guess the bottom line for me is that taking responsibility for your actions and the consequences of those actions is extremely important. It’s a trait that’s missing in this story and, I believe, in society as a whole.
yeah yeah Leibovitz is a sleeze.. so what else is new?
I will probably be one of the very few who says “So what?”
A lot of people are getting up in arms about this because it shows the oversexualization of youth. Now, who is to blame for this? You. You. And You. And me. Why? Because we allowed for this type of stuff to happen in the 60s. Free love, free everything, no consequences. Sorry, the consequences are happening today. And there’s nothing that can be done about it. Prayer works fine, but when an entire nation is going down a slope, all you can do is look to the end and see glory.
Secondly, I’d like to state that those who teach their children (I’m talking about you, parents) to idolize media stars (yes, I am still talking about you, parents) need to stop acting all aghast and up in arms about all of this and start cleaning up yourselves. When y’all were young, you went for the Beatles and Dusty Springfield…who were far from the moral beings that y’all think y’are now. There was more clothing, but the content was quite the same…and in some respects, worse.
So, lay off Ms. Cyrus, and to quote John Lithgow’s character of Rev. Shaw Moore from the movie “Footloose”, “Go home everybody. Go home and look upon yourselves in judgement.”
I would not leave my underage daughter alone with a lesbian photagrapher EVER!
I’m also stunned when these same girls walk around the beach in suits that make underwear look modest.
#66 - you could say the same thing about gymnasts as you do cheerleaders. I would guess that if the dance was provocative then, yes.
But as a former cheerleader/gymnast ….I would regrettably disagree with that blanket statement.
There is provocative and fanny waggin, and then there is an athletic aspect to it as well.
We were well monitored by our coach…no “sexy dancing” just lotsa stunting.
feebie,
I have NEVER been to a school sports event and the cheerleaders did not spread their legs open in front of the crowd. Not once. I have been to hundreds of them.
Usually, they are being held by a guy with his hand placed firmly on the girl’s butt.
Not to mention their underage line of undergarments that read “juicy” and such on their fannies.
Just no need to draw attention to a 12 year olds fanny. Never ever shopping at A&F cuz of that. Been a few years now.
Its called a chair. I am familiar. What do you think they do in iceskating.
And they are called toe-touches. Gymnast to them too. It is more or less about the content.
I am sorry, I’ve been a gymnast, cheerleader and competative diver. My father is Catholic Sicilian and wouldn’t so much as let me walk out of the house with makeup before i was 16.
They are sports. I fail to find the comparison with a clearly seductive photograph.
Anyone who looks at underage girls this way is just sick, all the way around. But sports vs. this photo is incomprable in my humble opinion.
Most respectfully,
Feebz
#74 yes feebie, and the ones that say “pink”. I’m sure they have no idea what that means. I hope not.
SakakiO (post #69) has a point - as long as parents go along with this stuff and allow it, there is no end in sight.
Parents need to minimize the amount of time their kids watch TV, what they watch on TV, what movies they see, how they dress, what magazines they read, etc. There is a way to raise children and limit their exposure to this stuff.
However, that doesn’t excuse Hollywood and the film industry and society from just letting this stuff slide by as if it is no big deal.
#76 - unconscionable. you are very right, sir.
feebz, I am also quite familiar. I dont have a problem with cheering. Just have them keep their legs closed.
Bob - You forgot to add, “And I really mean it!”
But you are now qualified to work for Obama. ;o)
In all seriousness, this really should bother you. It’s a little disturbing that it doesn’t.
And for those who say it would be okay if she were 18. Think about that. The message is that once you’re an adult it’s okay to be sluttish, a drunk, and whatever. We, as adults, need to be proper role models and show young people life can be enjoyed without imorality and addictions. That those aren’t things to ‘look forward to’ when you’re an adult. Sexuality is something that should only be shared with your mate. Everyone else should be viewed kindly as a brother or sister.
I submit life can only be truly enjoyed without those things. It’s when you’re free from all addictions and bondages that you’re truly free to enjoy life.
Thanks Joy! Great post!
Agreed, Hollywood should be condemned for promoting the smut. However your original point, which I agree with, comes down to worldviews. In the atheistic-evolution worldview (and before I get screamed at by some atheist posters I know there are theist evolutionists out there too like Obama although I think personally they are flat out wrong and heretical but I digress) we are just the product of billions of years of evolution (that can’t explain where matter came from or how a cell was first successfully made and learned to self replicate but I digress) and therefore are just advanced bio-lifeforms that are self aware.
Sorry it took so long to make that point, but the end result of an atheistic worldview is that morals are relative to the society that they were raised in and so if a group (like Hollywood) makes looking like a hooker fashionable and enough people sign onto the idea then the people in that worldview are going to think that there is nothing inherently wrong with what they are doing.
Which is why talking to certain posters on this site is like talking to a brick wall because the concept of absolute truth, an absolute moral giver (God), etc are a lost and an alien concept on those people. So while trying to change the parents to do more parenting, unless you can show them that their worldview interferes with their ability to tell their child what is right and wrong nothing is going to change for those people.
/end rant
Agreed. I’ve seen far, far worse at on the corner of the local middle and high schools.
Fact is, I heard this story break on talk radio yesterday, before I saw any images. The way people were depicting it, I was expecting something along the lines of a Maplethorpe.
Finally see an image on MM.com, and I’m a little underwhelmed. After all, this is Vanity Fair, not the Christian Science Monitor. VF is getting exactly what they’d hoped for: one very big buzz on the web and airwaves. The more the media makes a big deal out of this, the more the situation propogates. If everybody ignored it completely, it wouldn’t sell magazines and they’d stop publishing it. And if parents did a little more “parenting”, kids wouldn’t try to emulate it.
Sorry, but if you’re expecting the media to teach your children morality, you probably shouldn’t be having children.
I completely understand where your coming from. I am not suggesting they need to spread eagle egregiously …however, toe-touches and stunts involve a certain acrobat type skill that does involve open legged type maneuvering and admittedly are part of competitive cheerleading, gymnastics and diving.
We cant all wear burquas…..
I am also not gonna say that there are not coaches out there allowing girls to participate in clearly inappropriate dances, because there are. I’ve seen it.
Just saying, its part of that particular sport. I lettered in it…and enjoyed every minute. In no way, with manner in which I conducted myself did it sound like (in my case) what you are putting out there.
That said, big difference between this and the Cyrus photo.
I think too much is being made of this. Obviously Miley and her parents realize that it turned out not to be a good idea and I’m sure the mistake won’t be repeated. I’m giving her a pass. And I’m not one who wants to see photogs tarting up young girls, either. But I’m sure they are sorry and will think again next time something like this is proposed.
# 69 I have the same take-thank you for stating the idea so well.
Some years ago -15-20- remember when a female producer of children’s proagrmming stated - in writing- that “change’ in the moral structure would come via media directed at children. It has.
It is time for more action. I’ve said it before-I’ll say it again- talk-talk-talking w/o action does nothing.
Liebovitz is nothing but a skank lesbo pedophile voyeur. She’s the cause of this and the fricking elites think it is art, when in reality, Liebovitz is getting hot doing female child pornography.
/spit.
So Miley’s parents bear no responsibility?
Calling this child porn is beyond laughable. It’s a shame that people can’t get as worked up about what’s happening with the children in the LDS cult as they are about this. That, my friends, is real child porn.
And do you really think Michelle would republish child pornography on her website? Seriously?
I wonder if Vanity Fair realizes that its name is from John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress and that it was the locale where Christian and Faithful were imprisoned and Faithful then put to death?
It fits.
I just think about how that must affect her mentally. She is portrayed as a slut on a magazine. How can she look at herself in the mirror? And the picture with her father? That was messed up. I would never be in a pose with my father like that.
Yes the picture with her father was almost insestuous looking.It’s a tough world to raise daughters in and try to keep them pure.We’ve pulled the plug on cable and our daughter dresses modestly and doesn’t even own a swimsuit,but it’s tough when all that the stores sell anymore is clothing that looks like something a street walker should wear.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
follow it-
$$$ and the need for presitge and power are human flaws -
thus- we have laws and
10 Ammendments…
I think this is all a very carefully planned out strategy by Cyrus’s management. Look at Hilary Duff’s career. It’s been pretty much dormant since she outgrew Lizzie McGuire. Her first movie role since 2006 is in John Cusack’s new movie War, Inc. In the movie, she drops a live scorpion down her pants. Oh, and she’s not wearing very much. Miley’s parents and management team don’t want the same thing to happen so they’re going to slowly age her out of Hannah Montana while making sure that her career stays hot. All of those denials about not knowing what the pictures would look like and how exploited they feel? Pure BS. They’re not stupid.
Timne for me to go to:
our marines.com
and ease my mind. There ARE outstanding young people in this country
Parents can’t go wrong encouraging their tweenager girls to use Eleanor Roosevelt as a role model.
Mookie!
Posts 88, 89, and 94 are exactly what I’m thinking tonight. You don’t get into show business without knowingwhat to do and who to ally yourself with for continued show biz profit.
“can’t get as worked up about what’s happening with the children in the LDS cult”
um, ~400 kids were taken into custody by the state. at least one of the right someones was worked up over that …
Hollywood is a brutal and sexist place for women. The Hannah Montana thing will be dead by the time she is 18-20,and so where do you go?
You parlay your sensuality, so you can have other roles and a job in modern hollywood…probably play a prostitute or stripper.
Hollywood has no room for a Katherine Hepburn or Maureen O’Hara these days.
#94 said:
I 100% agree. Nothing more than aggressive marketing. Hell, I think this whole model was cast years ago when Brooke Shields was depicted as a 13-year-old hooker in ads managed by her own mother in the 1970s.
Disney is in on it too. They probably wouldn’t allow her to go on a risky ski trip if she tried, so this whole story about them being “shocked” by the photos is pure bunk. They’re probably knee-deep in expanding the portfolio of age-sensitive marketing and advertising available to Cyrus’ demographic as we speak.
Don’t you think it’s high time that we raid polygamist compounds and remove the children from their secluded environment so they can be exposed to “normal” societal values through popular magazines and TV shows?
That would show them how young girls are supposed to be treated. It would also teach them clearly that it is wrong for 15-year-old girls to be used as sex objects for men - unless, of course, it is done in an artistic way for a large sum of money.
/sarc off
They really are after the kids.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=62907
I find myself agreeing with Mookie’s last couple of posts.
Strange.
Oh, absolutely. But there’s a hell of a lot more media driven outrage over these pictures than over 31 underage girls having been pregnant and/or given birth.
It’s ok, PB. I can virtually guarantee that I’ll say something you’ll disagree with tomorrow and the world will be back to normal.
Alas, that is how it must be. Call this our “Christmas Truce”, if you will.
Can we skip the soccer game? I’m a little out of shape.
Actually Im not a bit surprised. Although Miley got caught up in this mess, her parents and other guardians are responsible for her protection. Vanity Fair is no better than offering up kiddie porn here, although its “artistic” in their eyes, to a kiddie fiddler, its just the thing to get them going and looking for more.
This time they have gone to far… I say string them up…
From what I can tell, Billy Ray is a good father who’s taken great care to make sure his daughter isn’t exploited in the least and to keep her wholesome. You may not watch Miley’s show, but since I have a sister and cousins at that age, I occasionally do. There isn’t even a hint of impropriety or uncouth behavior (Billy Ray plays her dad on the show too).
Other pop-star parents aren’t nearly as careful with their kids and have allowed them to fall into the deepest pits of evil. I don’t even have to list examples, you know just by watching the news who I’m talking about.
My point is, the one time Billy Ray slips up and lets his guard down with a unscrupulous photographer whom he thought he could trust, his daughter’s picture comes out a little racier than any parent would like. Please put it in that context - other famous parents have a string of foulups a mile long, while Billy Ray slips up once, something I’m almost positive he’s kicking himself for now. Please do some more research into the both of them - I’m sure you’d be impressed by how they’ve worked hard to maintain decent family values over the past few years.
Leibovitz, Vanity Fair and the adults who were supposed to be watching over her should be prosecuted for something along the lines of seduction of a child.
Leibovitz is over-rated and has gotten over with publicity shots for years, selling skin.
She must have many problems to even think it well to pose young girls in seductive modes. Is she a lesbian?
Anyone hearing that she wants to take “artsy” photos should know arsty equates with sex.
Where were her parents for this shoot?
If it was my child I would never have left her alone with Annie.
The child is 15!!! I hope Vanity Fair loses money and Annie loses jobs.
I had to look it up–just what I thought, she is a lesbian–duh!
No wonder all the skin pics of young girls!
“Leibovitz had a close romantic relationship with noted writer and essayist Susan Sontag”—would you leave your daughter with her even after seeing her other “work” for Vanity?
The pics of Miley and dad are “Lolitaish” also–pretty sickening.
I’m curious. What makes anyone think this wasn’t Miley’s idea to begin with? I mean, she IS 15… it’s not like she’s 6… and she’s not stupid. $5 says she waited for daddy to leave the shoot fully intending to do something like this.
If it had been coerced or Miley felt uncomfortable her billion dollar empire would have had lawyers tying up Vanity Fair six ways from Sunday, as would Disney, five minutes after she left the shoot.
Instead it’s kept on the hush until we find out about it this way, all over the media and internet. Any publicity is good publicity.
Tanksoldier, you have a good hook on it. However, think you can throw in the fact that her father sang ONE song. (I never heard another one by him, except the Achey Breaky sphincter-lock).
Along with her budding maturity and his cry for another shot at fame, the combination is devastating to a young lady.
My take.
I did not like the picture of Miley posing with her dad either. I thought it was too provocative for a father-daughter picture. I’m not sure he’s the brightest bulb in the pack. Nor do I have any respect for Vanity Fair or Annie Leibovitz who knew full well what they were doing. Artistic, my Aunt Fanny. Even sadder, is that Miley looks about 12 in the pictures. Why is it imperative that people undress for pictures anyway? Why have we come to the point where sex is the only thing that sells?
On-my-soap-box said:
Every time I saw her picture I prayed - “GOD, not her” as I could see it coming.
Ditto Soap. I have been saying the same thing, but figured Billy Ray would not let that happen.
Wouldn’t this be considered Porn if the authorities found this on a computer? Half nude photo of a minor! The Editors should be arrested.
What is this Society coming to? No God, No Morals, No Consequences.
Parents also need to impress on their children that these characters on Disney, etc, are simply that, “characters”.
Our daughter is 14 and, luckily, has never been one to follow the crowd when a fad such as Hannah Montana comes around.
Since she was a small child we’ve been teaching her that television, movies, etc, are for entertainment purposes only. Do not confuse someone like Hannah Montana with a real person. You have no idea what this person is like in real life. So far, it seems to have worked….
Like many other posters on this site have stated, you have to be a parent, not a friend.
Mind you…some of the rubbish parents dress their little kids in, in those all-American beauty pageants, is far more disturbing…..
I wish the US was not so hidebound.
Young girls are often the most attractive they will ever be. It doesn’t hurt to celebrate that now and then. The bigger problem is the unrestrained lust of the beholders, probably learned from tv which lets you (trains you) to look where you damn well please and with tivo as long as you please. Sure it works. And then you meet a real woman (or man) and they chew your tawdry self a new….
Good grief. If we keep on doing this we’ll be as bad as the Saudis et al, who can’t be in car with a woman outside of the family, put women in bags in public, and basically own them and their sexuality as a means to control the ill-behavior of the young men in their society.
Lighten up and get a book on art history and consider this topic anew. Or better, go to a couple big museums and learn to see and think about what you see some more.
I have read almost all the comments. Got to get back to work, you know. One other thing is missing:
Never leave your daughter with someone you don’t trust 100%. Ever.
And yes, I have daughters — seven. And six sons.
I might as well add something else. It’s also very easy to take the remote control back from the children and tell them that their obsession with whatever program is officially over.
Just as easy is the task of imposing a stricter dress code. Skin-tight tanks and slut-wear shorts will never be permitted. Put on a nice dress, for crying out loud.
Parents should be benevolent dictators in their homes.
I think this is what Leibovitz has in mind
And appropriately:
The Waltz of Treachery
Thenardier
What to do? What to say?
Shall you carry our treasure away?
What a gem! What a pearl!
Beyond rubies is our little girl!
How can we speak of debt?
Let’s not haggle for darling Cosette!
When Glenn Beck did an interview with Billy Ray last year, it drove him crazy that Billy Ray kept saying he wanted to be Miley’s best friend and left the discipline to his wife. It was driving Glenn “crazy” and he asked him if he was a “cowardly guy”. He also said “But there`s got to be a lot of people that are watching TV saying, “You don`t need to be your daughter`s best friend. You need to be her dad.” I don’t always agree with Glenn Beck, but he was right on the mark here.
Secondsight #119
There’s a vast difference between the way the Saudis treat their women and this
NO BIG DEAL??? I have read the posts and for those of you that think this is no big deal have not been paying attention. The other “fallen” girls started small and then their lives escalated out of control in a hurry.
The other point I would like to make is that it sure appeared, for once, that our young ladies were going to have a decent roll model for a change. MC has hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of young ladies looking up to her. So MC decides to do a provocative photo shoot and some of you say it is no big deal compared to…
Sorry, IT IS A BIG DEAL!
Like Michelle said, it is good her 7 year old (who might otherwise look up to MC) is into horses.
I did not see this until this morning and I am saddened by this seemingly sweet girl being conned into taking this picture. I am the mother of two sweet teen girls, one of which just turned 16. I think parental involvement is the key to keeping kids on the straight and narrow. My girls have watched through the last ten years as young actors that they admired turn into drug users, and smut selling anorexics. Thank goodness these people are not their role models, but so many kids have looked up to these girls as the ideal. So very tragic in my opinion.
Please don’t flame … I honestly didn’t find the pose itself provacative or even very suggestive; it shows no more flesh than any common halter top. The lighting/contrast however did make it appear somewhat sultry but I submit that that aspect is within the art of photography. I do agree though that the parents failed miserably.
My two cents for what ever it is worth is this is nothing more than child pornography. Where are the authorities and why are they not going after this so called artist/photographer for her sexual abuse of a child. In recent years all I have seen in national and local news reports is how sting operations run by the national or local authorities drag in pedophiles accused of stalking young teenage girls on the internet and are captured as they show up to meet an underage girl. I find this disturbing and disgusting and call shame on Vanity Fair for trafficking in child pornography while feeding the lust of every pedophile in the world, not that I would ever buy their magazine and will make it a point to find out who their sponsors are to reward them properly by boycotting their products. This episode in our rapidly deteriorating society bothers me greatly in how this is being considered no big deal by the elite MSM and some commenters on this sight. If it is considered a crime to visit child pornography websites, down load their sick and twisted data, and traffic in children for sexual abuse why should this incident not be treated any differently. What a very bad message this family has sent to little girls that idolize Hannah Montana and all she stands for. /Rant off
So who’s telling the truth? I heard that Vanity Fair said both Miley & her parents were shown the photos & had no problem with them. And come on, a 15 year old is too naive to know that when she takes her clothes off & poses with nothing moroe than a sheet, she is posing half naked? If she is that dumb, she is too dumb to breathe. If at 15 you don’t know you shouldn’t pose that way, what do you know? What DID she think she was taking her clothes off for???? Fresh air?!?!
If I recall MM was critsizing the continued sexualization of young girls several years ago when she commented on “The Factor” about girls underwear with very provactive sayings and her concern that her daughters would go from diapers to a thong before they even had a chance to grow up.
If you think I am being harsh-check out the local clothes store at T-get/W-Mrt, and etc and you will see things that even Victorias won’t sell to that young 4-tweenager demographic.
GSP