So, as all of you know, Miley Cyrus has gotten a lot of criticism for her VMAs performance. Most women, and even men, have been quite open on their opinions of Miley's performance. There has been a census among people, it seems, that Miley's performance was over-the-top and, quite frankly, disgusting.
Personally, I have very mixed feelings on this topic, and am curious to see how you all feel about it.
On one hand, I can see what all the fuss is about. Miley was being pretty vulgar, but then again isn't that what her genre of music is all about? I've seen a million women in rap videos shaking it (or twerking) more explicitly than Miley, but there has never been an outrage like this.
I have a theory.
I think that people are so upset with Miley's performance, because for the first time, it's a woman who is choosing to be vulgar instead of a man. Miley is taking the dominant sexual role instead of being sexualized by a man. She is the one smacking girls on the ass. She was the one who initiated the provocative touching between her and Robin Thicke. I don't think society is quite ready for a woman who is this open with her sexuality.
Another thing that bothered me with this Miley controversy, was the fact that people keep referring to her as a "girl." Miley Cyrus is 20 years old. Okay, that isn't the most mature age, but she is still an adult. All of the articles I have been reading about celebrity reactions to Miley, have been referring to her as a "troubled girl," or saying "why would she do this, her parents are watching this!" Who cares? She is an adult artist who is expressing herself. I'm also uncomfortable with the things people have been saying about her. In the tabloids, she is a slut, or even worse, mentally ill. There has also been tons of comments, like "she shouldn't even be up there doing that. She has no ass!" or "she used to be so pretty and now look at her." Just because she cut off her hair and has more of an untraditional, unfeminine look society deems her as ugly.
So, in conclusion, this dissing Miley thing isn't sitting well with me, and I'm curious to hear how more feminists feel about the issue.
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ReplyDeleteLike you, Kirsten, I have so many mixed feelings on Miley's VMA performance!
ReplyDeleteTo comment on how people say "she has no ass, she shouldn't be up there," there is actually a Buzzfeed article all about how Lady Gaga's butt stole the show! If someone is going to complain about how Miley DRESSED, then they need to complain about Lady Gaga just as much. But I think you are right in saying that people were just shocked that it seemed like there was a "gender reversal" between Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus, with Miley instigating a number of the sexual moves between the two of them. People assume for the men to initiate sexual advances, but that is not always the case.
From what I have seen from some people's posts, and in a personal opinion of my own, Miley Cyrus is a 20-year-old, engaged (?), talented woman. For me personally, I have never seen a woman perform like that. As a woman who has participated in theatre since grade school, I did feel offended to see a poorly put together performance on such a slightly esteemed award show.
With all of these totally mixed opinions being said, Miley Cyrus was doing what a number of other female celebrities do daily. If we criticize her, we need to criticize a NUMBER of female artists. As a feminist thinker that participates in theatre, however, it does offend me when I watched a number of beautiful, well-put together performances that night and saw Miley with what I didn't perceive to be a pretty performance.
I could say a whole lot about the sexual side of Miley's performance, but I could sum it up by, I think she was just trying to shock people. Yeah, 20 year old, trying to separate herself from her previous Disney image, by showing the world she is a sexual being. As the author of one article I read about it said, "thank god no one was around to witness my 20-year old self coming into my sexuality" haha I think that is a good point. I'm still off-put and a little disgusted by the whole thing, but I can't tell if that would be slut-shaming then, right? Like, where is the criticism for Robin Thicke and that once again nasty song?
ReplyDeleteI think what is more problematic in this performance is her use of the black women on stage as props. Miley has caught a lot of flack for this, after her video for "We Can't Stop" came out. I saw it, and Miley dancing, twerking, I saw the black women (mostly present for the twerking scenes) but I thought you know maybe it's not that egregious. After all, how much say does Miley really have in the making and producing of the music and videos she's a part of? But then when I saw the VMA performance, I was more upset about it. Every back up dancer on stage is black, how could that not be a deliberate choice? and this time the audience, (as a result of the national uproar caused by the performance) was a much, much larger one. I can't say it as well as some of the articles out there are, but "cultural appropriation" is a term that has been popping up a lot more for me as of late, so I'm just trying to pay a little more attention to it.
this is a good article on the Miley issue, but also offers other examples of cultural appropriation that have popped up within the recent years. Let's not forget Elvis!
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/cultural-appropriation-is-a-bigger-problem-than-miley-cyrus/
and one more that I liked. I think I mentioned it in class, "Solidarity is for Miley Cyrus" like, the book which I haven't read, "Solidarity is for White Women"
http://www.battymamzelle.blogspot.com/2013/08/Solidarity-Is-For-Miley-Cyrus.html#.UiN_zWTwKNx
And I feel that interectionality plays a role here, but I'm kind of having a hard time putting my finger on exactly how that is.
ReplyDeleteClaudia- I very much agree with your analysis on this. While the overt sexuality in Miley's performance failed to offend me- rather I thought it were more of a lazy performance tactic- I was disturbed by the racial undercurrents running through the whole scandal. Miley seemed to use the bodies and presence of the black background dancers as props to her own end- that is, a redefined image. As noted in a vulture article on the issue (link to full article below):
ReplyDelete"Cyrus’s twerk act gives minstrelsy a postmodern careerist spin. Cyrus is annexing working-class black “ratchet” culture, the potent sexual symbolism of black female bodies, to the cause of her reinvention: her transformation from squeaky-clean Disney-pop poster girl to grown-up hipster-provocateur. (Want to wipe away the sickly-sweet scent of the Magic Kingdom? Go slumming in a black strip club.) "
While I seriously doubt that this was an intentional act on the young Ms. Cyrus's behalf, I was left uncomfortable with her exploitation of the sexuality of these young women, especially as she kept them in the background for the full of the performance. They were there not to celebrate or demonstrate their own sexuality, but rather as props for Miley to demonstrate how far she has ventured from her previously squeaky clean image. Especially as the sexuality of black women has long been stigmatized as "dirty" and "other" in our society, I thought this was an unsettling message.
http://www.vulture.com/2013/08/jody-rosen-miley-cyrus-vmas-minstrel.html
Hannah, all of the things I wanted to say when I opened this post and read Kirstin' s thoughts, you have just summed up. Claudia, I agree with a lot of what you said as well.
ReplyDeleteMiley is definitely committing, what we call in race-relations terms "cultural appropriation". She is using her privilege as a white upper class woman to expose black female bodies to give her "cred" or, as Hannah mentioned to prove her "redefined image". She is using that ratchet culture to her advantage but we all know that at the end of the day- she will not be judged as a black woman would be.
That is my problem with Miley's VMA performance. Not the way she was dressed (although it was pretty bizzare, in my opinion), or how she acted, but that she was using black women, black bodies as props, or as simply a means to her end. I found and interesting article talking about the importance of this appropriation here: http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2013/08/30/from-miley-to-macklemore-the-privilege-spectrum/?fb_source=pubv1)
From the article: "In this context, the question of appropriation matters – power, privilege, stereotypes, and centuries of racism play through both the appropriation and the resulting responses. To be clear, we are not against white folks embracing the art and culture that speaks truth to their hearts and souls, as hip-hop culture is still our first love, rather we are advocating for acknowledgement, accountability, and action. We are calling for examination of how stereotypes and blackness within the white imagination are often present within these moments of appropriation."
I encourage you all to read the article, because it does acknowledge male privilege as well- noting that Thicke has escaped the media backlash even though he was very much involved. It sure explains it all better than I could..
Hannah, all of the things I wanted to say when I opened this post and read Kirstin' s thoughts, you have just summed up. Claudia, I agree with a lot of what you said as well.
ReplyDeleteMiley is definitely committing, what we call in race-relations terms "cultural appropriation". She is using her privilege as a white upper class woman to expose black female bodies to give her "cred" or, as Hannah mentioned to prove her "redefined image". She is using that ratchet culture to her advantage but we all know that at the end of the day- she will not be judged as a black woman would be.
That is my problem with Miley's VMA performance. Not the way she was dressed (although it was pretty bizzare, in my opinion), or how she acted, but that she was using black women, black bodies as props, or as simply a means to her end. I found and interesting article talking about the importance of this appropriation here: http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2013/08/30/from-miley-to-macklemore-the-privilege-spectrum/?fb_source=pubv1)
From the article: "In this context, the question of appropriation matters – power, privilege, stereotypes, and centuries of racism play through both the appropriation and the resulting responses. To be clear, we are not against white folks embracing the art and culture that speaks truth to their hearts and souls, as hip-hop culture is still our first love, rather we are advocating for acknowledgement, accountability, and action. We are calling for examination of how stereotypes and blackness within the white imagination are often present within these moments of appropriation."
I encourage you all to read the article, because it does acknowledge male privilege as well- noting that Thicke has escaped the media backlash even though he was very much involved. It sure explains it all better than I could..
Hannah, all of the things I wanted to say when I opened this post and read Kirstin' s thoughts, you have just summed up. Claudia, I agree with a lot of what you said as well.
ReplyDeleteMiley is definitely committing, what we call in race-relations terms "cultural appropriation". She is using her privilege as a white upper class woman to expose black female bodies to give her "cred" or, as Hannah mentioned to prove her "redefined image". She is using that ratchet culture to her advantage but we all know that at the end of the day- she will not be judged as a black woman would be.
That is my problem with Miley's VMA performance. Not the way she was dressed (although it was pretty bizzare, in my opinion), or how she acted, but that she was using black women, black bodies as props, or as simply a means to her end. I found and interesting article talking about the importance of this appropriation here: http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2013/08/30/from-miley-to-macklemore-the-privilege-spectrum/?fb_source=pubv1)
From the article: "In this context, the question of appropriation matters – power, privilege, stereotypes, and centuries of racism play through both the appropriation and the resulting responses. To be clear, we are not against white folks embracing the art and culture that speaks truth to their hearts and souls, as hip-hop culture is still our first love, rather we are advocating for acknowledgement, accountability, and action. We are calling for examination of how stereotypes and blackness within the white imagination are often present within these moments of appropriation."
I encourage you all to read the article, because it does acknowledge male privilege as well- noting that Thicke has escaped the media backlash even though he was very much involved. It sure explains it all better than I could..