First of all, as a psychologist I have to apologize for misusing the label “schizophrenic” in the title of this post. In America, people often use that label to indicate someone whose beliefs or behaviors are inconsistent. The reality is that when we say people are behaving in schizophrenic manner, we often are actually implying multiple personality disorder rather than schizophrenia. But I digress…
So there’s a big flap with Miley Cyrus going on now because of her Vanity Fair photos, like the one with her dad, Billy Ray, shown above. Since Miley is 15 and, more importantly, a Disney tween role model, some see the photos of her looking sexy and coquettish as damaging to her clean image and, more importantly, her brand. The photos were taken by Anne Lebowitz, who is really a terrific portrait photographer.
I mention “more importantly” twice in the above paragraph because there’s really two issues going on here. The first is all about money. We can act like we care if teen stars are made up to look 21 and prostituted around for marketing purposes but we really don’t. We did it with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and even JonBenet Ramsey if you want to take it back to first graders. We love youth in this country and we especially celebrate young girls. Older woman can look at this with disgust but they all try to look younger than they are and many spend oodles of money trying to look like they’re in their teens or 20s. Men can act like it’s inappropriate but they privately admit that they take a second or third look at teenage girls in the mall or driving past the high school.
No, I don’t think you can idolize youth and praise it for it’s energy and attractiveness and then get moralistic when it’s paraded in front of you. You can’t use it to sell everything from jeans to automobiles and then criticize some 15 year old when she takes photos she thinks are “beautiful” and “artsy” with one of the world’s leading photographers. Again, I think this is mainly about money. Disney and others are making an absolute fortune off of Miley Cyrus and they don’t want anything derailing the gravy train. Trust me, when has Hollywood or the music industry cared about using up some nice young girl and spitting her out when they’re done? They only care about her image to the extent that it makes money for them.
With respect to the photos themselves, most of Miley’s fans probably would have never seen them if the media didn’t make a big deal about it. It’s not like a lot of 10-13 year old girls read Vanity Fair. Sure they might see the pictures on the internet but I don’t think it would have changed their opinion of Miley Cyrus unless someone told them it should. From Miley’s perspective, I think it made sense to do these photos. She knows the tween group is pretty fickle and she isn’t going to be their favorite forever. In fact, she probably has at best another 2 years of being a teen sensation. After that, she’ll need something else to do or she’ll just fade away. So, maybe she’s slowly starting to explore her image. I can’t blame her for that. And working with a photographer like Anne Lebowitz is an honor.
So there’s a big flap with Miley Cyrus going on now because of her Vanity Fair photos, like the one with her dad, Billy Ray, shown above. Since Miley is 15 and, more importantly, a Disney tween role model, some see the photos of her looking sexy and coquettish as damaging to her clean image and, more importantly, her brand. The photos were taken by Anne Lebowitz, who is really a terrific portrait photographer.
I mention “more importantly” twice in the above paragraph because there’s really two issues going on here. The first is all about money. We can act like we care if teen stars are made up to look 21 and prostituted around for marketing purposes but we really don’t. We did it with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and even JonBenet Ramsey if you want to take it back to first graders. We love youth in this country and we especially celebrate young girls. Older woman can look at this with disgust but they all try to look younger than they are and many spend oodles of money trying to look like they’re in their teens or 20s. Men can act like it’s inappropriate but they privately admit that they take a second or third look at teenage girls in the mall or driving past the high school.
No, I don’t think you can idolize youth and praise it for it’s energy and attractiveness and then get moralistic when it’s paraded in front of you. You can’t use it to sell everything from jeans to automobiles and then criticize some 15 year old when she takes photos she thinks are “beautiful” and “artsy” with one of the world’s leading photographers. Again, I think this is mainly about money. Disney and others are making an absolute fortune off of Miley Cyrus and they don’t want anything derailing the gravy train. Trust me, when has Hollywood or the music industry cared about using up some nice young girl and spitting her out when they’re done? They only care about her image to the extent that it makes money for them.
With respect to the photos themselves, most of Miley’s fans probably would have never seen them if the media didn’t make a big deal about it. It’s not like a lot of 10-13 year old girls read Vanity Fair. Sure they might see the pictures on the internet but I don’t think it would have changed their opinion of Miley Cyrus unless someone told them it should. From Miley’s perspective, I think it made sense to do these photos. She knows the tween group is pretty fickle and she isn’t going to be their favorite forever. In fact, she probably has at best another 2 years of being a teen sensation. After that, she’ll need something else to do or she’ll just fade away. So, maybe she’s slowly starting to explore her image. I can’t blame her for that. And working with a photographer like Anne Lebowitz is an honor.
That being said, I think the only disturbing picture in the lot is the one on this post. I think that Lebowitz could have taken a picture of a father and 15 year old daughter than looked a little less like boyfriend and girlfriend. In fact, I’m sure she did. She probably took a couple hundred photos but this is the one that got picked for the layout and it really is just a bit creepy. To have your 15 year old daughter wearing a bare midriff shirt, low rise pants, and her head practically in your lap while you hold her hand like a lover is a little unsettling. And is it just me or does Billy Ray look like the guy who played Flagg in the television adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand? Of course, I know Billy Ray is probably a good dad and that the whole thing was innocent fun for them. I’m sure he’s not interested in his daughter in anything other than a fatherly way. Now, Hannah Montana on the other hand…
7 comments:
I guess I'm an oddball, but I really don't think that that picture is that "unsettling."
I realize what you're saying - it is definitely unusual to see a father and daughter posed in such a provocative manner. However, I'm guessing that this would only ruffle feathers in the US.
In Europe, entire families swim and hang out naked. They interact with each other this way and nobody views it as odd or wrong. To me, that seems like a much more natural attitude to have.
But yeah, the US media only reinforces the idea that bodies are just objects to be lusted after. As such, any time they come in contact, there is a possibility of sex.
...and I'm not defending Billy Ray and Miley Whoever-the-hell-they-are." I couldn't care less that they exist - with or without clothes! :-P
I agree Boring but as we talked about, since we live in the US, I guess I sometimes approach these things with US sensibilities. Plus, I don't want to go swimming naked with my family!
I understand that you're approaching this with the US sensibilities, but even using that filter, I still don't find it that bad.
I suppose it also has to do with how open somebody is personally to art, and all that sorta thing. To me - and I live in the US - the photos are just fine.
...and I have gone swimming naked with your family. "My eyes! My eyes!!!!"
Believe it or not, I agree with BB. Billy Ray Cyrus is not an old curmudgeon, he’s an attractive man and he’s shown here with his daughter who is emerging as a young woman. The photograph doesn’t show them all entangled, but the way their hands are touching shows a connection. I don’t know that it’s “racy”. I think the pose shows him even as somewhat "protective" the way he's glancing out and her looking directly at the camera with a bit of a look that says, "Dad's got my back."
Americans seem always underprepared to confront our own sexuality, which in fact exists at every age. A woman can't even breastfeed her baby without upsetting someone, but for chrissakes, feeding our young is the only reason we mammals have boobs in the first place. The humanity of sexuality has over time, it seems, been displaced by something else that may be "hotter" but carries with it some brand of shame that brings us to the kind of discomfort these photos apparently evoke.
Mando and Boring Best agree! Who knew?!
;-)
Yeah. People just need to get over this. Really. It is Annie Lebowitz for Pete's sake, it was art and that's it. Cool Photos either way. So what if she is a 15 year old Disney Queen, she's a teenager too. Everyone needs to just get over it...damn media.
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