There's Something About Miley

The last thing I want to do is add to the ridiculous obsession over the Miley Cyrus photo shoot in Vanity Fair. It has already been pointed out (more excellent analysis here) that the hypersexualization of adolescent girls is nothing new, and in the grand scheme of things, showing a little back is not the worst thing a fifteen year old has ever done. In fact, compared to the topless photos of Vanessa Hugdens or Jamie Lynn Spears’ scandalous pregnancy, Miley’s photo shoot is positively tame.

The thing is, Miley is not supposed to fall into the same category as all the other catastrophes of the childhood entertainment industry. She’s the good girl, the role model. She's doing it for Jesus.

Let’s not forget, once upon a time before she became a hot mess, a young, innocent Lindsay Lohan starred in The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. Miley isn’t the first Disney darling to shock the public. She’s just a few years ahead of her time.

It’s not that we can’t handle the sexualization of young actresses. In fact, we rather pruriently obsess over the sexualization of young actresses. After all, there would be no good girls without bad girls. And the more scandalous the behavior of her counterparts, the more Miley was praised for resisting the temptations of celebrity. While Jamie Lynn was getting knocked up, Miley's career was skyrocketing to make her the most successful teen celebrity, with a year-end earning potential of $1 billion.

But Miley is learning the hard way that the good girl image is a difficult one to maintain. According to Gary Marsh, the president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, “For Miley Cyrus to be a ‘good girl’ is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her a godliness. If she violates that trust, she won’t get it back.” (source)

And this is the crux of the issue. Parents don't care about Miley, any more than they care about any other teen celebrity trainwreck in the making. What they care about is their own daughters, and Miley's photo shoot has made them confront the possibility that their own darling tweens might be exposing their backs, or bras, or worse... on myspace, right now.

In an industry known for its "corrupting influences," Hannah Montana was the exception to the rule. Now, it seems that the secret weapon in the parental battle to control teen sexuality has defected to the other side. Parents, a word of advice: stop trying to control your daughters and deny their sexual agency. If you actually respect your daughters' sexual autonomy they are much more likely to grow into strong, self-confident women.