Miley Cyrus VMA performance and modern views on sex and race

[New England and The Maritimes]

But she grew up on our TV, ergo we own her in some weird way even if we admit we were never fans or ever meant to be.

This.

I can understand the racism angle...from the description it does sound like a 21st century minstrel show, but the sexualization angle is just ridiculous.

The sexualization is just a symptom of the racism, in the sense that her show equates blackness with hypersexuality.

[Tahar Joblis]

Her performance got exactly what she wanted, everyone talking about it. It pushed her single up to #1 in iTunes sales too, regardless of what people thought of the performance.

This. So very much this.

[Cannot think of a name]

But she grew up on our TV, ergo we own her in some weird way even if we admit we were never fans or ever meant to be.

We are the audience, target or not.

Nope. If you're not the target audience you are not her audience and your disdain is at best meaningless and worst an endorsement. "Audience" is not universal and trying to appeal to all audiences is both futile and compromising to the point of banality. Even 'pop' artists are not this dedicated as to think that everyone everywhere is their customer.

She lives or dies, prospers or suffers by us.

She prospers or suffers by her audience, or the audience that will follow her down her chosen path (or the paths chosen for her). Whether I am outraged or nonplussed by her performance effects her sales and merchandizing in no way, I wasn't a customer before and I'm not one now. If she had given a tame or 'approved' performance, I would not have even been aware that she was on the VMAs or that the VMAs were on or even still a thing. Any self-righteousness I feel in condemning her performance is largely meaningless to her prosperity.

Further, I think we should be careful about where the line is drawn regarding how much we get to demand from performers. We can like or not like the things that they put out, buy them or not buy them, but when we get to demand who they are its a bit too far.

[Arglorand]

Personally, I just think she's a shitty singer and her performances are terrible and tasteless, be they musical or theatrical or whatever.

But that's just my two cents.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Her performance got exactly what she wanted, everyone talking about it. It pushed her single up to #1 in iTunes sales too, regardless of what people thought of the performance.

This. So very much this.

But of course. She's a fucking performer. People are reading so much into this.

[Forsakia]

:palm:
Miley Cyrus is not a slut and twerking is not cultural appropriation.

I'm going to disagree with you there. Twerking does not belong to white people.

And twerking is not just ass-shaking, guys. Quit that ignorance.

Twerking doesn't belong to white people in the same way that blues music doesn't belong to white people.

The "it's fine to use black backup dancers in a sexualised way if you're a black male, but not if you're a white woman" seems a stretch to me.

[Thanatttynia]

It's a really catchy song and I do kind of like her.
I read an article which used the fact that she had black 'African-American" dancers around her and her, a white person in the centre as a show of racism. I don't think it's racism, more just having her as the centre of everything.

[Ashmoria]

I actually did not watch the VMAs however with accusations of too raunchy, and counter accusations of slut shaming I became curious what all the hoopla was about. And I finally watched the performance after reading the accusations that her performance was a minstrel show.

Slut shaming source and counter source
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertain ... story.html ;

http://perezhilton.com/2013-08-26-miley ... uY90b.dpbs

Minstrel show source and counter source:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ropriation ;

http://flavorwire.com/412010/in-defense ... erformance

Youtube of the performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1WDEfJBZXg


So there are a lot of accusations, too sexual, slut shaming, then further we have accusations of cultural appropriation even some people claiming the performance was a minstrel show. So what of these labels if any fit ?

My view is that her performance left a lot to be desired she seemed too stiff and out of her element. I also do not personally find her performance objectionable on sexuality however I could see those who felt the performance was more raunchy than should be on what was billed as an all ages show.

For the issue of race I find the performance while an appropriation of some typically African American dance, music, and terms falls short of being a minstrel show.

I don't know about race. I guess ill let an African American make that case if he chooses to.

but DAYAM the choreographer of that bit needs to be horsewhipped. it was awful. the costume designer should be shot. or at least never work in the industry again. miley cyrus's dad ought to be fired as dad. what was he thinking not objecting to her being dressed as if she were in a "barely legal" porn shoot? she is too young to know that this is not the way to establish herself as an adult. --if she wants to be regarded as an adult she needs to be dressed as an adult, that can be sexy/sleazy too but NOT slutty Lolita.

and she should stick to singing. she sucks as a dancer and her twerking was an embarrassment.

[The Rich Port]

We are the audience, target or not.

Nope. If you're not the target audience you are not her audience and your disdain is at best meaningless and worst an endorsement. "Audience" is not universal and trying to appeal to all audiences is both futile and compromising to the point of banality. Even 'pop' artists are not this dedicated as to think that everyone everywhere is their customer.

She lives or dies, prospers or suffers by us.

She prospers or suffers by her audience, or the audience that will follow her down her chosen path (or the paths chosen for her). Whether I am outraged or nonplussed by her performance effects her sales and merchandizing in no way, I wasn't a customer before and I'm not one now. If she had given a tame or 'approved' performance, I would not have even been aware that she was on the VMAs or that the VMAs were on or even still a thing. Any self-righteousness I feel in condemning her performance is largely meaningless to her prosperity.

Further, I think we should be careful about where the line is drawn regarding how much we get to demand from performers. We can like or not like the things that they put out, buy them or not buy them, but when we get to demand who they are its a bit too far.

That's a very narrow view of it, sure, but equally valid, I guess.

Agree to disagree.

[Herskerstad]

I bet she's never going to suffer a major, celebrity-edition of a nervous breakdown.

[Ashmoria]

I bet she's never going to suffer a major, celebrity-edition of a nervous breakdown.

shes already doing better than Brittney spears and Lindsay lohan.

[Nazis in Space]

[...]miley cyrus's dad ought to be fired as dad. what was he thinking not objecting to her being dressed as if she were in a "barely legal" porn shoot? she is too young to know that this is not the way to establish herself as an adult.[...]

She's 21 years old, and I'm afraid the times when women remained under the guardianship of their parents until they married are over.

[Thanatttynia]

I bet she's never going to suffer a major, celebrity-edition of a nervous breakdown.

How do you know that?

[Ashmoria]

[...]miley cyrus's dad ought to be fired as dad. what was he thinking not objecting to her being dressed as if she were in a "barely legal" porn shoot? she is too young to know that this is not the way to establish herself as an adult.[...]

She's 21 years old, and I'm afraid the times when women remained under the guardianship of their parents until they married are over.

he was working on the vmas. sure he doesn't control her anymore but someone needs to tell her that there is a difference between looking like an adult and looking like jailbait. her dad is a really good person to make that call.

[Trotskylvania]

She's 21 years old, and I'm afraid the times when women remained under the guardianship of their parents until they married are over.

he was working on the vmas. sure he doesn't control her anymore but someone needs to tell her that there is a difference between looking like an adult and looking like jailbait. her dad is a really good person to make that call.

No, the principle still applies. She's not a minor anymore, she has her own career, and gee whiz she just made a good career move. This moral condemnation is starting to look frighteningly reactionary.

[Nailed to the Perch]

So, after hearing all the fuss about this over the last couple of days, I finally got around watching the performance in question, and I must admit that my reaction was pretty much, "…that's it?"

Cyrus's appropriation of so-called "ratchet" culture and her use of black women's bodies as sexualized props deserves criticism. That, however, seems to be receiving far less attention than people pearl-clutching about "breaking news: young woman in profession where overt, over-the-top sexiness is constantly demanded of young women acts sexy in overt, over-the-top manner!" Young female pop stars in our culture are placed in a ridiculous double-bind where their entire careers are predicated upon performing sexiness for us, but when they do, we shriek about how they're dirty sluts.

[The Andromeda Islands]

I haven't watched the VMAs in years & have little interest in "Music Television," but based on what I have seen and read, the Cyrus family is jacked up.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a bad father.

[New England and The Maritimes]

I haven't watched the VMAs in years & have little interest in "Music Television," but based on what I have seen and read, the Cyrus family is jacked up.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a bad father.

Nobody says the same thing about Robin Thicke's parents, though. I wonder why? Is it because people like you view women as property and men as full human beings? Yeah, that's actually exactly it.

[Seriong]

The idea of her "appropriating black culture" is simply silly, and the idea that overtly sexual and raunchy dancing are a "black thing" is racist in itself. She's not racist.

As for slut shaming, or it being too sexual, in my opinion, she's a 20 year old doing stupid things, it happens.

[New England and The Maritimes]

The idea of her "appropriating black culture" is simply silly, and the idea that overtly sexual and raunchy dancing are a "black thing" is racist in itself. She's not racist.

As for slut shaming, or it being too sexual, in my opinion, she's a 20 year old doing stupid things, it happens.

THAT IS THE POINT

SHE IS ASSOCIATING BLACKNESS WITH BEING OVERTLY SEXUAL AND THAT IS RACIST

I AM GLAD YOU AGREE WITH US

[Seriong]

The idea of her "appropriating black culture" is simply silly, and the idea that overtly sexual and raunchy dancing are a "black thing" is racist in itself. She's not racist.

As for slut shaming, or it being too sexual, in my opinion, she's a 20 year old doing stupid things, it happens.

SHE IS ASSOCIATING BLACKNESS WITH BEING OVERTLY SEXUAL AND THAT IS RACIST

How is she doing that? That makes no sense what so ever.

[Benuty]

The idea of her "appropriating black culture" is simply silly, and the idea that overtly sexual and raunchy dancing are a "black thing" is racist in itself. She's not racist.

As for slut shaming, or it being too sexual, in my opinion, she's a 20 year old doing stupid things, it happens.

THAT IS THE POINT

SHE IS ASSOCIATING BLACKNESS WITH BEING OVERTLY SEXUAL AND THAT IS RACIST

I AM GLAD YOU AGREE WITH US

Which isn't relevant to todays world since the media is acting out of its parasitic need from FOMO.

[The Andromeda Islands]

Nobody says the same thing about Robin Thicke's parents, though. I wonder why? Is it because people like you view women as property and men as full human beings? Yeah, that's actually exactly it.

Nice try.

I've seen one of Billy Ray's sons. The dude looks like the poster child for tattoos and piercings. The moment I saw this monstrosity, I thought to myself "Billy Ray Cyrus is a bad father."

As for Miley, I understand wanting to shed the Hannah Montana image, but what she's doing isn't working for her. Her father was a successful country and music singer. Maybe he could have given her some better advice.

As for Robin Thicke... I can't speak on Robin Thicke, because I didn't actually watch the awards.

[Nailed to the Perch]

The idea of her "appropriating black culture" is simply silly, and the idea that overtly sexual and raunchy dancing are a "black thing" is racist in itself. She's not racist.

As for slut shaming, or it being too sexual, in my opinion, she's a 20 year old doing stupid things, it happens.

THAT IS THE POINT

SHE IS ASSOCIATING BLACKNESS WITH BEING OVERTLY SEXUAL AND THAT IS RACIST

I AM GLAD YOU AGREE WITH US

Yup. I think trying to explain the sociological implications of fetishizing black women's bodies (and specifically their bottoms) while connecting those bodies to out-of-control, animalistic sexuality may go a bit over the heads of NSG, though. On this site, "there is a black woman there whose entire function in the performance is to be a large ass for Ms. Cyrus to smack" cannot possibly count as racially insensitive unless Cyrus follows it up by saying, "ALSO I AM TOTALLY RACIST, Y'ALL. FUCK BLACK PEOPLE, TEE HEE."

[Wikkiwallana]

Can we all at least agree that whoever did her hair should be killed as a warning to others?