Pushing The Envelope-Over The Top

by Debbie Twomey on August 29, 2013

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I had a different idea for my blog but felt compelled to discuss the VMA’s this week, specifically Miley Cyrus.

I have read many of the comments and posts regarding her performance on the Video Music Award show and even watched it myself. Some people say do not comment or view it since it gives more attention to the incident. Others say it is art and as happened time and time again, it can be questionable and distasteful to some. Still other people left some nasty remarks.

I do believe not to tackle this topic is wrong.  It isn’t disappearing and millions of suggestible kids saw this performance (I use that term lightly here). It is OUT THERE—and not saying anything (to me) is the same as accepting it.

I am the mother of a 20 year old daughter and the grandmother of a 22 month old little girl. I was appalled and disgusted by what I saw. I am not a prude nor am I ignorant to the fact that sex sells—it always has. I once wrote for a newspaper about Dr. Jean Kilbourne’s messages regarding just this topic. That was almost 30 years ago and instead of changing for the better, it has gotten even more graphic in the name of free speech and art and sales.

I have never watched Hannah Montana so I do not compare Miley’s performance to the wholesome character she once portrayed. What I am focusing on is why she had to be so crude and vulgar to prove she “can do what we want or say what we want –we don’t take nothing from nobody.” Her video and performance seems more about offending people not eliciting a positive response.

I saw more tongue and “twerking” (please don’t ask me to explain it is just shaking the booty yet again reducing girls to body parts)) than I want to on a channel that is G-rated. It was actually quite repulsive. Even her singing seemed raunchy, so high-pitched and suggestive as to not seem like music at all. It was just a mess.

30 years ago Madonna was guilty of pushing the envelope. I like most of her music but I resented all the “in your face” sexually explicit dance moves. I felt the same way about Michael Jackson’s crotch grabbing. I like music and I do like entertainment but not porn. I am not a fan of pushing the envelope so far that it offends people.

These young girls, all the male singers using half naked or naked women in their videos and all the lyrics regarding the reduction of any woman to a body part just seems like a backwards step to me.

I studied Women’s History for 4 years in college. They struggled for equal rights and equal pay. I do not think they meant women’s freedom was sexifying ourselves, after all that is where we started, as just an appendage to men. We were chattel who bore the babies and had no rights. A collection of body parts for men.

Miley definitely was over the top with the foam finger, the nude barely there outfit, the tongue hanging out like a panting dog and the constant twerking. This is not who I want my girls to emulate in any way. It is possible to be a singer/entertainer without all the graphic crude actions but perhaps Miley is unsure of her talent. I read comments where people feared for her emotional state (a little lost girl) but I think she has learned quite young how to push the envelope and does so for the fame. I think actions like this epitomize the term-“fame whore.”

Every generation blames the one before (Living Years) and seems more racy than the prior generation.  This does not necessarily translate into PROGRESS. I mean Elvis Presley was considered the devil in the 50’s and 60’s (but oh the reality is that boy could SING) and so on for generation after generation. But I am afraid of what I see happening today; the explicit lyrics and sexually charged videos. But more than that, I do not want any young girl to think this is normal and something to admire.

In her song “We can’t stop” there is this line-only God can judge us. When you are in our face with such sordid displays you were daring us to judge you and my opinion is Miley needs to step back and think about the messages she is sending out to all those young impressionable young kids.

{Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on the image of women in advertising and her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. Her films, lectures, and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. She was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She is the author of the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and co-author of So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids. www.jeankilbourne.com}

 

 

"I have dedicated my life to the care and welfare of children. I feel privileged to share what I have learned with you. I am also committed to continuously learning.iStock_000004213744XSmall  I will keep informed of the latest information in parenting children from newborns to teens and pass it on to all of you.”   I will also use that same passion to help you create a dynasty generate increases in your business with straightforward and specialized media managing skills that guarantee your connection and scope will grow. Keep up to date reading our posts and discover valuable insights that can make parenting and succeeding in the business of the blogger– the most exciting adventure. (Debbie Twomey)
 
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Sandra Wallace August 31, 2013 at 1:29 pm

I can't help but think of her children that she may have in the future. I think about WHAT IF she has a change of heart & this becomes a conviction that she shouldn't have done it. What happens one morning if she wakes up & says I hope my kids NEVER do anything like that?  It will be emblazed in her future forever. How will she EVER get away from it? It's kind of scary for her. 

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