Criticize Miley Cyrus? You're Racist If You Do

[Townhallsavoy]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/miley-cyrus-and-the-issues-of-slut-shaming-and-racial-condescension/2013/08/26/f3aee436-0e68-11e3-bdf6-e4fc677d94a1_story.html

Miley Cyrus is America’s worst nightmare. Last night, with her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, she proved that many people in this country are still pre-occupied with slut-shaming and coded racial condescension in the context of entertainment.

Her performance of “We Can’t Stop,” a catchy and otherwise seemingly harmless pop song, that transitioned to a duet with Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” is clearly the most talked about moment of the show, but for all the wrong reasons.

Clinton Yates

Her bawdy performance, that featured Miley and other dancers twerking on stage, drew criticism as lewd, grotesque and shameful. MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski went so far as to say Cyrus “is obviously deeply troubled, deeply disturbed, clearly has confidence issues, probably eating disorder,” on Morning Joe Monday. But what exactly is so disturbing about Miley Cyrus?

It seems that we still can’t handle what it’s like for a young woman to be able to perform, as she chooses, without layering in a heavy helping of insults as well. While Cyrus was condemned for grinding on Thicke, very little criticism has been laid on the singer himself for his role in the performance. The nastiest of the comments have implied that Cyrus is somehow diseased because of her preferred dance methods.

Add to this the fact that some people feel she is appropriating a certain amount of black culture without proper license and you’ve got a cauldron of ignorance and discrimination that even in 2013 is widely regarded as understandable, if not sensible. It is not.

When the white, 20-year-old, former child star and daughter of a country singer goes on stage and does something that the so-called ruling classes deem unseemly, it starts a firestorm. When scores of young women across the globe take the stage to express themselves in exactly the same way at an EDM concert by Diplo, and plaster their exploits all over social networks, no one bats an eye.

By implying that Cyrus is somehow creating a minstrel act of sorts by including black dancers in her act, you are implying that there is something lesser than about such an act. As if it’s completely impossible that she simply enjoys and respects the talents of those she chooses to work with. In short, it is inherently racist to imply that there is anything wrong with anyone other than black women twerking.

So, in 2013 in America, while we celebrate a young man from Seattle for having the courage to make a song out of exploring his thoughts on sexuality as a child, and eventually coming to the conclusion that hate is stupid, Miley doesn't get such a luxury. Even though all she's doing is precisely what we’re celebrating everyone else for: being herself.

An excerpt from her harmless pop song:

To my home girls here with the big butt
Shaking it like we at a strip club
Remember only God can judge ya
Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya
And everyone in line in the bathroom
Trying to get a line in the bathroom
We all so turned up here
Getting turned up, yeah, yeah

[AUChizad]

 

I think what's obvious to everyone here hopefully, is that no one was "offended" in terms of being shocked.

They were "offended" because it was awkward, disgusting, and a terrible performance.

It was embarrassing for her.

Like you said, from a purely "moral outrage" standpoint, Marilyn Manson was twice as shocking 15+ years ago. Lady Gaga's bare ass probably drew more ire from the moral crusaders.

Miley playing vagina peek-aboo with that stupid fucking tongue-sticking-out face bothered me on the same level as seeing a homeless woman pissing standing up on the street while eating garbage.

[Snaggletiger]

They were "offended" because it was awkward, disgusting, and a terrible performance.


^^^This^^^

[bottomfeeder]

I'd eat her muffin, not that anything is wrong with that. But it's racist to criticize her, hell nah.