Miley Cyrus

There is a grain of substance in all this juvenile ranting. The twerking outrage is fueled by America’s fear that our girls are losing their innocence too soon. If they’re mad that their beloved Hannah Montana became too adult too fast, I can sympathize. I have a seven-year-old girl, and some of her toys make me want to throw up. I used to think Bratz were bad because they look like prostitutes, but the new Monster High dolls she brought home look like dead prostitutes. We were at another 7-year-old’s birthday party this weekend and one of the girls was wearing high heels. They weren’t 5” stilettos, but she wasn’t exactly stable in them, either. We can block our computers and put family guards on the TV, but in the Internet age it’s virtually impossible to hide the adult world from a child. The documentary Sexy Baby does a great job of showing how over-sexualized American childhood has become. When Americans saw Miley twerk they were reminded of the disturbing dances they’ve seen their own daughters do, and it made them angry. We live in a world where toddlers know how to use stripper poles. Children who have no idea what sex is are singing “I’m sexy and I know it.” Today’s teens grew up with online porn and teenage girls are expected to do things that would make porn stars from the 1970s gag, literally.

However, Miley Cyrus is 20 years old. When Shirley Temple was that age, she retired and focused on raising a family. I’m sure many would prefer Hannah did that, but Temple only did it after her career died a slow death. Besides, lifespans were much shorter then. Miley’s still got a few years of partying left in her. All young girls twerk. It’s the hot new dance. I heard when Harmony Korine went down to Florida to research his movie Spring Breakers, he was stunned by how ubiquitous the dance was. It’s half his movie. My wife recently attended a bachelorette party when she was eight months pregnant and out of 12 women, she was the only one who was not upside down making her ass “clap” (as Nicky Da B says).

I think America is right to be worried about their daughters’ loss of virtue. We do have to be vigilant about our kids and try to preserve their innocence for as long as possible, but at 20, or maybe even 18, all bets are off. To rail against an adult pop star for being sexual is as ridiculous as refusing to film Elvis below the waist because his hips are too suggestive (a problem he’s still having).

It’s naïve to assume women in this day and age are forced to be sexual. I”€™ve seen them when they get dressed up for “€œLadies”€™ Night.”€ They all look like Bratz. College professors tell us women are brainwashed into doing porn, but they do it for free all the time. Look up the word “€œNaughty”€ on Vine and you”€™ll see endless six-second videos of adult women making free adult content for the masses.

We definitely have to keep trying to keep adult content way from our children, but it’s not Miley’s problem. It’s ours.