I was totally indifferent to Miley’s VMA performance just because I never watched it on TV, and only heard about it through word of mouth afterwards. It wasn’t until we started this project that I really got more in depth with this issue and began to see how problematic this ‘new Miley’ really is. And the more and more we talked about it, the more we realized that it isn’t just Miley, either. It’s every single female pop star we see in popular music, and beyond. It’s systemic patriarchy, and most of us (myself included) don’t even realize it.
Female sexuality has become so normalized in society that we think it’s strange when a female singer or performer doesn’t dress sexually or acts provocatively, and we can see that reflected in the amount of albums sold for individual artists. For women in the media today, sexuality is a commodity, and must be sold for publicity and success. Yes, people were offended by Miley’s performance, and it was Miley’s—not Robin Thicke’s—name that was plastered all over the media following that performance. But all press is good press, right? There was certainly more buzz about her album after the performance.
Slut-shaming Miley or any other female pop star that acts provocatively only perpetuates the misogyny we see today in our media. It isn’t the fault of any individual, but rather an entire system that women must work within in order to be successful. But changing a system requires that everyone be aware of said system, and I don’t think we’ve reached that point in time yet. So my solution for now is to notice it! Notice these women’s behavior and question where it’s coming from. Would these pop stars choose to act and dress like this without the existence of this patriarchal system? We may never know the real answer.
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