To begin, a disclaimer: I’m compelled to write about Miley Cyrus again, in large part because she’s being taken to task for her choices by someone quite surprising. But that’s not all I’m going to focus on here. So if you’re as weary of hearing about Cyrus’ bad behavior as I am, please bear with me and keep reading.
It’s been an interesting week or so—albeit a vexing one in some ways—in the world of pop culture, particularly in the way today’s female pop singers feel compelled to push the envelope sexually in order to garner attention.
That’s hardly a new trend, of course. And it’s no surprise that Cyrus continues to push the boundaries of this racy game with each passing day. Last week’s antics involved her posing for topless photographs, for instance, crossing the line from “almost” nudity into the real thing. In a blitzkrieg of risqué moves that likely would leave even Lindsay Lohan’s head spinning, Miley has played virtually every sexuality card in her hand, it seems, in the run up to the release of her new album Bangerz (out today).
But even as Miley pushes the bar of bad behavior ever lower in the name of publicity, some other high-profile celebrities have actually expressed hesitation as of late about that very trajectory—namely Britney Spears and Katy Perry, of all people. (More on that in a minute.)
And then there’s the real outlier: Sinead O’Connor. The 47-year-old Irish singer is no stranger to inciting controversy herself, of course, having once sought ordination in the all-male Catholic priesthood, for example.
But last week, O’Connor played the unlikely part not of agent provocateur, but of conservative (and concerned) critic. She unleashed several blistering critiques via three open letters to Miley on her Facebook page. The first voiced the essence of her concern that Miley is, in essence, prostituting herself in her pursuit of fame. Lest that language sound too strong, I’ll let O’Connor speak for herself (which she does with fairly salty language, so be forewarned in that):
I wasn’t going to write this letter, but today I’ve been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your “Wrecking Ball” video was designed to be similar to the one for [O’Connor’s hit] “Nothing Compares” … So this is what I need to say … And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love. I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether it’s the music business or yourself doing the pimping. Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent. … The music business doesn’t give a s‑‑‑ about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think it’s what YOU wanted. And when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, ‘they’ will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.
Frankly, that’s one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever heard one celebrity say to another. But O’Connor doesn’t stop there:
This is a dangerous world. We don’t encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media. You are worth more than your body or your sexual appeal. The world of showbiz doesn’t see things that way, they like things to be seen the other way, whether they are magazines who want you on their cover, or whatever. Don’t be under any illusions. ALL of them want you because they’re making money off your youth and your beauty. Which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business. If you have an innocent heart you can’t recognise those who do not. I repeat, you have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you. You shouldn’t let them make a fool of you either.
Then, toward the end, she concludes:
Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women. The message you keep sending is that its somehow cool to be prostituted. It’s so not cool Miley. It’s dangerous. Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality.
Apart from one line in which O’Connor wrote, “Your body is for you and your boyfriend,” and a few f- and s-words scattered throughout, the substance of that counsel to Miley made me want to stand up and cheer. It’s deeply refreshing to hear another celebrity articulate very clearly how and why Miley’s choices are so damaging and demeaning, both to herself and to those who might be influenced by her.
Interestingly, O’Connor wasn’t the only celebrity this week suggesting that perhaps unleashing blatant and unbridled sexuality isn’t the best strategy.
In an interview with a Boston radio station, Britney Spears suggested that even though the video for her new song “Work B‑‑ch” is still very steamy, it could have been worse—and that her role as a mother is beginning (perhaps in small ways) to influence how she approaches her career:
Oh my god, we showed way more skin and did way more stuff for the video than what is actually there. Like, I cut out half the video because I am a mother and because, you know, I have children, and it’s just hard to play sexy mom while you’re being a pop star as well. I just have to be true to myself and feel it out when I do stuff.
She also hinted that even she was beginning to tire of what’s required of a sexy pop star these days. “A lot of sex goes into what I do,” she said. “But sometimes I would like to bring it back to the old days when there was, like, one outfit through the whole video, and you’re dancing the whole video, and there’s like not that much sex stuff going on.”
No one who watches the video for “Work B‑‑ch” is going to give Britney any awards for restraint. It’s still very sensual, with plenty of skin and suggestive writhing on display (both hers and that of her retinue of backup dancers). But if Britney’s even beginning to realize that perhaps there’s such a thing as being too sexy onscreen, maybe there’s hope for Miley, too.
Elsewhere out in the pop culture ether last week, Rihanna released a smolderingly sensual video for her new track “Pour It Up,” which pays homage to strippers throughout. That prompted Katy Perry to respond in a radio interview, “Maybe I’m just getting a little bit older, and as you get older, you realize, ‘Oh I don’t know if I can pull that off anymore. … I think I want to keep the attention on my music. I really have a lot of confidence in my songs that are coming out, and that’s where I need most of the focus.”
As with Britney, I don’t expect Katy Perry to be quite as demure as she sounds here when videos for her new songs show up. Still, it seems as if both Katy and Britney have begun to inch in the direction that Sinead O’Connor has laid out. They’ve both begun to realize that when all they have to sell is sex, they end up selling themselves short.
Here’s hoping Miley wakes up to that lesson somewhere down the road, too.
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