When it comes to feminism, I have to say that what Miley Cyrus is up to is pretty far down on my list of priorities. So I can’t really believe I’m writing this. But I am, because I’m annoyed.
The whole Miley-twerking-hammer-licking furore has hit the headlines again today thanks to Sinead O’Connor’s open letter to her. And it reminds me (as if i needed any reminding) that, when it comes to a young woman’s behaviour, people always want to have their say. As a female, from a very young age you get used to being commented on all the time. You get told to cheer up by strangers in the street, you get wolf whistled at, you have your choice of clothing or your hair or your arse or your tits remarked upon. Women are public property and everyone feels entitled to say something about us. And so it is with Miley.
In a strange way all this fuss has reminded me of the tedious ‘banning the burqa’ debates that periodically pop up among the media and political class. Anxiety about a separate issue becomes projected onto the female body, which then serves as a proxy for various arguments to be thrashed out, often by men. (Amazing how many people suddenly discover feminism when it involves having a pop at Muslims). Nobody ever asks the women themselves what they think about it.
One suspects that Cyrus is probably having a great time and not that bothered about what Sinead O’Connor or the Daily Mail or the Guardian thinks about her. But because she was once sickly sweet Disney pop star Hanna Montana (when of course she wasn’t exploited or objectified at all) there is some mass anxiety-projection going on, all about young women and their sexuality. (It’s been pointed out by several people how telling it is that Rhianna, purveyor of some of the most sexually suggestive videos ever made, has never been singled out in quite this way).
Of course the record industry, like many industries, is exploitative. Of course female pop stars are objectified and manipulated in unpleasant ways. But if those are the worries let’s direct our anger and comment at the people controlling that. Or better yet, have a broader conversation, about culture, capitalism, exploitation and patriarchy, and listen to what the women affected have to say about it. Let’s stop focusing our anxieties on young female individuals. Because it really, really doesn’t help.
Faith of a saint, soul of a gambler 