Miley Cyrus - she poses topless, just like US!

Don't kids do the darnedest things?!

Not that this should surprise you, what with Linday Lohan posing naked and High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens taking naked pics of herself and Dakota Fanning getting all dolled up for Marc Jacobs (not to mention the sexual assault scene she filmed, at age 12, for Hounddog), but now everyone is all, "Miley Cyrus posed naked!" about her Vanity Fair cover.

Golf claps for the public's faux-shock.

Please. This kind of crap happens All. The. Time.

Now, Miley is apologizing for the pic, saying, ""I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed...I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

I was interviewed yesterday by abcnews.com, and I think they captured my feelings well with the following quotes (PS Shout-out to Weighting Game in the article!!):

"I wouldn't call it a nude photo, but it is suggestive. She has that 'come hither' look on her face and the sexy little pout. Part of me says, 'who wants to blame her in our society where young women are becoming sexual objects at such a young age?' But another part of me says, 'her parents were on the set and could have said something.'...I think the danger is a young girl who looks up to Miley, sees the picture and thinks how sexy she looks and [how] beautiful she wants to be. The next thing you know, she and her girlfriend have their photos on YouTube."

The kicker, and what concerns me most: The message young girls draw from these types of images is "I need to take my clothes off to be loved," Goldman said. This, my friends, is why we're talking about this on WG - body image is a factor. A young woman deriving her sense of confidence from semi-nudity is a problem. Need I mention the fact her ribs are showing in the back?

This is a 15-year-old girl. Let's call a spade a spade - these are sexualized mages of a teenager. And I'm not really placing blame on the photographer...Annie Leibovitz is incredibly respected and was doing her job, a job whose context, it appears, was understood at the get-go by all parties involved. I mean, hello, taking off your top and covering your chest with a satin sheet does not a Bible-thumping conservative pictorial make. And there have been pics of Miley at the shoot smiling and giggling. She was not, it appears, uncomfortable.

Rather, she is doing what our society has told her to do. What countless starlets before her have done. Disrobe...feel beautiful...be loved. (Note, I do feel the ABC story took my quotes a bit too far when they said I place full blame on the media - I understand Miley has a mind of her own and no one overtly held her down and screamed, "You will take these photos for Vanity Fair!"

It's probably not helping matters that this whole Vanity Fair scandale is occuring in the wake of those bra shots of a possible Miley.

Also, is this pic of Miley and her daddy creeping anyone else out as much as me?

The last time I was sprawled out across my dad like that, I was six years old and vomiting up funnel cake after a spin on the ferris wheel.

Comments

Um, that's her dad???

Gosh, where have I been? I had no idea incest was the latest Hollywood trend. Because I don't think it's your imagination--that picture seems fully intended to be "edgy" and imply the two might be lovers.

Ick. It's beyond creepy.

And congrats on the interview--well said, and I totally agree with your take on all this.

I'm surprised the pictures have drawn as much controversey as they did. It's a photo of a girl's... back. Remember Brit's Rolling Stone cover at 16? To me, she was wearing clothes for that cover, but it was far more sexual.

I was so UP IN ARMS about all this.

seriously miffed that anyone was trying to pin it on amazingfabuloustalented ANNIE!

and the father/daughter totally creeped me out when I saw it.

although no more than what he has said and she has exclaimed gleefully when they are interviewed.

a little too close for this mama's comfort.

It's a shame Miley felt the need to make public her 'feelings' of disappointment at the photos in the wake of the outcry. I wonder what her response would have been if public reaction was positive? It shows a child who is obviously influenced by others, who has no mind of her own or strength of character and who's only objective is to be popularly famous. We all saw what happened to Britney after choosing that path....and honestly, in 2 weeks no one's going to give a £$%^$!!

Lesley,
I couldn't respond to your poll because I think it is a big deal but its not exploitative, she's a smart girl she knew what she was doing and her parents were there, they are now trying to say they had stepped out while this photos was taken - please how convenient. It is a nude shot because the only parts of
her body that we can see are nude, it was intended to give the impression that she is nude under the sheet, I am sick to death of all these young
girls acting like whores and this is not the first time, she has already been on the internet holding her bra strap in a provactive way. they know what they are doing. also the dad shot is not a cuddly girl snuggles up to daddy shot, it's also too provactive. I dont blame annie L. she's a good photographer. the parents are to blame, and especially Billy ray for agreeing to pose like that with her. he should have said "lets pose more like a fether and daugheter really would."

Good call on the ribs. I had the same thought. Yeah, she's naked. But she's also so skinny, pale and sunken-eyed that she looks tubercular. You know- the current trend for beautiful, healthy girls.

The thing that creeps me out about the daddy-daughter photo is how he's not even looking at her in a fatherly way. It's almost as if he is treating her like the sex object everyone else is now.

The cynical part of me wonders if the whole thing wasn't engineered to go down this way for maximum publicity.

I remember one time when i was about 14 or 15, which is when your hormones start raging and you want all the boys to like you, i put on a belly baring halter top to go to school. My mom immediately knew something was up when i had a huge sweatshirt on to head out the door, made me show her what little i was wearing underneath and promptly turned me around and made me change. I was mad of course, because its my body and i can wear what i want (typical teen tantrum) but thinking back, and knowing a little more of what goes on in kids that ages head, she probably saved me from a slut reputaion and garnering attention through my looks instead of my personality. If i started dressing that way, that young, the only way to go from there is more risque.
Being in the public eye, there isnt anyone to tell you "thats inappropriate" so as she gets older, she will continue to push that line of "sexy" further, until the only thing left to do to get "sexy attention" is not wear underwear.

www.everygymsnightmare.com

I remember one time when i was about 14 or 15, which is when your hormones start raging and you want all the boys to like you, i put on a belly baring halter top to go to school. My mom immediately knew something was up when i had a huge sweatshirt on to head out the door, made me show her what little i was wearing underneath and promptly turned me around and made me change. I was mad of course, because its my body and i can wear what i want (typical teen tantrum) but thinking back, and knowing a little more of what goes on in kids that ages head, she probably saved me from a slut reputaion and garnering attention through my looks instead of my personality. If i started dressing that way, that young, the only way to go from there is more risque.
Being in the public eye, there isnt anyone to tell you "thats inappropriate" so as she gets older, she will continue to push that line of "sexy" further, until the only thing left to do to get "sexy attention" is not wear underwear.

www.everygymsnightmare.com

Okay, I didn't notice that was Mr. Achy Breaky until you pointed it out. Now I'm kinda skeezed a little bit.

At any rate, I think Miley just fell prey to what she sees in magazines and was emulating that the same way young girls emulate her. No doubt there was also some pressure from the photog and camera crew as well.

FUN FACT: a friend of mine that goes to NYU used to nanny for Annie and shes a raging bitch. her kids are adorable but spoiled beyond belief: she wasnt allowed to tell them "no." She quit. To quit nannying for Annie Leibovitz, it must have been hell.

Why does she do that stupid pout all the time? i cant stand it. Just shows that little girls shouldnt be trying to act sexy, it makes you look like youre having an allergic reaction.

I honestly don't see the big deal with the Vanity Fair photos. To me, the pictures don't make her look like a "whore" and they actually do look artistic to me. I also don't see how some people who are upset by the photos can place all the blame on the girl and her parents and none of the blame on Annie Leibovitz just because they are fans of hers. Leibovitz is the artist and she is the one who was directing the photos. Just because Miley's parents didn't step in and change the course of the photo shoot doesn't mean that Leibovitz should bear none of the culpability herself for the images she created. Either way, Miley and her family seem to understand that no publicity is bad publicity in Hollywood when you want to stay in the spotlight.

Very creepy father-daughter picture.

There's something to be said for age when it comes to posing nude for photos like that... considering how young her fans are and how young she is, it's not the best way to promote healthy body image (as compared to, for example, those photos a while back of a non-airbrushed Jamie Lee Curtis). The reason for the photo, the attitude and the age/experience/image of the model are all huge factors as to what makes it appropriate or inappropriate.

Nikki - good point on how Brit was wearing more clothing but managed to lookeven more sexualized. YEs, it's just Miley's back. But it's just one more example of girls being portrayed as sex objects in our culture.

Kelly T - I did the whole "sneak out and switch outfits" thing only once...usually my mom would see my outfit and make me change because, rightfully so, it was skanky. But there was this (it sounds horrifying) multi-colored striped faux-turleneck sleeveless bodysuit (!!!) from Contempo Casual that was super tight and I thought looked SO hot with my black jeans. I switched in my parent's minivan on the way to a party where I was designated driver. Fun times.

There are about 3 things that bother me about this whole controversy. First is that the photo showing Miley's back is considered racy. To me it really looks like a fine art painting from specifically the Renaissance. It has the kind of ethereal peace that a painting from that time would show. I have more of a problem with 15-y/o running around in bikinis (and honestly, I don't have a problem with that, but the point is, it's the same exact thing).

Second, posing tastefully nude like that doesn't worsen body image - in my opinion it shows that Miley has a very positive body image and is comfortable in her own skin.

Third, I agree - that pic with her dad is CREEPY!!!!

Just typical of today's world isn't it? Been to the local mall recently and looked at the 12 yr old girls? or watched them walking home from school in their uniforms? hardly the children of our age. Our kids brought up in world of technology that exceeds our evolution.
Personally I wouldn't care who Leibovitz was, I wouldn't have allowed that type of photo to be used to exploit my daughter. Art? Maybe, but keep it at home for personal use. And yes, of course those photo's of her and her father are sexual and inapprioate. Makes me wonder if they are all just so caught up in the 'me,me,me' world and went off the rails a bit on what's ok in today's society. Let's face it, their reality is not our reality and unless they have good grounding people around them it is probably easy to get let down the garden path and misled. I'm waiting for my 10yr old daughter to get out of bed and I'll ask her opinion on what she thinks of the photo as she's a HUGE fan of Miley's. I'll use the image to teach.....

Mr. Dad himself has been riding on his daughters coat tail long enough..let her be a teenager...and experience all the facts of life..even the ones that fail us..it makes us who we are today as a human being

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

I asked my 10yr old daughter Sam what she thought of Miley's photo and first thing was "Woo! that's not cool" and then asked how old she was again. Sam thought she looked sick and asked if her parents weren't there when the photo's were taken.

I have a saying I use........."just cause you can....doesn't mean you should" and think applies to these photos.

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

ohh my f-ing gosh it's a bare back
what's wrong with that she's a teen showing a bare back no side clevage no lolly pops and pig tail it's very tasteful and i think she looks beautiful not skanky slutty or anything else i think she looks beautiful when did people become so scared of there bare skin i'm sure that every single person that says that she looks to slutty or to much like a whore hates there body and can't stand them selves i'm a bigger girl and proud of it and don't think that i'm just backing her up cause i'm her hugest fan cause i'm not i can't stand her or her nasty accent i'm backing up the picture and only the picture sorry miley if you come across this and honestly it's not a crotchagraph or anything so you blogers just gotta chill
and YAH THINK THAT PIC WITH HER DAD WAS PRETTY CREEPY i think it wound have had potencial if it had like a stormy background with a lion king tree in the backgrond other than that yah totally

Bunny, not everyone who criticizes these photos is a self-hating prude. She's 15. She should be allowed to be a kid. The photo makes her look sick, and this idea that in order to be "grown up" you have to be a passive, sexualized object at the age of 15 is pretty gross.
And, yeah, the photo with her dad creeps me out!

This isn't a painting, or an "artsy" photo, and I'm normally a fan of A.L's photos. It's exploiting a kid. A kid who, I'm sure, was talked into it by the adults surrounding her.

All I have to say is that with pictures like these what kind of message are we sending to sexual predators who feed on 14,15,16 yr old girls? When you put a picture like this out there, which, you have to admit does have a sexual overtone, you are inviting sexual predators to think, "Ok, this is normal, I'm supposed to be attracted to 15yr old girls because, look, the media says it is ok!" I consider myself pretty liberal on most issues but this one turns my stomach. The situation is made even worse by the fact that the media perpetuates the situation by showing the photo continuously.
I definitely would not want my 15yr old daughter in a picture like this, and even more I wouldn't want it all over the media.

And....the picture with her Dad isn't much better...it is as bad as that awful dancing show, "Your Momma Don't Dance"...it gives me the creeps, I feel like I should look away...fast.

My boyfriend and I were talking about this just this morning-I can't believe that Billy Ray Cyrus let her do it in the first place. Ultimately, the photos are beautiful, BUT she is ONLY 15 and she is a role model for girls much much younger. I don't like the message it sends to them (which includes my 3 pre-teen nieces). It's a very adult scene painted by someone who ISN'T-despite her chosen career-an adult. Call me old fashioned (at the age of 26) but what happened to modesty? Why does it have to be about sex? Why can't she just be wholesome? After losing Jamie-Lynn Spears, young girls need someone to look up to. Thank goodness for Raven-Symone.
**(This conversation also led me to a rant about L-Lo being in rehab before she was legally allowed to consume and how the clubs she frequented should've been shut down for serving minors-it doesn't matter if they are celebrities, they are underage! Clubs in the real world have been shut down for less.)

i dont think it was as bad as everyone is putting it out to be. it was not nude photos and i think people are being ridiculous about it.

i dont think it was as bad as everyone is putting it out to be. it was not nude photos and i think people are being ridiculous about it.

I think her photo is more creepy than racy. She looks like she hasnt seen sunlight in about ten years. It is interesting that she goes from a Disney channel show - to posing for photos half naked - but i suppose you have to eventually branch out from being a mousketeer (i think thats what they were called, they were actually a little before my time....) but as long as she doesnt pull a brittany spears I think we'll be okay.
But yes picture with her dad is freakin creepy as anything - I dont think I ever looked at my dad like that.

ps leslie - i just got my womens health magazine any articles written by you?
pps - love your blog, i have just started reading it, and went back and read most of the archives (i actually did have better things to do with my life, but oh well, i was getting hooked) anywho just saying hi!

I think It's Creepy the way the father always is touching her. Makes me uncomfotable, and then alwos her to be sexy acting at such a young age Hmm

I don't think the pics themselves are skanky, but the fact that she's 15 makes it inappropriate. I think they are artistic. And if the model was Keira Knightley or someone similar, no one would have a problem. What bothers me more about young Miley is the OTHER pictures recently publicized. THOSE were skanky. A child splayed across a young man, allowing him to touch her in an intimate way. My daughter is 6 and has a room full of Hannah Montana: toys, calendar, posters, freakin birthday cards that sing. My best bet is to hope she doesn't see the pictures. She doesn't watch much TV, so it's possible. She's too young to understand what Miley's done and how it's inappropriate, and she loves her so much that I'm kind of at a Catch-22. I understand that Miley is growing up and out of Hannah Montana, but is it too much to ask that she do it with a little more class and taste than this? And the pic with her dad? Yeah, a bit creepy. If my husband did that with our little girl, I'd have serious issue with it.

Kim
the photos are beautiful just not appropriate for 15yr old. I am not a particular annie L "fan" but I don't think in any way its her reponsibility to make the shoot suitable, that is her parents job. I hate that in modern society people wants everyone to be responsible for their kids. for exampe rappers cant use foul language etc because of kids, - No how about they can say what they like and you are responsible to make sure your kids are not listening to it. same thing here annie can take whatver photo she wants if you like a dumbass let her do it.

The photo looks arsty (not rude) to me...but not appropraite for someone so young. Seriously...why?

My real creep ou tis the father daughter picture. NOT normal.

I can not believe what a huge deal everyone is making of this picture. It is a beautiful picture and it not rique at all for a 15 year old girl. There are other things in the world that we should be worrying about. The picture with her father is not a big deal either. There is nothing wrong with that photo. He's not touching her an anyway inappropriate he's holding her hand which fathers do. Get over it people and move on.

Ok, that doesn't look like a very fatherly- daughterly photo. She looks like she's his girlfriend!!!

I think that there is so much reaction and watchfulness against males who might be predators that it has spilled into father/daughter relationships. Maybe we're overreacting and just expecting it to be creepy because he's a man! One poster said that the last time she was like that with her dad was when she was six. To me that's a little sad, when daughters and dads have to be too careful in their relationship. Some dads are even weird about giving hugs to their daughters once they're teens/preteens...

I see nothing wrong with the dad and daughter photo, he isn't even looking at her. He is holding onto one hand and looking towards something else. But I do agree that as a 15yr. old role model she should not look too sexy. My daughter is 11 and she is dressing in what girls dress like today, but not because of stars(she doesn't even look at magazines at this time). And if hers parents were to step out of the way and let her be in the public's eye by herself, then you are asking for another Jamie Lyn Spears. I think it is right for her parents to be there for her because I would like to be there for my kids when and if they fall. I love them to much to let them go off by themselves especially in todays world. If I could homeschool my kids I would. I am glad that Mily at least has a dad who will help her out, it is a tough world. I wish my dad would have been there for me, and I am hoping my husband is there for his daughters when they need him. So just leave the critisim about her pics alone,blame the photographer

I am not offended by these pictures. Although there is no way on this earth that my 15 year old daughter would ever be allowed to pose for anything without her clothes on. It is just her back, but what is the point of going naked even with a sheet to cover her? I thought her other (bra) pictures were worse than these and no apology. It seems like it is just a typical Hollywood thing these days to expose themselves for publicity and more dollars. Sex sells right? When preacher's kid Toni Braxton posed nude for Vibe magazine I stopped buying her CDs. I did not understand why she did it. Pretty Rihanna is barely legal, takes her clothes off, poses in lingerie/panties in Atlanta Peach magazine and with married men like Robin Thicke who lick/bite her ears and no one says a thing. Why because she is 19 or 20 now? I mean why do girls/young ladies do this? Where are their parents in this matter? Just because they are millionaires does not mean they will make good decisions. They obviously still need guidance/self- esteem

It's really not 'just a back' and I think it's pretty naive to suggest otherwise. Everything we see in the media is representative - a symbol - of what we value as a culture. Whether you buy into the symbol is a different issue. As Leslie said, the fact that it is not the only example of a young girl being sexualized in the media, says something about what the larger culture sees as acceptable.

I've been really on the fence about this one. There are just SO MANY nekkid pics of celebs out there, young/old/in between, that they really didn't faze me. And yes, this one is really very beautiful. But then I think about my cousin who is only a couple years younger than Miley ... and whoa.

What *really* gets me though is the transparent attempt to cover up what is a clear (to me at least) career move. Pose all sassy-like, then have all the apologetic sound bites ready to go when the photos are "leaked." Best of both worlds, that is.

Give it a rest! Don't you all have lives to live? She probably needed publicity! How could she not know what the shots would look like? She did the poses. She and her dad posed together as well and they knew what the pose looked like.

Also, Annie is a fabulous photographer and probably took shots she was paid to take.

My 11-year old daughter immediately said: ..but doesn't she have to put down the sheet to change poses? Everyone sees everything then. This, in response to my comment that everything was covered in the photo so why the fuss. Smart kid.

More frightening, MY first reaction was, do they ever feed that girl? She's attempting to portrait sensual, but I can count every bone in her spine. This is sexy? PLEASE don't add to the idea that starvation is the only way to win male attention!

Looks like the poster for a revival of "Les Miserables."