So maybe you’ve heard about this?
That’s Miley Cyrus performing at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sunday. It’s been mentioned just about everywhere people have eyes that roll and jaws that drop. You also might’ve heard about it if you tend to frequent places where brows furrow and tongues wag. Places like Planet Earth, for example.
Suffice it to say that the majority of the conversation hasn’t been very supportive of Cyrus, as if that’s a surprise. Older generations love to lambast younger ones for their wild ways and lack of culture, tearing apart someone’s hair and fashion choices is a national pastime and the entire human race has been villifying sexually suggestive women since before the Dance of the Seven Veils. These reactions are just more of the same.
The thing is, though, Miley Cyrus is 21. Do you remember 21?
I do.
I turned 21 in 1996, so I was all about my plaid flannels and babydoll dresses with combat boots. I dyed my hair, I drank too much, I partied all night. I stretched my limits and pushed my boundaries. I made mistakes, sure, but not everything I did was one, nor were my mistakes limited to that particular sliver of time. I was just trying out life, seeing what it had to offer me. Most of all, though, I was having fun. I was carefree. That’s what Miley looks like to me in this video. She’s at a party, she’s having a good time goofing around. She’s the center of attention, as is the wont of all natural-born performers. She’s being a little bit rebellious, a little bit shocking, a little exciting. In one way or another, she’s exactly the same as the rest of us were at her age except we got to do our acting out in relative privacy and she’s featured in no less than a dozen Buzzfeed lists just for this one thing. If there was such a thing as Buzzfeed or TMZ or, hell, even YouTube, camera phones and instant uploads when I came of age, I would still be trying to live down some of my antics, such as:
- Hosted a costume party dressed as a “dominatrix,” spent all night drunk beyond belief and wearing lingerie.
- Gave an impassioned karaoke performance of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know,” (because 1996) complete with sing-shouting and all the emotions of my soul.
- On more than one occasion bought under $1 worth of gas because I’d been out all night partying and had no other money left on me, but my gas tank was on fumes and I was still a few miles from home.
- Was frequently heard loudly saying to a friend, “Silly Cassie, tricks are for whores.”
- Was super loud and obnoxious pretty much everywhere I went, particularly if there was vodka and/or music involved (despite never being an international superstar whose job it was to perform a song about coming into your own on a worldwide stage known for pushing limits).
So maybe cut Miley Cyrus a little bit of slack? I’m sure you have a list of events not unlike my own that you’re grateful the Internet never got photographic proof of.
/jessica
Viable Option 