Good girl gone bad

Eloise Millard questions negative media attitudes towards Miley Cyrus.

I doubt a day has gone by that Miley Cyrus hasn’t had her face in the press since she rose to fame in 2006 as Disney’s golden girl, Hannah Montana. It goes without saying that Miley has come a long way from being a ‘tween’ pop sensation; she’s the good girl gone bad –but, is her dramatic transition really that awful?

I can’t say I have extensive knowledge of Hannah Montana, but I took my younger sister to see Hannah Montana: The Movie and sat through an hour and a half of sing-songing about fame, fashion and boys. Disney may convey conservative-dressing innocence on the exterior, but they are constantly indoctrinating young girls by placing importance on how they dress and whether they have a boyfriend. It’s detrimental at such a crucial time of personal development.

Miley moved on to bigger films, more mature music and became a confident, self-sufficient woman. Her separation from fiancé Liam Hemsworth was public to say the least. Although her lyrics to the controversial Wrecking Ball are no Bohemian Rhapsody, they reveal her emotional, wordly-wise attitude to her hardships.

We can’t say the same for America’s sweetheart, Taylor Swift. Little girls are singing along to Swift’s hit, Picture To Burn in which the lyrics state her “Daddy” will show her ex “how sorry” he’ll be, alongside threatening to tell people he’s “gay” and using the derogatory term “redneck”. It’s evident who has the upper hand here. Taylor is idolised for her seeming sickly sweetness, however, she’s certainly done her round of Hollywood.

Swift had several public romances, Miley was engaged for three years, yet she’s the one labelled a “slut”. Miley may have had intimate relations with a foam finger but her appearance at the VMAs was on after the watershed. She can’t be labelled as a bad influence when no child should have been up that late to watch the show. As for the Wrecking Ball video, there’s only been a public outcry because of the negative stigma associated with nudity, a rather backwards way of thinking.

Miley will never escape the judgemental, slut-shaming press but surely being herself is far better than prancing around in sequins on the Disney channel, telling little girls how good it is to be famous. I think Miley really has got the “best of both worlds.”