In the News
The Miley Blame Game
Everyone's Playing, But Once Again Real Moms Get Stuck Explaining
By: Mary Beth Sammons
The - er - issue hit the stands Friday: Vanity Fair's now infamous spread of Miley Cyrus and her family is available at a checkout counter near you. As the brouhaha dies down, moms of teenage daughters are stuck, once again, trying to figure out how to explain this latest teen-idol fiasco.
Call it The Blame Game: Famed celeb photog Annie Leibovitz claims it's all in the name of Art. The Disney Channel, which airs Cyrus' TV show "Hannah Montana," points the finger Vanity Fair, saying they deliberately manipulated a 15-year-old because sex sells magazines. VF shoots the blame to Miley's folks, who were on the set all day, taking the clueless defense, "well, they should have said something. It's their daughter." For her part, Miley just says she's embarrassed. I bet.
OMG... It's bad enough that young girls across the country are now getting the message that Disney's chosen can strut their stuff - or bare their chests - in semi-nude photo shoots. (What's next? Sleeping Beauty wakes up naked?) No, worse than even this, is the whole "Battle of the Adults" blame shifting that's just teaching young girls how to re-enact life on the kindergarten playground: "He made me do it." "It's her fault." "No, it's his fault."
Reminds me of one of my worst parental lines, which I've used in many a regretful moment (such as when cigarettes appeared "accidentally" in certain teen's hands): "So, if Johnny told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"
Which brings me back to the issue at hand - my 15-year-old daughter's current idol sans clothes in a glossy magazine spread. read more...
How are you explaining the Miley Cyrus pictures to your children? Whose fault REALLY is it?
