Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: A perspective.

Here's my take on this Miley Cyrus/Vanity Fair/internet photo issue.

This is the gist: I don't think it's appropriate for parents to allow their children or to support their children to idolize personalities like Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears (more of my demographic) or any other human figure. Obviously the character they portray in the media is very much styled and formed to suit a market, and they are subject to being swayed and influenced by the market (which is fickle and often driven by an obsession with material goods or striving to be beautiful/thin/etc).

These girls, Cyrus, Spears, Lohan, during the burgeoning and sometimes climax (as is the case of Cyrus right now) are still children and cannot nor should not be expected to be consistent role models. The pressures placed on them to be professional and to adhere to the moral standards that parents expect for their children are obviously (as is proven in many cases) too great for a child or teenager to deal with. We (as an audience) are told of how mature (precocious) and driven these kids are to do what they do by reporters, producers, their parents; but I would think that parents realize the behaviour of their own children who make mistakes and have moral crises in their personal lives. Obviously, it's not unbelievable for a celebrity child/teen to do the same. Except with millions of people watching and criticizing.

Take, for instance, the candid (self-portraitesque) photos of Cyrus. To me, they remind me of the self-conscious/self-promoting pictures taken by my peers in high school (Compare: High school age ~14-18) to post of Myspace, Facebook, any other social networking website. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as it's gotten her a lot of press), the photos were leaked to the public. That said, what would parents say if they saw photos of their kids (in high school!) and the photos they take of themselves or of friends online? This isn't unheard of behaviour! Additionally, thinking back to my high school experience (I went to a good school, most of us pursued post-secondary education, etc), a good number of us (not me :P!) experimented with alcohol in grade 10 (15-16 years old!). A lot had boyfriends. A lot did more than hold hands with their boyfriends.

Does this make it excusable? No, nor does it make it right, but it doesn't make it surprising either. Teenagers rebel and try to discover their own identity separate from that of their parents. This should be expected behaviour, not the method that it is being performed, but the general trend of a search for self--Erik Erikson describes key conflicts that must occur in each major developmental period in a person's lifetime.

Parents shouldn't let their kids idolize or make role models of celebrities, or any person, really. Maybe I'm jaded, but people aren't perfect, and have a demonstrated track record of messing up. In the case of young celebrities, their mess ups are well-documented and made known. However, in the case of CHILD CELEBRITIES, what makes them seem adept to be a role model? The fact that they're still maturing and growing? That they're undergoing puberty/hormonal fluxes? Miley Cyrus, or the others, aren't quasi-models of behaviour to replace parents teaching their kids values. If anything, thank Cyrus for the (forced) opportunity to bring to the open issues that are present in most young teenagers who are learning about sexuality and becoming curious and are probably less innocent than parents assume.

That said, peace out.

PS I totally blame Cyrus' parents for this debacle (the Vanity Fair bit). THEY WERE WITH HER TAKING PHOTOS. EFFING BILLY RAY (SP?) WAS IN SOME OF THEM, and who ditches their kid at work once their part of the work is done..?

PPS I also think that Cyrus has only a TINY shred of actual talent or appeal. I will admit to enjoying the occasional Zoey 101 or Suite Life. But I find absolutely no interest or enjoyment in watching Hannah Montana. Seriously, that kid (Cyrus) has a grating voice and personality. I do not get it. That is all.