Dear America: Are You A Pedophile?

May 1, 2008 9:30 am     Posted in Buzz, Sex  Elizabeth-Baruch College g+ page

cusl02_miley0806.jpgSo I’ve got to vent. Being a writer and all, it’s always easier for me to vent in the form of a letter, so here you go:


By Elizabeth

Dear America,

Are you a pedophile? If you could just admit that you are one, then I would at least understand your sick obsession with underage Hollywood girls and their bodies. But since you’re going to pretend like the way you view bodies and sex is normal, I have no choice but to be angry.

Miley Cyrus is supposed to feel badly about the pictures she’s recently taken. One set of pictures features her in her underwear. Another set features her showing her…her…disgustingly inappropriate…BACK.

So what if the girl took some pictures of herself in her underwear? How is that really any different from her going to the beach and having pictures taken of her in her bathing suit? Oh…let me guess…it’s about the context of it all. A girl showing her tummy and thighs when she’s NOT post-ocean and in public is out of line.

And so what if she was wearing a sheet in a photo shoot? Did her back and right arm really offend you or give your children nightmares?

From Vanessa Hudgens to Emma Watson, you have grown progressively more and more concerned with how short a teenager’s skirt is or how much leg she is showing. Please, just explain it to me. Explain to me your definitions of ‘appropriate’ and why you feel as though they should apply to everyone in this country.

Until you explain yourself to me, I’m just going to assume you’re a pedophile who gets turned on seeing Miley Cyrus’ back and then you feel guilty about it and scapegoat her into feeling like she did something wrong.

Oh, and I’m only wearing a towel right now. Send me to hell.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth

14 Comments on "Dear America: Are You A Pedophile?"

  1. B says:
    Thu, 1st May 20085:19 am 

    Hahahaha.

    People seriously need to lay off of her. The pictures were in no way ~provocative. I thought it was a really good photography looking at it artistically. If they're so offended, maybe they should look at their 15 year old daughter's MySpace pictures…

  2. Christine says:
    Thu, 1st May 20085:20 am 

    Haha. I agree. I think people have taken this to an extreme. Although a few people brought up that this was wrong because it was placed in an adult magazine for adults to see. Oi.

    In my mind, if you can realize that she's only 15 and that she's doing this for her career, then it's no big deal. It's not like she's putting out sex tapes for goodness sake. And she's still a far cry from Lohan, the Spears girls, and Paris. I think people are just waiting for her to even appear to be slightly slutty so they can spaz. Which is incredibly sad.

  3. Eliza says:
    Thu, 1st May 20085:51 am 

    Looking at the picture from an artistic standing point, it's quite a lovely picture. It's very well done and the lighting is great. However, she is fifteen and famous, so of course there will be some broohaha (I love that word). But as you brought up, if anyone went to myspace or facebook or the thousand other websites that people mindlessly post pictures of themselves on, they would see far more "scandalous" images of girls even younger than her.

  4. Casey says:
    Thu, 1st May 20086:53 am 

    I don't see what the fuss is about with these pictures. But B, you kind of shot yourself in the foot with the comment about little girls myspace pictures, because that is exactly why people are mad. Because Miley Cyrus is the biggest teen icon right now and millions of little girls look up to her. if sh is taking half nude pictures of herself then even more little girls myspaces are going to be littered with half nude pictures. As a celebrity she has to choose to be a role model 100% or a screw up like everyone else is in the eyes of America. Parents see these pictures and they see the way their kid worships miley then it clicks, "uh oh my daughter is going to think this is ok!" So there is a reason for the criticism.

  5. giz says:
    Thu, 1st May 20087:11 am 

    Did YOU actually see Vanessa's pics? I've seen the whole set (don't ask why) and they include full nudity. So that would be cause for concern, one'd think.

    But for Cyrus… I don't care if she poses that way, but she's too young to be in Vanity Fair. She's a freakin Disney kid, and that mag is for real stars. She has done nothing but live off her dad's fame.

  6. uhh says:
    Thu, 1st May 200810:47 am 

    um hello "giz" miley is a real star, her albums top the charts, she has a hit show, and has a following of not only tweens but of people much older as well, which is soo her fathers fame now isnt it? she has mad talent and she deserves to be on the cover of Vanity Fair. i'm sure she works harder than you do.

  7. Dasha says:
    Thu, 1st May 200811:46 am 

    I dont think this whole thing is only about Miley Cyrus, I think she was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The camel being the sexualization of young girls. I don't think that she set out to be "sexy" or anything, but it does worry me how girls are being shown by the media and their peers that being revealing, sexy, flirtier is ok at younger and younger ages. No one can tell me that some guy doesnt have that photo up in his room to look at in a not so innocent mindset. That being said, I do feel like her parents should have monitored this shoot more closely, although the rest of she shoot is beautiful, minus the creepy one of her lounging on her dad.

    I like Miley, I won't lie, I am 22 years old and I rock out to this 15 year olds songs in my car when they are on the radio. It is true she wasn't the first and she won;t be the last young girl to take photos where she doesn't have enough clothing on for her age bracket. But I think we all have to realize that it is ADULTS in the big media who are fueling the sexualizaton of America's teens and preteens.

    I know we all grew up and when we wore our little miniskirts our grandmothers were shocked that we wore such things and they never did when they were our age. It makes me wonder what girls will be wearing when I am a grandmother.

  8. molly says:
    Thu, 1st May 200812:30 pm 

    I think its funny that everyone is making a big deal out of the photograph of her "nude" picture, as they call it. I find the picture of her posed with her dad FAR more creepy. They're posed like lovers would be. ew.

    My biggest problem with the pic is that she looks so skinny! She could be the posterchild for a sandwich! :P

  9. Keith says:
    Thu, 1st May 200810:58 pm 

    People just bitch about anything they can today. It was bruoght to my attention on another site that we really are a messed up country. I mean, I knew that, but this in particular.

    Two weeks ago on Lost. They had absolutely no problem shooting quite five or six people in a row. Followed by someone's teenage daughter. But when Kate went to remove part of her top. That had to be shot carefully to avoid any nudity.

    A lot of America is just scared of sex pure and simple.

    Personally, I don't care if she poses with clothes or without clothes. It's not a big deal to me at all. We were born nude, there is nothing wrong with sex or nudity. People just need to stop being so touchy. But I think the worse thing about this whole mess was the PR clean up. "They didn't know what was happening." Bullshit!

  10. Jaime says:
    Sat, 3rd May 20086:41 am 

    Did any one of you ever see Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Remember that Miley Cyrus is a high school Sophomore and there are worse things she could be doing. And when I read the part about it just being her back I started cracking up because that is exactly what I said when it came out on Entertainment Tonight.

  11. Sarah says:
    Wed, 7th May 200812:10 pm 

    I thought i was the only one who felt like this was a huge reaction.

    She is not your daughter.

    Nobody makes you buy vanity fair.

    So get over it.she can do what ever she wants. theres a lot worse then showing a bit of back….ooohhh.

    would wearing a low back dress make it any worse?

    Seriously,she grinds when she sings and is caked in make up.how suprised can you be? There are 15 year old models wearing a lot less and i really dont see what the problem is, she knew the score and wasnt forced into it.

  12. Mary says:
    Wed, 7th May 20087:44 pm 

    Glad to know I wasn't the only person who didn't find Miley's pictures offensive. In reality the media knows they aren't too…forever on the hunt for a scandal though they simply made one up. Having said that, I agree with what Casey said about girls her age thinking this is perfectly normal behavior and posting their own semi nude photo shoots online. Or worse sending nude photos to their boyfriends who then forward them to every guy they know AND post them online.

    But you can't blame Miley's "camp", if you will, for not forseeing this backlash…after all fellow Disney star Vanessa Hudgens was butt naked in intentionally sexy photos that ended up all over the internet yet the hulabaloo and outrage over the photos died out at an intriguingly fast rate. Maybe that gave them a false sense of security.

    (Or maybe the hulabaloo died out so quickly because Disney has… connections. lol.)

  13. gregory dykes says:
    Tue, 5th Aug 20089:32 am 

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  14. Jim says:
    Thu, 20th Nov 20088:24 am 

    The press and tabloids have wrecked so many young singers and actresses lives, they need to back off.

    Please don't weck Miley Cyrus to. Miley seems like a good girl, lets leave it that way.

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