For the majority of our generation, the summer of 2013 can be summed up in one gritty and recently Oxford English Dictionary-approved word: twerking. Clad in little more than a strapless bikini, Miley Cyrus popularized this provocative style of dance on August 25, when her scandalous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) sent shockwaves across the online world. Cyrus has been criticized for her lack of discretion at the VMAs, and for the music video accompanying her latest hit, “Wrecking Ball.” The visual accompaniment to her heart-wrenching anthem, released just over a week ago, has already garnered immense disapproval for featuring several scenes of the former “Disney” star entirely in the nude, accompanied by intermittent clips of her seductively licking various construction tools. At the VMAs, Cyrus made a spectacle of herself as she grinded on singer Robin Thicke, a married man almost twice her age. But what of Thicke? Surely the 36-year-old father would know better than to display such crude actions on live television. His oversexualized dance does not exactly scream “committed,” and yet all fingers are pointed at Miley Cyrus. Though one should not necessarily feel obligated to condone Cyrus’s actions, there is something to be said about the fact that Robin Thicke has escaped with minimal criticism from the general media regarding his involvement in the performance, while Cyrus stands accused of indecency and distaste. In addition to the skewed criticism regarding the onstage performances by Cyrus and Thicke, the public response to their music videos has demonstrated similar cultural bias. When Thicke, fully clothed in black pants and a sports coat, is juxtaposed with a naked woman, it lends him an air of professionalism. He can seduce and control the women with his power and confidence, while the unclothed females are vulnerable and exposed to his desires. In the music video for Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines,” half-naked women smile and dance, thus portraying themselves as girls who enjoy Thicke’s overly-confident sexual advances. Nevertheless, Thicke’s music video has topped charts nationwide, and with the exception of a few self-identified feminist organizations, has entirely evaded public criticism. Compare that to Miley Cyrus who, in her music video, cries as she swings naked from a wrecking ball: never exposing her nipples or other body parts that would require censorship. Although she does show her breasts and lower hips, the message behind her video remains entirely different from that of Thicke’s. While Thicke uses “Blurred Lines” as an opportunity to objectify the susceptible women under his power and control, Cyrus seems to use her nudity in “Wrecking Ball” in order to illustrate the vulnerability and raw heartache that inspired her to write the song. Nevertheless, criticism of Cyrus’s video has already escalated to the point where her father, former country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, had to publicly come to her defense. In this day and age, it is shocking and often times demoralizing to acknowledge that such rigid double standards still exist around gender. Why is Cyrus vilified for her confident, sexual performances, as Thicke slides under the radar? If we are to criticize a performer for public indecency, gender should not matter. It is hypocritical to accept the portrayal of women in Robin Thicke’s video, which serves only to objectify women, while persecuting Miley Cyrus’s portrayal of herself in “Wrecking Ball,” which pays homage to the artistic significance of the human form.
