Response to the Miley Cyrus Phenomenon

This is in response to Esther's video and the Miley Cyrus phenomenon: Alright so have you ever noticed how some people love to point a finger at rappers and say look at how sexist pop music is? However what I find ironic is that there is not emphasis on pointing a finger at self-oppressive pop musicians. Isn't it horrible that women are painting themselves as whores( possibly their producers are the ones doing this, but they/ or their parents are allowing it) and usable in some pop music? This objectification in pop music videos highlights serious cultural flaws, but neither type of cultural images are helpful for girls coming of age in western society.




Song name: Party in the USA
Singer: Miley Cyrus Genre: Pop

Some of the Lyrics: “I hopped off the plane at LAX
With the dream, my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame excess…
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
And the DJ dropped my favorite tune
And a Britney song was on
And the Britney song was on(x2)…
So I put my hands up
They're playin' My Song
The butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Movin' my hips like yeah (x6)
Yeah It's a party in the USA
Yeah It's a party in the USA”

Imagery/ summary of the video: An under aged girl comes out of a car wearing short shorts on,she is touching her hair and body in a way in which many would call sexually suggestive. The camera angle then focuses in for a few seconds on her bare legs and crotch. She then walks around with a low-cut shirt which reveals her black bra. Then she jumps on the bed of a pickup truck with a bunch of other girls wearing similar outfits and dances, she is “moving her hips like yeah” (you can probably guess what the phrase “like yeah” seems to verbally and physically imply). She and the group of dancing girls then move their hips in a synchronized movement that one may expect to see in a movie focusing on strip clubs rather than a girl coming of age. She then dances against a wall and then in front of a huge American flag. She dances suggestively, once again, in front of the oversized flag. There are various camera angles which subtly show her breasts accented because of the low-cut tight shirt . Then she stands on a swing and females dance on playground equipment, the playground equipment is a series of poles, possibly linked to pole-dancing. The whole thing is ended with background dancers with revealing attire dancing suggestively in the background with huge American flag and the letters USA on the top of the image.

So the message I get out of this song is that it is patriotic and cool to be a white 16 year old dressed in tight revealing clothing dancing to hits even if you are nervous.

What do you think?!