It's Not About Miley Cyrus. It's about our Culture.

To begin, it is important to recognize that in its history, MTV has long been out for ratings, publicity, and pushing the boundaries of what is considered tasteful far more than it has been for promoting good values or showcasing talent. The network has taken the proverbial PR cake with the latest Miley Cyrus “performance.”

Miley’s singing (and twerking) of her hit “We Can’t Stop,” during Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards was followed by an appearance with Robin Thicke, as he cooed the racy song-of-summer “Blurred Lines,” whose lyrics are controversial in their own right. The shockingly sexual 5-minute moment during the VMA telecast set a twitter record of 300,000 tweets per minute – blasting through the record set by February’s Super Bowl blackout.

I am sure that MTV, the producers of the VMA’s, and potentially Ms. Cyrus and her management team, publicist and record label are thrilled with the attention that last night’s performance has garnered today on social media and across media platforms. Even though the publicity has been largely negative, the music industry, and the entertainment community as a whole, seems to agree that any press is good press, as of late.

That is the show business perspective.

Now, what about the humanity? What about the outrage regarding the content of Miley’s (and Thicke’s), performance?  Is it warranted? Is Miley just a confused young woman, going through a stage of rebellion (common amongst those in her generation), or is there something more serious going on here? There are a few points to be made, I think, that warrant a longer discussion than what is allowed by 140 characters, or a simple, one-liner in a Facebook status update. There are many different facets of this issue, I can’t tackle them all, but will address those that are particularly important to me.

First, I think that women, especially those that are young and attractive (for whatever reason) are treated viciously by the media in general. They are glorified as goddesses one moment - models of perfection to be imitated - then torn down, labeled “sluts” and all sorts of horrible names the next. The rise of “mean girls” and female-on-female bullying doesn’t occur in a vacuum – it is a reflection of the way the media treats women. They are largely objectified in a way men are not. Those are the facts. While I absolutely find Miley’s performance inappropriate, especially for audiences of young women, I am not going to trash her as a person. Those who raised up and glorified her as Hannah Montana are now gloating at her perceived demise and implosion (as the media did similarly with Amanda Bynes). That kind of pressure and intense media scrutiny is enough to damage any young person mentally and emotionally. The Miley-bashing has taken off too much today already, and I will not add myself to the list of those taking this opportunity to belittle and degrade a woman going through a very difficult time in her life.

Therefore, I would like to make this conversation about the hyper-sexualization of women in Western culture, and those that accept and promote it. There is a redundancy of images portraying women in sexual, emotional and professional submission in music, literature, and fashion. This message which saturates so much of the media fuels bias, stereotyping, and even violence against the female gender. I believe that the lewd sexual content of the VMA’s as an entire show (as there were some other distasteful performances) is something to be concerned about.

Let us also not forget that Mr. Thicke, while incredibly talented, could have refused to perform such raunchy dance moves with a girl 16-years his junior on stage, in front of thousands, but he did not.  

Additionally, there is the problem of widespread voyeurism and participation. If shows with such vulgar content did not get the ratings that they do, then they would not be replicated. So, why do Americans tune-in, and thereby feed this machine? (Disclosure: I personally did not watch (nor have watched) the VMAs, simply because I enjoy other activities far more, and am commenting on this situation because it so closely ties in to the issues surrounding young women that I so often speak and write about. I watched the clip out of necessity to write this post.) As with most things in our culture – if we disapprove of something, we can speak most powerfully to the creators of trash by turning off the television, or not forking over the cash to buy the product. The empowered consumer can have a tremendously powerful role in changing culture.

Therefore, instead of turning more vitriol toward Ms. Cyrus and Mr. Thicke for their performance, I say let us take a moment to consider how and why we worship celebrities, and our so highly desensitized culture that needs something so shocking to entertain. Let us feel for Miley in the way that we MUST feel for all young women who are desperately crying out for love and validation, and feel so helpless that they must act out in ways that are damaging to themselves and set a poor example to others. I truly hope that Miley can find a good support team to encourage her during her difficult and complex journey into womanhood, which, unfortunately for her, must take place in the glaring and unforgiving spotlight. We have seen the tragedy that can befall child stars during their transition to adulthood, as they try to find their identity, so let us not rip her apart.

Let us celebrate art that inspires, good music, good voices, and talent, for the sake of admiring others' gifts and speaking a message of hope. Let us renew compassion in our hearts for young performers who grow up under such tremendous pressure, and continue to feel the need (as so many of us do), for attention, praise, and love from those that surround us. I am encouraged by the fact that I have heard so many stories of young women that did not approve of Miley’s performace, and expressed concern for her, rather than condemnation. I hope she is doing okay, too. 

I hope that we can all move on, and not seek only to criticize, but to understand. By objectifying people (even if they are, in a moment or phase of weakness and vulnerability, objectifying themselves), we de-humanize them and thereby do a disservice to all. I think we can all learn a great lesson here – watch less television. Spend more time with family. Encourage our little girls, verbally and by example, that they can grow up to be more than just the “play-things” of men and sexual objects. They are adored for more than their bodies. Celebrities only have so much influence. That influence stops when we change the conversation and focus on three-dimensional women doing good in the here and now, rather than yesterday’s news.  Let us learn, and grow, and move on.

Beauty and Brains: Empowerment through the Unconventional

In light of the current controversy swirling around the Miss USA competition on Sunday night, and Miss Utah’s unfortunate answer to her final question, I would like to offer a few thoughts.

As background, I competed and won the Miss America competition (a different organization than Miss USA) in 2008. Just for clarity’s sake, the two organizations are completely different in form and function. Miss America is a scholarship program that is the world’s largest provider of scholarships to women in the world, making available $45 million each year to contestants. I was able to complete my B.A. in Political Science at Emory University this past May, largely due to the over $60,000 in scholarships that I won competing in the program. Miss America also has a talent competition and contestants must choose and develop a “personal platform,” or issue that they advocate for during their year of service. The Miss USA pageant is part of the Miss Universe Organization, owned by Donald Trump, and has only a swim and eveningwear competition, as well as informal interviews prior to the competition. Great women have competed in both programs, and I am not writing to impugn or defend either organization.

However, the media has once again latched on to a recent pageant “gaffe” that occurred during the oft-feared final question portion of the Miss USA Pageant on Sunday. The contestant representing the state of Utah gave an embarrassingly stilted and uncomfortable “answer” (if it could be called that) to a question regarding the gender income gap and “what that says about society.” You can Google the clip on YouTube, I will not repeat her answer here.

In the young woman’s defense, I am sure she was probably incredibly nervous. I have been there, in the final stages of competition, and it is, in many ways, more nerve-wracking than walking onstage in a swimsuit. Being forced to think quickly on your feet is no easy task, especially when asked to solve issues or offer insight on problems that our own Congress cannot agree on, much less solve. But this whole issue of pageant gaffes has once again raised the question: Are pageants relevant?

I had the honor of speaking on a panel on a segment on HuffPost Live this morning with Abby Huntsman, several former Miss America contestants and a former Miss USA on this very issue: 

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/is-it-time-to-change-the-standards-of-pageants-/51bf06c202a7603ecc0002ef

I have thought carefully about this and have decided, despite some negative aspects of pageantry (the swimsuit competition, some overt sexuality), the competitions themselves can a valuable avenue for pursuing success for young women, and continue to be incredibly relevant today.  The Miss America contest began as a bathing beauty competition in Atlantic City, NJ in 1921, and has remained popular until the present day precisely because it has evolved with the times. It has added the talent competition, the eveningwear competition, then the personal platform and interview competition, and now incorporates elements of reality television in an effort to showcase the contestants as actual people rather than Barbie dolls.

I have found too, from my own experience, that the program is relevant because of the rising costs of education. College tuition, even at public universities, is sky-rocketing. Options in higher education are dwindling due to the rising costs of school, books, room and board, and the burden of crushing student loan debt years after graduation is very real. Young women need the scholarships the Miss America Organization offers now, more than ever. And you don’t need to win the pageant in order to earn scholarships – almost every contestant that competes, at every level, usually receives some amount of scholarship for her education.

Above the evolution of the competition and the awarding of scholarships, there are the qualities that competing in pageants instill in young women. I know many girls personally that competed in local and state pageants knowing they may not win, but wanted to push themselves outside their comfort zone. They did, and earned an incredible amount of confidence, even though they never wore a crown. Competing in a pageant is a way for a young woman to build an advocacy platform around an issue she cares about. It forces her into public speaking situations, where she must use her voice, develop her opinions and defend them. It places her in a position of leadership, and as a role model, so she learns that her decisions affect not just herself, but others as well. It helps her to develop a thick skin against criticism early, so that later in life, in any career path, she will have learned to be strong in her convictions. Pageants are certainly not the only way to build up these skills, but they are an excellent choice should a young woman decide to pursue success in this avenue. The goal of pageants is to honor and lift up well-rounded young women, not perfect women. They seek to reward beauty AND brains. They help women, at a vulnerable and impressionable age, to develop a sense of self and a confidence that their own, unique voice, really matters.

Pageants are a means, not an end. They help to teach young women the confidence and discipline to go after what they want, and provide them the speaking, networking, and social opportunities to build a foundation of a great career in whatever path they choose. Many see pageants as setting women back – I believe, for I have experienced, that they help empower women forward. Currently, two former Miss Americas, Ericka Harold and Heather French Henry, are seriously considering launching campaigns for seats in the U.S. Congress. We have former contestants in top positions in every field – law, medicine, business, philanthropy, entertainment, news, and motherhood. That, to me, says that pageants are a vehicle for success, not an obstacle. It is my goal to continue to encourage young women to use every avenue they can, including pageants, to help them discover their own talents and abilities, and develop their own drive to succeed. The Miss America Organization helped to instill those things in me, and paid for my education. For these things, I am incredibly grateful.

Are pageants for every young woman? No. Do I love and support the swimsuit competition as relevant to the job of a Miss America or Miss USA? No. But I believe overwhelmingly that the good outweighs the bad in competing in pageants, and one contestant’s unfortunate gaffe does not negate the truth that the large majority of women who compete go on to be fabulously successful in whatever they choose to do. And that, is a message worth some publicity.