Miley Cyrus poses topless for Vanity Fair

[CatWoman]

the girl is only 15 years old, for Christ sakes!!

Miley Cyrus Topless In Vanity Fair: Tells Fans She's "Embarrassed"

UPDATE

Cyrus has issued a statement saying she is "embarrassed" by the Annie Leibovitz photo (scroll down for image):

"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed," she said in the statement. "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."


Disney is also upset, while Vanity Fair claims they have done nothing wrong.


A Disney spokeswoman, Patti McTeague, faulted Vanity Fair for the photo. "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," she said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/27/miley-cyrus-topless-in-va_n_98836.html

[BeachBaby]

1. Watching the saga on MSNBC right now.

Good grief - and what's up with Billy Ray? I can't believe he allowed this to happen.

Nothing is sacred anymore, I guess. Not even little girls. :(

[CatWoman]

5. she's breaking his "achy breaky heart"

:)

[WinkyDink]

2. It's always "artistic". Heh.

[deucemagnet]

3. I don't think it's all that racy.

It's hardly a "Girls Gone Wild" shot. :shrug:

[Forkboy]

4. I saw it on the news this morning and didn't even know who she was.

Not having cable has many, many advantages. :)

[Schema Thing]

6. God what a shitty, hypocritical society we live in

Why the hell does it matter, to anyone?

[DS1]

7. The word topless is ludicrous in this case

Unbelievable.

[flvegan]

8. It's the intent of the shot that's wrong.

It appears to me that the pix are to be sexually provocative. She's 15. Way too young in my book.

However, if these were shots of her in a bikini on a beach, which would probably show more skin overall, nobody would care.

I just hope she doesn't turn into another train wreck. Squeaky-clean image only goes so long, right Britney?

[CatWoman]

9. LOL

Seems once Disney gets a hold of them, they all turn into sluts :rofl:

[Burma Jones]

11. Ding Ding Ding Ding

Yep, Annie Leibovitz sexed her all up, and that's just plain wrong.......

My 7 yo daughter is a big Miley Cyrus fan.

[Taverner]

102. I disagree

It's nothing you wouldn't see in a Calvin Klein ad.

We need to stop the chilling effect, seriously.

[flvegan]

128. How old are those provocative models in the CK ad?

Regardless of elsewhere, 15 isn't proper in this country.

[Taverner]

131. Some of them were 15, same with Bennetton ads

They've been doing this in advertising for at least 10 years.

[bbernardini]

10. Meanwhile, Emma Watson...

Guess who accidentally flashed her (covered, at least) naughty bits to photographers while getting out of a car?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

12. I thought the "father and daughter" shots from the photo shoot were worse

...but that's just me. Maybe this is just a wholesome family portrait.



http://www.vanityfair.com/

[Flying Dream Blues]

19. That's just gross. I can't imagine my dad posing like that with me...sick!! nt

[lumpy]

64. Gross indeed. Worse than the 'topless' pics.

What lengths will people go to for publicity ?

[Deja Q]

101. Agreed! Even more important,

Billy had his own troupe of 12 year old fans who must be, what, 27 by now and probably still want to bone him? :shrug:

Why pose with his daughter as such? Doesn't make sense.

[mitchum]

25. "Daddy says I'm the best kisser in all of Dogpatch!"

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. ...

:yoiks:

[ronnykmarshall]

144. Dang it Pappy ...

git off me, yer crushin' 'm smokes!

[Sequoia]

76. I'll have to agree.

That borders on something a bit creepy.

[nomorenomore08]

80. You guys are right, way worse than the "topless" pic. The media's hypocrisy is galling.

nt

[UndertheOcean]

84. Whats the problem , its her dad ?

Fathers can't have their daughters leaning on their laps ? I think its a sweet and innocent photo.

[AlCzervik]

120. ok thats just creepy.

[jmowreader]

141. Other than Dad's "I just did a whole pound of CNS depressant" look...

this picture's not that bad.

[Iggo]

13. Disney cries foul!

"Nobody's pimping out this little girl but us! Not Vanity Fair! Not anyone! Goddamit, that's our whore! Don't make us cut you!"

I'm paraphrasing, of course.

[CatWoman]

15. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

:rofl:

Don't make us cut you!"

[Ava]

14. the photo isn't "sexual" or "racy"

and while i don't think it was a smart thing to do because obviously in our sex-obsessed society it would be spun this way, i also think it is absurd that it is such a big damn deal. we have a war going on and it gets less coverage than the rooting for miley cyrus to become the next britney spears does. her parents shouldn't have let her do this, but at the same time, to say that a "topless" miley cyrus posed for the mag makes it seem like much more than it is when in reality she is covering herself more in that photo than many 15 year old girls do on a daily basis(unfortunately).

edit: btw, i may not get it because i'm younger, but as someone who loves looking at great photography i just don't get what it so damn fantastic about annie lebowitz.

[CatWoman]

16. Annie has done fantastic work for VF thru the years

you should check it out. :)

[Ava]

17. i have

as i said.. don't really get all the fuss about her

[CatWoman]

20. each to his/her own tastes, I suppose.

[mitchum]

26. Ava, I agree with you about Lebowitz...

I have never bought the hype either.
She is just a highly skilled commercial photographer. And the products she photographs? Celebrities, of course.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Liebowitz captures images of people that few photographers can

Virtually every one of her portraits I've seen has made me feel as if I were seeing the subject for the first time. It's as if she has a magic viewfinder that sees into the soul.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

105. Everyone...Cyrus and BOTH of her parents...RAVED about the photos at the shoot.

The "LINK???" folks can bite me, because the story is too easy to find, but it's basically this:

Annie said that because the photos were DIGITAL PHOTOS, Cyrus and BOTH PARENTS saw them at the shoot and LOVED THEM.

Then Disney stepped in.

"Hannah Montana" is a multi-billion-dollar cash cow.

Disney said "JUMP."

Cyrus and her parents replied "HOW HIGH, SIR?"

End of story.

[Zuiderelle]

41. You are absolutely right.

Except for your last bit.

[Ava]

72. she has some amazing photos

but every thing she does isn't great(imo) as some make it out to be. for example, i don't like this photo and don't think it is a particularly great shot, then again that is just my opinion.

[hippywife]

83. It may be because you are young.

Annie has a way of getting inside her subjects while placing them in settings that are either very appropriate to who they are or even sometimes just the opposite. She really is a fantastic photog.

As always you are right on about too much attention being paid to the trite while so many suffer and die.

:hi:

[terrya]

18. Good parenting there, Billy Ray.

:eyes:

[Eurobabe]

27. Ewww, I thought that name rang a bell.

:puke:

[Chan790]

21. I'm shocked how many Loungers are condoning or apologist for the exploitation of a minor.

I mean I may be a pev, say sick things, and view purity tests as a to-do list; I do have ethical limits though.

I'm taking a time-out for 10 or so, before I say something deletable, aggressively-offensive to a fellow DUer, or ban-worthy.

[LibDemAlways]

108. I have a 15-year-old daughter and would never

under any circumstances allow her to appear in a photo with her shirt off.

Given Miley's stature as a Disney icon and role model for young girls, I can only wonder what everyone involved was thinking.

[LibDemAlways]

22. Disney has worked damn hard to convince parents

that Miley is squeaky clean and comes from a wholesome family. I think these Vanity Fair shots are actually closer to the truth.

[OmahaBlueDog]

77. And you say this based on what?

Your personal knowledge? Your extensive readings of "Star: and "Enquirer?" Wild-ass guess?

[LibDemAlways]

103. In this case in-person observation.

[LynneSin]

23. Pictures like that don't accidently happen

Turns out there were adults there at all times to monitor what Liebowitz was doing PLUS everyone seemed to approve on the day of the shoot, that the pictures were excellent.

_________________________________________

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYLnT2kyPIgNUurQ71aNM3EJKpRAD90ARTGO0

A phone message left for a Vanity Fair representative was not immediately returned Sunday night. But in a statement to the TV show "Entertainment Tonight," Vanity Fair defended its position.

"Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day," the magazine said. "Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley."

In a caption released by Vanity Fair with the photo last week, Cyrus expressed her comfort with how the apparently topless picture turned out.

"I think it's really artsy," she told the magazine at the time. "It wasn't in a skanky way. Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought that was really cool. That's what she wanted me to do, and you can't say no to Annie."

[petronius]

24. It seems like there've been several people complaining or apologizing

about pictures of them taken by Leibovitz. What do they expect from her - Sears-style family snapshots against a mural of clouds and puppy-dogs? :shrug:

To me, those pictures look a bit sexualized - more than I prefer for a 15 y.o. - but nothing really out of the ordinary for today's society or AL.

(As for Disney complaining about manipulating a 15-year-old to sell something - :rofl:)

[gObama08]

42. 100%

I agree one hundred percent. disney has mastered the art of manipulation for money.

and there's nothing inherently sexual about thos pictures.

[SteppingRazor]

28. Big freakin' deal. 30 years ago, Blind Faith had a topless 11-year-old girl on its album cover...

and, yes, it generated controversy. But then, you could see everything. The fact that, 30 years on, we have controversy over a 15-year-old showing her naked back, for God's sake, likely reveals a sad devolution toward our more-puritanical past.

[Iggo]

29. And do you remember...

...the original cover for the Scorpions "Virgin Killer" back in 1977? Yikes!

WARNING! THE IMAGE DESCRIBED ABOVE IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK OR HOME!!!!

[Pithlet]

31. It's not just about the naked back.

That picture is way too sexual for a 15 year old.

[SteppingRazor]

36. Did I mention the 11-year-old girl was holding a large phallic symbol?

I won't deny that the Miley photos have a certain sexual connotation, and not just because of the nudity, but also the covering up with sheets, which, of course, suggests nudity in bed.

What I will say is that there is a difference between exploitation and art. I don't really want to fight the same damn battles that progressives had to fight against Ed Meese in the '80s. Miley Cyrus took these photos, and now she's backing off them because the subsequent publicity didn't go the way she'd hoped. I think it's a cop out. As for Leibovitz, the very fact that we're discussing the sexualization of a minor could very well be the entire intention of the photography. The photo says something about the sexualization of modern pop stars regardless of their squeaky clean images. (think Britney Spears when she first came along, when she shot slutty music videos while claiming to be a virgin and loving Jesus.) And perhaps that is the very intent of the photo, in the same sense that, say, Natural Born Killers, a movie rife with violent imagery, was meant to cause debate about violent imagery in the media and the worship thereof. Just a thought. I certainly wouldn't claim to know whether this was truly Leibovitz's intent, but I think it's a legitimate criticism.

[Pithlet]

43. I'm familiar with the picture you're talking about.

I don't think that makes a difference. That picture is pretty damn creepy as well. I understand what you're saying, but I'm not calling for anyone to be arrested or censored. I'm just calling them on their creepy, exploitative, unethical-as-hell behavior, and there's not a damn thing wrong with that. I don't buy the magazine to begin with, but I happen to think it would be a good thing if enough people said "Okay, there's the line" and refused to buy it, and we're all the better for it. I'm not holding out any hope of that, mind you. Art and free expression are important, but people aren't obligated to keep their mouth shut about it when it crosses the line into unethical and immoral behavior. Art isn't an absolute shield that frees one from any sort of criticism.

[SteppingRazor]

51. "Art isn't an absolute shield that frees one from any sort of criticism."

On that note, I wholeheartedly agree. :toast:

[Kali]

122. yeah because no 15 yearolds are sexual

don't want to kill any parents' fantasies but there are a lot of us out there that started earlier than 15

[Pithlet]

123. LIke I said in another post in this thread. Of course they are.

My argument isn't that 15 year olds shouldn't be sexual. I'm saying that shouldn't be exploited by adults. I'm sorry, but I don't think photographing 15 year olds nude in rumpled bedsheets is an appropriate thing for an adult to be doing, particularly not to smack on the front page of a magazine to sell more of them. If this were an adult of consenting age, it wouldn't even be an issue.

[Kali]

125. eh, that photo is the least of the exploitation happening

and it sounds like she is doing a bit of it herself

[Pithlet]

127. Oh, I agree, that's definitely not the least of it.

My ire is for the adults in her life who are gaining from all this. It appears money is clouding their judgment.

[pleah]

143. I had that album!

Lost it in a fire about 25 yrs ago. Bummer.
There is noting wrong with these photos, as far as I am concerned.
You see a hell of a lot more skin when you wear a bathing suit.
I thought they were very well done.
And yes, I am a mother.

[Xenotime]

30. Society is trying to make 15 the new 18

It's only a matter of time before they reach that and then they will go for younger. Just sick.

[Oeditpus Rex]

33. '...you can't say no to Annie'

Uh... why not? :shrug:



Methinks she doth protest too much.

[Pithlet]

34. I think they're creepy and exploitative as hell.

I got the same feeling I get when I see those child beauty pageants, only more so. Adults sexualizing children is creepy and disgusting. There is no defense for this.

[dolo amber]

35. The only embarrasment here is that ANNIE FUCKING LEIBOVITZ is fucking APOLOGIZING

because some tweenie queen can't decide if she loves Jesus or Sex and the City more. :puke: :nuke:

[tigereye]

37. good one Dolo!

:thumbsup:


on edit, Lebowitz has young daughters - and there is an innocent quality to the picture. Sometimes I think the sexualization is in the eye of the beholder....

[Pithlet]

44. She's naked in the sheets with tousled hair, looking over the shoulder with bedroom eyes.

I don't think I and others who think it's wrong are all that out of line. Annie should be ashamed of herself. I'm actually surprised she's apologizing, but I'll give her credit for that at least.

[Magrittes Pipe]

Miley Cyrus, her father, and her handlers approved those photos.

They were looking for publicity.

Ooh, now the publicity's negative. So they're playing kick-the-Annie.

Bullshit. They invited this, now they're trying to blame the artist they contracted with to do the shots. Place a little blame where it belongs: on Hannah Montana, Inc. CEO Billy Ray Cyrus.

[Pithlet]

48. I don't see where I posted that I didn't blame Hanna Inc.

I'm sure this was calculated to invoke just the response it's getting. But, that doesn't absolve Annie. She shouldn't have taken those pictures. I didn't realize this was the big news story it was. I saw a post about it on a blog, and then saw this thread. I was hoping to counterbalance some of the inevitable posts that people who think it's wrong are just prudes who don't appreciate art, but I'm already regretting stepping into this thread.

[texanwitch]

50. I so agree.

This is just a publicity to sell more of their crap.

Sure I believe they didn't know what the pictures looked like.

I think the pictures were meant to make Miley look older to move her out of the cute little girl stage.

[tigereye]

70. the interesting thing about Leibowitz (and I suppose other photogs as well)

is that people are often surprised by what the camera sees - and Leibowitz has a gift for seeing more than the obvious/blatant/shallow


I think that's what makes her such a great and sometimes controversial photographer/artist.

[mitchum]

75. Ihave to disageee about Lebowitz; she always reveals what is obvious...

or more precisely, what her CLIENTS obviously want her to reveal. Despite her skill, she is just a commercial photographer who is involved in the marketing of celebrities.

[Schema Thing]

142. I agree completely

about Liebowitz, but then again, this isn't about photography, and unfortunately, it isn't even about art. The term "art" (whether or not in the strictest sense it would be deserved for commercial photography), is completely absent from the whole conversation regarding this picture.


No, this is all about what a regressively prudish society we live in.

The damage being done by (no-doubt) sincere (but horribly misguided) people is incalculable... but I know it when I see it. And I see it in this thread when a father and a daughter can't even have a portrait done together w/o people seeing it as being "creepy" simply because it doesn't follow the conventions of the Sears Portrait Studio model.

[tigereye]

69. it's all in the eye of the beholder, I think

there have been ongoing issues with pix of kids over time and artists unfairly villified.


I think a lot of this stuff is projection - what does "bedroom eyes" really mean?

That being said, Annie certainly pushes the envelope at times.


I'm entitled to my opinion, as is everyone else.


:hi:

[Pithlet]

110. It is. And I never said you weren't entitled to your opinion.

I'm just feeling a little attacked in this thread for mine. The implication seems to be that people who think it's wrong are prudes and/or have no taste in art. I realize that not everyone sees things the same way.

[Midlodemocrat]

136. Well, we're both prudes then.

That photo is inappropriate on all levels. A fifteen year old has no business posing without a shirt on. And, FWIW, I adore Annie Liebowitz's work.

[Richardo]

40. !!

:applause:

This isn't like some paparazzi caught her off guard. These photo shoots take all freakin' day, and there are dozens of people invloved, including the subject's handlers and/or guardians.

[Phillycat]

66. Agree 100%. And I'm the first to be overprotective of minors.

This is art, nothing prurient about it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

38. Does this mean she will go away now? n/t

[logosoco]

39. my first reaction...

it's sad that this is such a BIG story in the news...don't we have a war on somewhere? Isn't the economy tanking? Aren't there lots of folks losing their homes? hmmm...... but my daughter will get a laugh out of it...she's 13 and can't stand miley cyrus (and that pic of her and her dad is kinda ewwwww)

[msanthrope]

45. Mommy and Daddy were there...didn't have a problem

with the 'manipulation ' until the negative press....

[msanthrope]

46. Mommy and Daddy were there...didn't have a problem

with the 'manipulation ' until the negative press....

[HuffleClaw]

49. a case of 'buyer's remorse' OR a blatant cry for some free publicity?

i'd say both.

[OmahaBlueDog]

78. My guess would be more publicity than remorse

Disney and the Cyrus family are riding a big money train on Hanna Montana. However, the train has another year or two left before Miley gets too old to keep doing this gig. Neither the Cyruses nor Disney want a Jamie Lynn Spears type situation, but at the same time, Disney has not done well transitioning their actresses from virginal teen pop stars to more adult roles. I would speculate that this is the exact situation both sides wanted -- something racy enough to draw attention, tasteful enough for everyone to deny wrongdoing, and allowing Disney to plausibly deny they had anything to do with this.

[Fox Mulder]

52. I don't see what the big deal is.

She approved of the photos, as well as her dad. I see nothing sexual about it.

And she is not nude. She's covered up.

[johnnie]

53. I took a look

She looks like a little kid to me. I saw her on TV one day singing and thought that she is trying to look sexy and mature, but she looked like some little girl trying to look sexy and mature. Future train wreck I am thinking.

[CatWoman]

54. did you see her at the Grammys?

http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/02/10/miley-cyus-grammys-2008/

that kid is growing up w-a-a-a-y too fast.....

[johnnie]

63. Just looked

Really, she looks like a little girl trying to look all grown up. I really don't care what she does, but I do feel that she is in for a rough road.

I went to my friend's little girl's 5th birthday party a few months ago and there were all these little 4 and 5 year old little girls just diggin' the crap out of this girl. It was funny. They had the music going, the cups and plates, jewelery, the whole thing. If I'm not mistaken, this is pretty much Cyrus' audience, maybe 5 to 12 year olds?

I think once her initial success starts to fall, we will see her go through some bad times. I hope not, but it looks like that is where she is heading.

[Pale Blue Dot]

55. My thoughts:

1. The outrage is ridiculous, and completely predictable.

2. Billy Ray Cyrus has been part of the entertainment industry for years. He could have, and should have known what was happening and what was coming.

3. That said, the outrage is ridiculous. The photos are mild (to say the least), and I REALLY don't get the uproar with the father/daughter picture. I don't see anything remotely sexual about it, and it says far more about the people that are seeing sex in it than it does about the Cyrus's.

Please note as well that I am not remotely a fan of either one of them.

[Pithlet]

56. So, what does it say about me?

Just curious. Because I don't think there's anything wrong with people who happen to disagree with me on this issue. It's one thing to hold an opinion, but quite another to smear those who disagree.

[Pale Blue Dot]

57. I looked over your posts,

You have not commented on the father/daughter picture, which was the one I specifically mentioned. And of course you have every right to your opinion, but I still would question you or anyone else who sees sex in the father/daughter picture.

[Westegg]

67. You could write a book about that photo...

...Come on, now! It's sexualized. Consider this caption (assuming you don't know who these two people are)--- HIM: How'm I gonna tell her about my wife and two kids?/HER: I can't believe I gave it up for this guy. He ain't said a word since we did it. Just put his clothes on and got all moody, starin' out that window. He knows I have a curfew.

[Pale Blue Dot]

68. YOU created that caption.

I think you've proved my point.

[Westegg]

71. Ah, but you've proven MY point...

...which was, simply: this is why these photos exist. This is why they are taken, this is why they are published, this is why they sell.

Here's another photo caption for you:

FATHER: Whoa! Wait a minute. I don't like seein' my daughter dressed like that.

DAUGHTER: What? Come on, dad, this is what we wear to school!

FATHER: Yeah, well....I still don't like it.

PHOTOGRAPHER: What I want to convey here is intimacy. A family kind of intimacy and--and respect. Love. You know the way you used to take your daughter's hand when she was about to cross the street? Only in this photo, you're lying down and your legs are spread.

FATHER: Man, I just don't like it. I don't like it at ALL. This doesn't feel right to me.

Punchline: This is the father and daughter who do not become famous millionaires.

[Pithlet]

112. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were talking about the father/daughter pick.

The thread was about the "topless" picture, and I missed that in your post. I don't think the father daughter picture is that bad, but I do understand why people would find it creepy. It isn't a conventional father/daughter pic.

[DarkTirade]

58. So you can see her... back?

... yeeeeeeah, not seein' what all the fuss is about. If it was one of those 'not-quite-nude-because-we're-not-showing-nipples' shots then I'd understand the contraversy... but this one's less revealing and/or suggestive than your average backless dress.

[Mojambo]

59. 15 years old? That's "go-time" if you're Roger Clemens! n/t

[Richardo]

62. OK that's pretty funny

Sick, but funny. I'm embarrassed I'm laughing. But I am. :rofl:

[kwassa]

60. Much ado about next to nothing.

Non-issue, in my book, nothing very sexual in any of the pictures.

[Rabrrrrrr]

61. What a lying headline. There is no nudity or nakedness, there is nothing wrong.

Jackass "journalists".

[ismnotwasm]

65. Reminds me of "Pretty Baby"

Poor kid. I think--I hope, she'll be ok. Maybe she'll demand a little more say in how she's presented in photo shoots. I hate to think of her being embarrassed over this, especially at 15. Tough age.

My acid test for "sexual" is to put a 24 year old in the same shot and see how it comes across.

[unpossibles]

73. as an artist, I don't get what the fuss is about

OMFG A BARE BACK!1!

And I call BS about her being sorry or ashamed of the photo. The time for that was before the magazine went to print.

Good thing there's nothing more important going on in the world...

[mitchum]

74. Disney Pimping at work!

[Deja Q]

79. And her fan base is said to include preschoolers...

Is Disney Miley's master?

Vanity Fair may or may not be sleaze, and Miley's going to rake it for all it's worth. And prove all those stories about being a pure and innocent girl are nothing more than toilet flushing fodder.

[RetroLounge]

81. OMG! A Bare back????

The DU prude patrol is in full force I see...

:eyes:

RL

[DarkTirade]

82. Yeah, I was a bit surprised by the number of people who are saying it's 'too sexual'.

I'm just wondering who's looking at a 15 year old and seeing 'sexual' in a bare back. :\

[RetroLounge]

87. I saw her acting beyond her years, trying to be all grown up.

but sexual? Nope. Makes ya wonder about those who see sex under every rock.

RL

[DarkTirade]

88. I see sex under every rock... but not on a pair of shoulderblades. :P

[RetroLounge]

90. Pev

:9

RL

[DarkTirade]

133. Actually I think it's my pevvyness that makes me so able to see something like that and NOT think

it's sexual.

Because my mind is constantly in the gutter, causing me to be desensitized enough so that a simple patch of bare skin seems like nothin'. :P

Seriously though... human bodies don't disappear during adolescance and reappear during adulthood. They're still there the whole time. I've never understood why people are bothered by a little skin. Skin <> Sex. Dancing around in a plaid schoolgirl skirt with your shirt tucked up... that's going for sexy. And when Britney did it as a teenager, even as someone her age I thought it was tacky as hell. Showing an au naturale type pose with minimal makeup and a little bit of skin... not so much.

[Ava]

91. i think the reaction says more about those reacting than about cyrus or vanity fair

[RetroLounge]

92. agreed

:hi:

RL

[DarkTirade]

126. 's what I'm sayin'.

[unpossibles]

135. agreed nt

[Pithlet]

119. Okay. I probably shouln't respond, but I'd like to try some reason, here.

I don't think it's so cut and dry to paint us as prudes. I certainly don't think anyone who isn't bothered by the pics is a perv. I think people can reasonably disagree on this.

[Taverner]

85. That's not topless

It's crude, but that's not topless.

No breasts were injured in the making of that photo

[OmahaBlueDog]

86. If she'd been in a lot of backless dresses, there'd have been just as much skin

..but nearly no controversy.

[bbernardini]

89. "UPDATE: Miley Cyrus is full of crap (Photo evidence included)" (Link to TheSuperficial.com)

http://thesuperficial.com/2008/04/miley_cyrus_is_full_of_crap_ph.php

[Deja Q]

95. Whoopi is absolutely right!!

:applause:

The little blonde lady is right too...

[Book Lover]

93. I feel ancient saying this, yet I must

I am pleased to say that I have no idea who these people are.

[nomorenomore08]

96. You actually managed to miss/forget "Achy Breaky Heart"? I envy you.

nt

[miss_american_pie]

94. Stating the obvious here

But 15 year olds are sexual beings. What some of them wear to the mall is much worse than that picture.

[Ava]

98. yup

she showed her back and shoulders - that is a hell of a lot less than many girls her age go around showing. i know i'm considered a prude at 17 for not wearing the crap i see in window displays specifically targeted towards teenagers.

dear god.. what would people do if they saw her on a family vacation at the beach? OH NO! SHE'S WEARING A SWIMSUIT! :eyes:

[Deja Q]

99. Well, 16 year olds are capable of driving Hummers too.

Doesn't mean they should... :)

But I'll agree; the tart outfits some girls wear to the mall are utterly unacceptable.

And while Miley was topless, at least she has a blanket covering up the pic. It's a gray matter area, but on initial viewing I was expecting full frontal b00bies and everything...

but, again, Whoopie won the argument -- Disney's execs should have seen the obvious and keep certain things toward certain age groups.

And that Miley/Billy pic WAS disturbing. Or, put a better way, it might lead more than a handful of people to accidentally misread into it. After all, on a different discussion forum, some people look at older television shows and look for sexuality that was never intentional written (or otherwise) in those shows.

[Ava]

100. what the hell was wrong with the father daughter photo?

i swear.. the fact that people would see a father daughter photo as sexual says something disturbing, and not about the photo. i saw it.. just what was so bad about it? the photo wasn't disturbing at all until people started making it into something it isn't, and that is what is disturbing.

[Deja Q]

104. Forgive me, but everything our media/society says IS sexual.

That's why everything sells. People are indoctrinated into it. Willingly, unwittingly, or otherwise, but everyone is swamped with sex sex sex that such knee-jerk responses are inevitable. Especially when trolled into doing so and here's why:

And maybe you're right, his pic with his daughter may not have been innuendo. But I can think of outfits and poses that wouldn't even make the filthiest pig conjure up dirty thoughts. That one reeks "erotica lite".

But if we didn't know that was a father/daughter pic, what would your gut reaction be? Some dirty old guy with muscles in tight jeans and some young chick in a tight outfit too. You bet people will think all sorts of things!

Why not have both wear more formal wear and in standing poses? Or even sitting poses where they're not touching legs or anything that would give even the most clean-minded person a thought of "are they in a relationship?"

That's what the hell is wrong with it!

Like I said, on another discussion forum, some people look at 40 year old shows just to see any possible kinky hank panky going on that did NOT exist in the original writer's minds. (the most prominent show I refer to is "Doctor Who", because the new one sexes it up because the original one never went down "Horny Alley".)

[miss_american_pie]

140. I don't see it as sexual

In that picture I see her as a younger, female version of her father, and my aversion to it is because *I see it as* her lacking her own identity.

Of course, images are all subjective. And good art gets people thinking.

[miss_american_pie]

137. Personally, I find those much more disturbing

the pics with her father, I mean.

The one of her in the sheet, she just seems younger, more innocent somehow.

But these days I'm much more likely to associate beds/sheets/whatever with sleeping than sex anyhow. ;)

[Pithlet]

113. Of course they are.

That doesn't mean they're ripe for exploitation. There's a difference between dressing provocatively to explore your sexuality, and posing suggestively for a publication meant primarily for adults.

[miss_american_pie]

138. I'd argue they are both

exploring one's sexuality.

Not all those 15 year old girls dress that way for 15 year old boys.

[Danger Mouse]

97. Way to role model, Miley.

:puke:

[Iris]

111. I'm sure she did it for Jesus.

[Danger Mouse]

114. Nudity for Jesus!!!!!!

[Ava]

118. how many 5 to 12 year olds do you know that read vanity fair

:eyes: anyone who sees her as a "role model" isn't going to be reading vanity fair and that is an absurd argument to make.

[Danger Mouse]

121. it attracts media attention.

so yeah, kids aren't going to see it necessarily because they won't read vanity fair, but they will know about it because the media will flip out like a bunch of angry ninjas.

[Jade Fox]

124. Her fans will seek it out....

No, they don't regularly read Vanity Fair, but they will find this photo. It's all over the internet to boot.

The sexiness of the photo has little to do with how much skin is being revealed. It's in the clutching of what looks like a sheet to her breasts (naked, sitting up from bed?), the coy, over-the shoulder look, etc. This photo would be right at home on a nymphet porn site. It's probably all over those sites already. And I don't know about you, but I NEVER posed with my dad leaning into his crotch like that. The complaints are valid, given this girl presents herself as Miss Wholesome.

Having said that, I have no love for Anne Leibovitz. She regularly sandbags her subjects, often making them look foolish and, yes, unnecessarily sexual.

[bigwillq]

106. Kind of a misleading headline

I saw the picture, and all you saw was some of her back. Yeah, it's weird cause she's 15 but I really didn't see much wrong with it.

[Miss Carly]

107. Annie Leibowitz works for vanity fair? I thought she was Rolling Stones photog

At least she covered herself in the front, I have seen worse. Annie Leibowitz has seen worse I am sure...hmm, wonder if she was the one who photographed David Cassidy for Rolling Stone.....

Carly

[book_worm]

109. She's 15? where was her parents?

[BeachBaby]

115. I'm still kinda creeped out about this video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24FT3u-lhg4

What's the message supposed to be?

Nevermind, don't answer that. I imagine I already know.

[FedUpWithIt All]

116. I see an image that looks like a classic painting

I am the mother of 15 year old daughter. I do not see the image as a sexual one, in fact i think it IS quite beautiful and artistic. I don't think i would be overly upset if my daughter posed for an art class in a pose like this one. That said, my mind cannot mesh the personality of THAT young woman and the serene beauty of the image. Miley is a girl that comes off as slightly immature and giggly for a 15 year old. The image does not seem to be a true representation of THIS girl, at least as far as I (the mother of three daughter's 9-15) can tell.


I hope that one day we can stop seeing bodies as nothing more than objects of sex and more as the multi- faceted, amazing and beautiful works of art that they are. A body is ONLY what it's owner chooses for it to be at any given moment. I look forward to the stage where we begin to respect the intent of the owner rather than our own interpretations of the owners self.

[Joey Liberal]

117. Why is she apologizing?

It was a lousy picture of her. But I didn't see her hooters, so what's the big deal?

[Bucky]

129. I refused to be outraged by this idiocy. It's not like you see anything.

Oh, come on! This isn't a scandal! Geeze....

[Shakespeare]

130. Oh, for crying out loud. I think it's a beautiful photo.

I don't find it particularly sexual in nature, and I'm stunned at the uproar this is causing (just caught ABC Nightly News' coverage of it).

[BulletproofLandshark]

132. OMG! You can see her fucking SHOULDER!!!!!

Time to string up her and her daddy!!

:sarcasm:

Seriously, between this, the Jeremiah Wright "controversy", and my local NBC affiliate (WRC-4 in D.C.) airing a shark attack story today, it's no wonder I don't have any faith in mainstream media. They are, beyond doubt, an enemy of democracy.

[HughBeaumont]

134. In the immortal words of early Bloom County . . .

"CLEAR THE COURT YOU LOONS! THIS IS *&#$^% RIDICULOUS!!!"

It's a back. It's a fucking back. Holy sheepshit. Anyone who's even making a big deal about a fucking back has deeper problems than failing to see this country's deeper problems.

"Look at that shiny object, mommy!!"

[mike_c]

139. and this is worth wasting ATP to think about why?

Sheesh. :boring: