A sexualized Miley Cyrus? One word: Disney.
The blogosphere is full of discussions about Miley Cyrus and her photos in Vanity Fair. I’m surprised by how many writers find nothing wrong with the photo — but then, they didn’t attend a conference on the sexualization of children recently.
With that in mind, here’s some worth reading: At Girl Media Maven, Nancy Gruver has a great discussion going in the comments of Who’s the Grown Up Here? and a follow-up post where she discusses what all these sexualized images of girls in the media are doing to our girls. And Blue Milk has some terrific visuals to help explain why some of us have been speaking out on this for a while.
This is the kind of conversation I’m hesitant to join, because I feel so bad for this 15-year-old girl, heart of an entertainment franchise, and the life she has ahead of her.
But, Corporate Babysitter that I am, I have to say that there’s one thing missing from this conversation: Disney. Disney owns Miley Cyrus (as lifestyle brand Hannah Montana) to the tune of one billion dollars.
Now, Disney seems to be upset by the photos:
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.
Emphasis mine. Disney would know something about creating situations to manipulate kids in order to sell something.
After all, the Disney Princess machine alone is worth four billion dollars (see Disney Reaches to the Crib to Extend Princess Magic, Wall Street Journal).
Disney is arguably the greatest marketed brand ever.
And for their part in the creation of the Miley Cyrus who appears in Vanity Fair, they should not feign indignation. They should be ashamed.
April 30th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Great post, Lisa. I would add: At Club Libby Lu, Sax’s Fifth Avenue’s Spa for girls as young as two, you can get a Hannah Montana makeover. Disney apparently has no problem pressuring 5-year-olds to act like 15-year-olds, but when someone else threatens their Hannah Montana brand by pressuring a 15-year-old to act like a 25-year-old, they are outraged.
And apparently, Disney’s moral outrage doesn’t extend to its own practices in China.
April 30th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Thanks Josh. Thanks for the link to the Slate article. No one is more hypocritical than Disney this week.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
GREAT GREAT last two photos — reminds me of this set.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Mom, I remember that post! Another great example.
April 30th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Dunno about this one. I get that parents can’t constantly police the world for their kids, but I gotta give Billy Ray and Mrs. Cyrus some of the “credit” for this one. Considering the way-creepy pictures of Miley and her dad, it’s clear they were on set. Did it not occur to them that topless pictures of their daughter were a bad idea? These aren’t people ignorant of the media … he’s been a celebrity for over a decade. What were they thinking?
If nothing else, I’d wager that their daughter’s image is a big part of the family budget. Wouldn’t that at least persuade them to protect her?
April 30th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Juliet, I absoultely agree. Parental responsibility is first and foremost. I have no way of knowing how big stars handle these situations with their kids. I’m just saying that Disney is not an innocent victim in this situation.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 am
Thanks for the linky love.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Great post about Disney hypocrisy!
However let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I understand that this may sound radical…but consumer power can change any situation like this, thanks to the mechanics of Capitalism. All you have to do is withhold your dollar and these companies will stop pushing their filth disguised as advertising. However, if you tacitly uphold their activities by continuing to (even grudgingly) purchase their products, they’ll keep doing what they’re doing.
ADG
May 4th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Whoops! I’ve been surfing about Miley and said my bit without researching other posts on the blog. Trust me, most people seem to be upset that, apparently, Miley wasn’t wearing panties and it’s driving me nuts. I hadn’t realized that your blog’s entire concern was about these ethical concerns. Bravo and please forgive my big mouth.
ADG
June 5th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
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