Miley Cyrus...Who Cares?

Original My Space post date: April 29, 2008

I swear if I have to hear about Miley Cyrus one more time this week I am going to scream. I was listening to three, THREE radio stations on the way into work this morning and all of them were discussing Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair cover photo. Some calls to the stations included:
"It's too risque for a 15-year old!"
"Faith based family - yeah, right."
"What kind of example is she setting for my young daughter?"
And herein lies the problem as I see it. Miley Cyrus is an actress. A movie star. A hit recording artist. She is not your young daughter's baby sitter or older sister. Actresses in Hollywood create fictional characters. They "act" like someone they're not - it's their job and what they get paid for. Too many parents these days are looking for these actresses and pop stars to set examples for their young children. But really, it's not the actress' or the pop singer's responsibility. IT'S THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY.
So my first thought, "How many 10 year olds are reading Vanity Fair?" I'm 26 and I don't read Vanity Fair. But one caller claimed, "My daughter doesn't read it, but now she'll want me to buy it for her!" Um, if your daughter sees a commercial for the most beautiful pink doll house ever made, do you run out and buy it for her?? If you do, you're going to have a long road ahead of you. How about this? Tell your daughter NO. "No, you cannot have this magazine because it's for ADULTS."
My other thought is that IF my child would ask, "Mommy (or Daddy), why is Miley naked on that magazine cover?", my response would be, "She's an actress. She gets paid to act and be on magazine covers." Also, Miley Cyrus is a young girl herself. She isn't always going to make the right decisions like an adult would. (Britney, Jamie Lynn, Lindsay Lohan ring any bells?) It's hard for a young child's role model to be a role model themselves.
I'm not saying what she did was OK. She is a little too young to be on a national magazine cover wearing nothing but a sheet. But I am tired of hearing angry parents up in arms because this is going to "scar" their child. Try a little parenting - a little no or having a discussion with your child about it will do wonders.
And to the media outlets who keep talking and talking and TALKING about it, LET IT GO. You're the ones making it a bigger deal than it is. It almost makes me never want to read PerezHitlon.com or TMZ.com ever again! Almost...