LITTLE ROCK — There has been much maternal angst over Miley Cyrus’ transformation from goofy schoolkid singing “The Bone Dance” to lap-dancing temptress warbling that she “can’t be tamed.”
(That song’s lyrics will now remain lodged in my brain for the rest of the day. Sigh.)
In a recent post, one of our Little Rock Mamas bloggers, LaRhonda Puckett, summed up her feelings thusly:
I understand she is done with that chapter in her life and wants to be viewed as a woman instead of a little girl. What 17-year-old doesn’t? The problem is, she still has that Hannah Montana crowd of young girls watching her every move and doing their very best to be like her. She is where she is today because of those little girls, so she shouldn’t be so quick to want to drop them.
I feel a bit more conflicted.
On the one hand, I wish Miley would wander the Disney path just a bit longer - at least, maybe - until my 7-year-old daughter finds a new musical hero.
But then again, I remember those late teenage years as a time when I longed to assert my independence. I did a lot of stupid things in an effort to prove myself a real adult.
But isn’t screwing up often a part of growing up?
The difference, of course, is that Miley’s antics are up for public display. I shudder to think of all those devoted People subscribers reading about my late-adolescent stunts.
Let’s just say I’m still not proud of the night when my 18-year-old self had to be carried from the car to the house after I chugged shots of alcohol for the first time. Or the evening that I strolled down London’s streets, arm-in-arm with two fellow college students, singing loudly and staggering, after a few too many screwdrivers at the pub.
In all fairness, I think Miley’s entitled to a little teenage rebellion. (Although I do wish she’d stop with the pole and lap gyrating. Ugh.)
Here’s what I think is the crux of the problem: At the moment, Miley is perpetuating the belief that getting older means wearing fewer clothes and in-dulging in more provocative hip-thrusting.
LaRhonda put it this way: I just wish that it wasn’t the “norm” to shed your clothes in order to gain popularity, but, sadly, it is.
The other day, Miley’s new song, “Can’t Be Tamed,” came on the radio.
My daughter listened for a few seconds before asking, “Mommy, is this song too old for me ?”
“Yes,” I told her, flipping the station. “Miley’s getting older, so she’s singing about more adult things now.”
Tootie mulled this over.
“Mommy? Can you put in my Taylor Swift CD?”
And I did so. Happily.
Cathy Frye, a news reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has two stepteens and two children, ages 5 and 7. Also a husband and a new puppy.
She and Cindy Murphy are co-editors of LittleRockMamas.com Email her at
Family, Pages 33 on 07/28/2010