Miley's Slut-Shaming and the VMAs' Version of Teen Culture

Newsflash. Last night in pop culture a young girl whose appearance does not conform to traditional signifiers of “femininity” did crudely, over-the-top, tastelessly, hyperbolically raunchy things that a million male rock and pop stars have done before her. But don’t worry, she was properly slut-shamed, accused of needing religion, and judged harshly for it despite being happily engaged, displaying no signs of hard drug use, and probably more in need than anyone to give a giant middle finger to the squeaky clean Disney machine that her family pushed her into. Soooooooooo, what have we learned?

Slut-Shaming is Alive and Well

No real shocker here. The point here is not about the quality of Cyrus’ performance. Despite what I just said, I didn’t care for it. If the performance were boiled into a cup of tea, it would not be mine. But that’s really not the point. I don’t care if it were the worst thing ever broadcast on television. We live in a world where girls are taught from a very early age to be sexual and then subsequently bombarded with every contradictory and confusing message possible. When you freak out about Miley’s twerking, or tongueing, or gyrating, you play into the message: be sexual but there’s a line you better not cross. Cross it and receive the mighty hand of judgment. That line hardly exists for our culture’s males. 

Hating Teen Girls is an Old Norm

I wrote a lengthy article about Avril Lavigne back in the day because I was fascinated by the response to her early career. Here was a girl who actually played an instrument (at the height of Britney and Christina), had surprisingly feminist lyrics at times (and not in the passive “girl power” sense, rather in the actively “take your own power” sense), and whose style could best be labeled “tomboy.” And yet she was crucified predominately for supposedly appropriating punk culture. Even though she never claimed to be punk. Even though experimenting with different cultural styles is something virtually every teen girl does. If we’re gonna hate on teens for dressing in a way they feel looks cool, then we should probably point fingers back at every single one of our teen years.

Or take Taylor Swift who has lyrically and stylistically been about as tame as one can be. Yet, she’s dated a completely normal amount of boys for her age and receives her own share of slut-shaming for it. Sure, her perpetually fifteen-years-old princess fantasies are getting a little grating, but the leap to call her a slut is ridiculous (and probably says more about the accusers than they do T-Swift). And, like her music or not, she can rock a mean banjo.

There is a strain of deeply rooted mistrust, hatred, and suspicion for young girls in popular culture—as both performers and fans. The culture seems to want them sexy but not too sexy. Certainly not a sexy where they seem to be confident or in control. Certainly not while displaying style of hair or dress that are not traditionally “feminine.” It’s getting tiring. It’s been tiring.

The Kids are Alright

What you saw at the VMAs last night was not representative of teen culture.  Let me rephrase. It was representative of teen culture but only one version—a version offered by a gigantic mega-corporation with its head up its ass (because there just might be more money there). Don’t let what I’ve said so far suggest that I think the VMAs (or even Miley) are beyond critique. And a lot of critique I saw on Twitter was from MTV’s target demographic . . . and they did not like what they saw either. I’ve always argued that people (even teens) are much smarter than we give them credit for in regards to navigating popular culture. The brainwashed zombie theory should have died with the Frankfurt School if you ask me. I’m not going to go so far to say there’s a “real” teen culture out there because I don’t want to play into the authenticity trap. But there are different versions and permutations of that culture that bare no resemblance to what MTV showed us last night. There are thriving and fascinating versions of teen culture that fly under the radar of MTV and other major media outlets. Cling to that if you’re feeling horrified about the state of today’s youth.

At the same time, I easily fall into a trap I try so hard to avoid. By just positively highlighting the critics, I implicitly suggest that anyone who liked what the VMAs had to offer is wrong or misguided. That’s not my intention. Pop culture studies need to get out of the business of judging people’s subjective tastes and longing for non-existent authenticity (that judgment will happen anyways amongst the everyday consumers). We also need to remember that just engaging with something does not guarantee an adoption of its values.