Perhaps I'm a little late in contributing my commentary regarding Miley Cyrus' Sunday, August 25th Video Music Awards (VMAs) performance, but upon reading article upon article in response to her actions and overhearing the news circulating college classrooms and dormitories, I have been left revolted and disappointed. Allow me to tell you why.
Somehow, not surprisingly, in our discussion of Miley's right to explore her sexuality, and the slut-shaming young Miley's performance has aroused, we have silenced the discussion of the racist nature of her performance. Instead of discussing the tightness of her apparel, or how stupid her hair looked, can we discuss her use of people as literal props (her back-up dancers, all black, wore Teddy bear costumes), or the fact that Miley's newfound sexuality can only emerge in the presence of black female bodies? How about the fact that her performance perpetuates the notion that black women are somehow inherently more sexual than their Caucasian counterparts; hyper-sexual, animalistic. Let us discuss the fact that her performance mimicked aspects of blackface minstrel shows? Not a single black person won an award last night, yet Miley mimics black culture and music all she wants.
As feminist media is saturated with financially stable white women, instead of discussing these issues, they have instead written piece upon piece about slut shaming. Now, don't get me wrong. Slut shaming is an important issue that deserves attention, but what I'm so disgusted by is the fact that the mainstream feminist media, has successfully ignored the racial implications of Miley's performance.
From slapping her dancer's ass, to her implication of rimming, Miley has turned black women's bodies into a good, a product to be devalued, sold and traded for entertainment purposes. Her only interaction with any of her dancers was her repeated slapping of one bootilicious black woman's ass, thus implying that a colored woman's only worth is the extent to with she can be sexualized, because ya'know what else does an African American woman have to add to a VMA performance besides her voluptuous behind?
Additionally troublesome, Miley's explicit attempts to belong within black culture, and then running off and performing in the manner in which she did, suggests that black culture is all the same, or simply put, that all black people twerk and listen to a similar musical genre. Miley, there is much more to being black than a style of sexualized dancing. Note how Miley declared her desire for a "black sound," but did not explore Afrofuturism, or the blues, or jazz, she headed straight for an urban sound. Urban music is not the entirety of black culture, and it does not resonate with the entirety of an entire group of people. You want a more urban sound for your next album? Fantastic. Don't squeeze all African Americans into one generalized genre in the process.
I have heard two major defenses regarding Miley's performance, each equally problematic. First, that Miley's only twenty, and therefore, "just a kid," that we're all being too hard on the poor girl. But the thing is, Miley isn't just a kid. She's a multimillionaire teeny-bopper phenomenon well aware of her influence and she knows exactly what she's doing. Just a kid? No. She has been quoted saying her new album has "a black sound." Her attempt to further her career and break free from her good girl image by submerging into traditionally black aesthetics is clear. Secondly, I have heard journalists defend Miley by stating her performance was just an attempt to explore her newfound sexuality. Okay, that defense is so troublesome it stings. That implies that in order to be sexual and express one's sexual being you need black bodies. This suggests that to be sexual is to be black, and to be black is to be sexual.
So Miley, you want to be down with colored folk? Then you need to get your fucking shit together and start treating them like actual human beings, not objects to be broken down into sexualized bits and pieces. Secondly, crack open some history books and get yourself a tutor, because you clearly know nothing about the culture in which you demand to borrow from and so desperately wish to belong. You can celebrate Black culture without perpetuating all the stereotypes and without contributing to the rhetoric that black women's bodies aren't their own.
I'm not saying we can't borrow aspects from cultures that are not our own. That'd be ridiculous and regressive, but when you borrow something, you treat it with care, you know it's history and significance. You do not fling it on and off and get rewarded with praise and career advancements in response. African Americans, Native Americans, the LGBT community, etc, etc, do not have the privilege of taking that identity on and off, thus if you are to borrow from such a culture, you are to respect such culture. We must all work towards a borrowing that empowers and celebrates, not isolates and offends. When we borrow from another culture, we must not put it through our culture's individual filter, as Miley did with black culture.
On a lighter note, I bet Miley's little latex panties gave her a mad yeast infection...that shit's unbreathable.
Somehow, not surprisingly, in our discussion of Miley's right to explore her sexuality, and the slut-shaming young Miley's performance has aroused, we have silenced the discussion of the racist nature of her performance. Instead of discussing the tightness of her apparel, or how stupid her hair looked, can we discuss her use of people as literal props (her back-up dancers, all black, wore Teddy bear costumes), or the fact that Miley's newfound sexuality can only emerge in the presence of black female bodies? How about the fact that her performance perpetuates the notion that black women are somehow inherently more sexual than their Caucasian counterparts; hyper-sexual, animalistic. Let us discuss the fact that her performance mimicked aspects of blackface minstrel shows? Not a single black person won an award last night, yet Miley mimics black culture and music all she wants.
As feminist media is saturated with financially stable white women, instead of discussing these issues, they have instead written piece upon piece about slut shaming. Now, don't get me wrong. Slut shaming is an important issue that deserves attention, but what I'm so disgusted by is the fact that the mainstream feminist media, has successfully ignored the racial implications of Miley's performance.
From slapping her dancer's ass, to her implication of rimming, Miley has turned black women's bodies into a good, a product to be devalued, sold and traded for entertainment purposes. Her only interaction with any of her dancers was her repeated slapping of one bootilicious black woman's ass, thus implying that a colored woman's only worth is the extent to with she can be sexualized, because ya'know what else does an African American woman have to add to a VMA performance besides her voluptuous behind?
Additionally troublesome, Miley's explicit attempts to belong within black culture, and then running off and performing in the manner in which she did, suggests that black culture is all the same, or simply put, that all black people twerk and listen to a similar musical genre. Miley, there is much more to being black than a style of sexualized dancing. Note how Miley declared her desire for a "black sound," but did not explore Afrofuturism, or the blues, or jazz, she headed straight for an urban sound. Urban music is not the entirety of black culture, and it does not resonate with the entirety of an entire group of people. You want a more urban sound for your next album? Fantastic. Don't squeeze all African Americans into one generalized genre in the process.
I have heard two major defenses regarding Miley's performance, each equally problematic. First, that Miley's only twenty, and therefore, "just a kid," that we're all being too hard on the poor girl. But the thing is, Miley isn't just a kid. She's a multimillionaire teeny-bopper phenomenon well aware of her influence and she knows exactly what she's doing. Just a kid? No. She has been quoted saying her new album has "a black sound." Her attempt to further her career and break free from her good girl image by submerging into traditionally black aesthetics is clear. Secondly, I have heard journalists defend Miley by stating her performance was just an attempt to explore her newfound sexuality. Okay, that defense is so troublesome it stings. That implies that in order to be sexual and express one's sexual being you need black bodies. This suggests that to be sexual is to be black, and to be black is to be sexual.
So Miley, you want to be down with colored folk? Then you need to get your fucking shit together and start treating them like actual human beings, not objects to be broken down into sexualized bits and pieces. Secondly, crack open some history books and get yourself a tutor, because you clearly know nothing about the culture in which you demand to borrow from and so desperately wish to belong. You can celebrate Black culture without perpetuating all the stereotypes and without contributing to the rhetoric that black women's bodies aren't their own.
I'm not saying we can't borrow aspects from cultures that are not our own. That'd be ridiculous and regressive, but when you borrow something, you treat it with care, you know it's history and significance. You do not fling it on and off and get rewarded with praise and career advancements in response. African Americans, Native Americans, the LGBT community, etc, etc, do not have the privilege of taking that identity on and off, thus if you are to borrow from such a culture, you are to respect such culture. We must all work towards a borrowing that empowers and celebrates, not isolates and offends. When we borrow from another culture, we must not put it through our culture's individual filter, as Miley did with black culture.
On a lighter note, I bet Miley's little latex panties gave her a mad yeast infection...that shit's unbreathable.
