LaDaDiDaDi: a sort of defense of Miley

In the aftermath of Miley's performance at the VMA's, I would like to draw attention to several things:

1. At her most-clothed point, Miley Cyrus was wearing a strapless leotard.

2. She performed with three grown men. 

3. All three of them were fully clothed--literally from chin to feet.

4. Miley Cyrus is 20 years old

5. Her clothes were ass ugly, and the stylist who dressed her needs to be fired.

With the exception of the last, which, despite its truth, is only related in the fact that it also concerns her appearance, all of these observations should be alarming because of what they say about American culture, not about Miley Cyrus herself.  So let's look at observations number 1-3, first of all.

This is Miley at her most-clothed point in the performance:

From here

First of all, to get it out of the way: the outfit is ugly.  So.  Fucking.  Ugly.  But, unrelated.  Now let's look at what Robin Thicke, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz were wearing:

From here

So tiny, revealing outfits are what is expected of our female performers, while head-to-toe suits and sweatpants are acceptable for male performers.  It's apparently enough for men to leave everything to the imagination, while women need leave almost nothing.  Admittedly, Miley's outfit was over-the-top, but this is what our society has taught women that they need to do to get noticed--and noticed she was.  

And let's not forget observation number 4: Miley Cyrus is TWENTY YEARS OLD.  To those who accuse her of setting a bad example to teenaged girls, I say that America needs to set a better example for all women, regardless of their age.  Miley was a teenager less than a year ago.  20 years old is not really a twenty-something yet--I find it strange that we expect her to be a role model for people her own age when she is battling with the same issues as (and almost certainly more than) they are.  The finger needs to be pointed instead at the societal values that have led her to believe--100% correctly--that dressing and performing provocatively will attract attention and fame (or infamy, but is there a difference in Hollywood?) for her.

And, oh, the lovely hypocrisy that is human nature; this post, in whatever small way, is increasing the attention she's drawing from her ridiculous performance.  I'll go research Syria now and deal with my own appearance insecurities.