I know you’re sick of seeing her name and booty-bouncing pictures, but I’m about to discuss the Miley Cyrus incident. Pop culture needs to be dissected like that frog from your sixth grade science class.
Every newsfeed and media outlet has been bombarded with parody, criticism and analysis of the starlet’s salacious performance. Countless “pundits” have expressed outrage about the former Disney star’s body, clothing and sexually charged dancing.
There are a few reasons for this. First, people largely reject change. Cyrus is desperately trying to showcase her metamorphosis from good girl to wild child, and it’s a hard pill for many to swallow. The juxtaposition of childhood teddy bears and illicit humping mix the old Cyrus with her 2.0 version.
The other reason is plain and simple misogyny.
The amount of body and slut shaming that flooded the Internet is sadly nothing new. It’s a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation. Express your sexuality and you’re a deplorable slut. Take the more conservative approach, and you’re a prude bitch. Either route, respect is not on the menu.
Reactions to the MTV Video Music Awards performance also prove the slut/stud double standard is alive and well. The thick layer of societal disgust was slathered on Cyrus while Robin Thicke walked away clean.
While Thicke received backlash earlier this summer for rape culture lyrics and a music video for “Blurred Lines” that objectified women, few pontificated about his participation in the performance. He danced with someone who is nearly half his age and also wore a ridiculous outfit, yet these acts were met with silence. When male stars strip down and writhe provocatively, it’s rarely news.
However, the real crime, yet the one most overlooked, was Cyrus’ use of cultural appropriation. For those who don’t know, cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts elements, styles or characteristics that belong to a minority culture often without credit or knowledge of where the borrowed components originated.
Cyrus has been using various components of African-American culture to revamp her image and shed her squeaky clean persona. She reaps the benefits of being “edgy” and “hip” without the repercussions of being perceived as “ghetto” or “ratchet” as many black performers in her position would be.
She has become the “queen of twerk” even though the dance has African-American roots. She has dehumanized black women by using their bodies as props for her personal gain. She has been collaborating with hip-hop and rap artists recently — reportedly working on a song called “23” with Mike WiLL Made It, Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa, which appears to be a tribute to Michael Jordan.
It’s happened all throughout the history of music, white people steal pieces of black culture, profit and never give credit to the original creators.
We have to start fighting slut-shaming, body policing and cultural appropriation. So even though many were outraged about the performance, it was most likely for the wrong reasons.
Hopefully, we can stop.

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Scott Gries

Robin Thicke, left, and Miley Cyrus perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013, at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Scott Gries/Invision/AP)