For better or for worse Miley Cyrus has been in the news for the better part of eight years. As we all know in that time she morphed from pretty girl-next-girl-with-secret-double-life to the outlandish and outrageous sex crazed she-demon she is today. But it's been these last couple of years that I've noticed a real and positive trend in Miley's antics. She's getting the word about a range of issues from feminism to LGBT youth. Not a week after she went live with pink armpit hair she also goes live with her new foundation for helping homeless LGBT youth. Not too unlike how she garnered additional attention for #freethenipple last year when she paraded around a party topless except for heart shaped pasties. In both instances she barely spoke about what she was doing and talked our ears off about why.
To get attention for important issues that are near and dear to her heart.
Miley is above all else an unapologetic wild child who we constantly berate for ditching the child-like persona that made her famous. We blasted her performance on the VMA's in 2013 with Robert Thicke. We laughed and made jokes about her licking a sledgehammer in her music video "Wrecking Ball." But in the end I can't help but feel like Admiral Ackbar on the bridge of the Home One screaming: "It's a trap!" Now that all eyes are on Miley everywhere she goes she's bringing up important social issues in a way we can't ignore. Love her or hate her you can't deny that what she's done is nothing short of brilliant.
And this raises a very important question. Is Miley just now getting her act together or was this part of her act right from day one? I can't help but feel that this media circus was somehow staged by Miley straight out of the gate. She's a great singer, with a lot of talent and has made some really amazing music. Sure she has looked and acted ridiculous throughout the years but on the heels of all that has always been a message. At first the message was buried in tongues and inflatable penises but Miley never gave up and now her hard work is being rewarded. For every silly antic, every crazy prank and every flash of her (gorgeous) tits Miley is telling us about how tough it is to be a woman in the media spotlight. She's telling us about the plight of LGBT youth being kicked out of their homes for the crime of being gay. She's telling us how kids are sheltered and programmed by parents that won't let them be them. And after all this time, we're finally listening.
Well Played Miley. Well played. :)