Conservative Donnybrook

Miley Cyrus who plays Hannah Montana for Disney recently posed topless with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. The problem, of course, is that Ms. Cyrus is only 15 years old. The photo is scheduled to run in the next issue of Vanity Fair. Reportedly, Ms. Cyrus is now embarrassed about the shoot.

According to Vanity Fair, “Miley’s parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley. In fact, when Bruce Handy interviewed Miley, he asked her about the photo and she was very cheerful about it and thought it was perfectly fine.”

While the photo falls well short of being child pornography, it is nonetheless titillating, appealing to the prurient interest. When one considers Ms. Cyrus’ age, it seriously calls into question the judgment of Vanity Fair and Ms. Cyrus’s parents.

The character, Hannah Montana, is wildly popular among preteen girls and for these photos to be published inappropriately sends a message to young girls that sexuality is a tool to be used. This is not the first publicity stunt for Ms. Cyrus, who appears to be following in the footsteps of earlier teen idol, Britney Spears. Earlier this week, Ms. Cyrus posted a picture of herself in her underwear on her MySpace site where she was depicted pulling down her tanktop to expose her green bra.

Photos like these will tend to sexualize young girls well before they should ever be considering the possibility. These sorts of photos help to break down the resistance which should naturally exist to resist that impulse. In that sense, the photo is irresponsible and harmful to society. In a more cynical sense, Ms. Liebovitz certainly did not need to add this controversy to her resume to increase her fame. For her, this photo is gratuitous.

The photo graces a cover of Vanity Fair which also features a photo of Bobby Kennedy with the caption, “Miley Cyrus takes off” (emphasis added). Somehow, no one thought to Photoshop Kennedy’s eyes to be checking out the Lolita who appears to be coquettishly, while coyly, beckoning to the reader/voyeur to give her a tumble.

It would appear that it is only a matter of time before Ms. Cyrus poses nude for one publication or another. Hopefully, whatever publication runs those pictures waits until she is 18 years old, regardless of what her parents consent to. And hopefully, by then her cache with the teen girl set will have faded and been replaced by whoever is next. Meanwhile, Disney might consider accelerating the search for Hannah Montana’s replacement.