Miley's Vanity Fair pose - artistic or not?

Teenagers...yes, they will always do the most shocking things and then claim naivete for doing them. But I can't argue about that. I was once a teenager myself. And I, too, kept wanting to "defy" the norms I was brought up to know and was told to follow. So when I read about these teenaged celebrities creating headlines for rebellious acts or anything that causes controversy, I normally don't get surprised.

Recently, Miley Cyrus, who gained popularity among youngsters for her role as a Disney figure "Hannah Montana", posed for some rather provocative pictures for Vanity Fair Magazine. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to find out for myself what this hoopla was all about.



In my opinion, the shot does have artistic merits. The photographer Annie Leibovitz captured a really beautiful pose on film. It exudes a sense of femininity and youthful innocence. But speaking like a parent of a young girl, myself, I agree with the outraged parents that Miley's pose is very inappropriate for a person her age. There's a hint of sexuality in the pose that reminds me of Brooke Shields's "Pretty Baby" images. I think I've watched enough Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episodes to know that these are the kind of pictures that feed the perverted minds of pedophiles. When you think about that, the pose and the photograph start to lose its artistic appeal.