An open letter to Miley Cyrus

Dear Miley,
Wow.  That was all I could say for a couple of days after your performance at the VMAs.  Wow.  I was speechless and as anyone who knows me could tell you that does not happen very often in my life.  I am still trying to figure out exactly the message you tried to send with your performance and I am sure the message I received was not the one you thought you were sending.  I saw on stage a girl, yes a girl,  not a woman, who was attempting to show that she was no longer a child but a grown woman. I saw a child who did not have an idea of how to embrace her beauty and power as a potential woman.  I saw a child who was emulating everything that is negative about sexuality and in her actions bringing down the status of any woman of a similar age.  Before you write off this letter as just another old person who does not "get" your artistry let me tell you a little about myself.  I have sons your age and I hear the way they and their peers think of girls who behave in a manner far tamer than your performance in a flesh colored vinyl set of underwear.  They have seen girls in action in years past who threw themselves at boys in the past and they do not want to have anything to do with them.  You see, those girls are the ones that everyone "had a good time with" but not ones that anyone would think of spending a life with.  With one little action, one mistake, you can miss out on some wonderful people and times in life.

 
Years down the road you may have children, I hope you do, and one day they will see your "performance".  Will you be proud of it?  Will you have words to explain it to your son or daughter when their "friends" taunt them with it?  Will you want them to do similar things in life or will you do everything in your power to stop them from making mistakes that last a lifetime?  You see, in our world nothing is temporary, someone can always find it on the internet.

I want to say thank you for giving me a teaching moment with my sons, albeit an awkward one.  With one shining example they now have a grasp on who they do not want to bring home to mom & dad.  Thank you for that.  I just hope you can live with whatever the future lays at your feet.

Sincerely,
A mom