She's just being Miley: In defense of Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus' VMA performance caused what can only be described as a storm of uneducated slurs and slut shaming. While I agree that her performance was outrageous and controversial, this is hardly anything original. There has been a history of 'scandalous' performances over the years thanks to the lackluster sense of control from  MTV bosses. In 2001 Britney Spears danced with a snake in a bikini and then in 2003 Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera had a three way girl kiss.
So what I can't understand is that everyone is acting like this is a completely new and horrifying kind of performance; that women will objectify themselves to look edgy and mature. History clearly shows us that this is nothing new. It seems there has been a cycle of acceptance in terms of  a male songwriters and the music industry objectifying women; well that's perfectly normal!.                                                                                                            A key example of this is 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke; a seriously brash song that doesn't even attempt to hide the rape references that has become the 'Song of the Summer.' To call the song 'problematic' would be an understatement with lyrics including 'I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two', 'But you're an animal, baby it's in your nature, Just let me liberate you' and my favourite; 'You the hottest bitch in this place' - Oh, just pure Shakespearean poetry!. There was hardly any outrage to this song and it quickly became No.1 everywhere- so apparently objectification and misogyny is fine as long as it's a hit song. In the logical and intelligent words of  Thicke himself- 'what a pleasure it is to degrade women' and later back peddling saying the song is a- 'feminist movement.'-Where are the pitchforks and degrading internet slut labelling for Thicke?
            Thicke played a part in Cyrus' performance and he was ultimately ignored in the outrage which spiralled into a ridiculous notion that Cyrus was doing it as a 'cry for help-' which just leads me to believe that we haven't even progressed from the 50's notion that women who express sexual desire are mentally unstable (seen in Freud's theory). I truly feel that a woman should not be restricted to a polarity of a whore or a prude, there shouldn't be a scale which people just love to enforce to female musicians.  






     

Writer Crush: Lena Dunham

"I think if you feel like you were born to write, then you probably were." 

I wish Lena Dunham was someone I knew, so I could just listen to her witty ramblings all day and just gawp at her loveliness.                                   But, instead I can be content in the knowledge that she has created some of the most beautifully written and flawed characters that seem so relatable; it's like Dunham has been listening in to my midnight conversations with my best friend about all of our mishaps and hopes. She is my writer crush and this is my attempt to articulate how wonderful and inspirational she is.

Brave. Just one of the ways to describe the raw energy of her writing, that exposes the inner insecurities that every young person, trying to find themselves, goes through. It's this energy that so many critics have spoken out against but this is what writing is, to write about the ugly and the painfully embarrassing; creating something that is brutally honest but also a poignant piece of writing that tells the collective stories of so many people being a-young-grown-up.
 A big and unavoidable aspect of Dunham's writing is feminism, she has herself identified as being a feminist and her writing is to me- an iconic example of modern feminism. She not only writes about the lives of women but she illustrates an un-airbrushed approach to the depiction of women in Gossip Girl era,     Dunham's use of nudity has been criticized and it baffles me that the visceral reaction to her naked body (in GIRLS) is one of disgust. The notion that people are enraged only outlines the damage that the media has caused with unrealistic views of women's bodies and this is why Dunham has become a feminist icon (well, to me); her ability to be laid bare in the physical and emotional.            

Let's talk about GIRLS, it's finally a show that is truly about women and their friendships that are not vapid or cliche but a show of value that explores the familiarity of growing into the person you will be and the self doubt that quickly follows. The character's; Hannah (Played by Dunham), Marnie, Shoshonna and Jessa who are all (hilariously) discovering the trials of being financially independent, sexual adventure and the finding of themselves. Through this, she has created characters that are not varnished over to create comfortable stereotypes like many other shows that are cliche ridden in defining who these characters are but Dunham illustrates that they can be funny and intricately developed in their own story lines. The familiarity of the many quotable Hannah-erisms; 'I have work and then I have dinner plans. Then I am busy, trying to become who I am.' Just shows how Dunham has created a character that delves into the outright ridiculousness that we sometimes feel.         

Tiny Furniture (2010) was her first feature and revolves around Aura as a recent college graduate trying to find her place in the world, arriving back home to her mother and sister (her real life relatives). Words cannot describe how much I adore this film, it marks my first discovery of Dunham and her endearing mumblecore style that delves into a fragile world which Dunham delicately uncompromising  performance of a character who is unfinished and seeking to define herself. As you watch Aura reconnect with childhood friend; Charlotte (Jemima Kirke) and meander through the existence of a life not yet started-the solitude and self awareness that is scattered within all of Dunham's writing.             

So here's to you Lena and your boundary breaking writing and Wednesday night dancing.