I’m worried about Miley Cyrus. It’s not because of the current outlandish behaviour, outfits, performances and ripping off of ‘ghetto’ trends she is being slated for. With the combination of extreme amounts of money, youth, exposure and perhaps record company encouragement, I can bypass her questionable choices of expression of late. In any case, I’m not one to hold young pop ‘stars’ as offering great lifestyle examples.
What concerns me is her dialogue about the place she is in her life. I’ve seen an interview clip of her talking about how she is having ‘so much fun’ finding out and expressing who she is. Sounds like the familiar lost adolescent jargon. The concern comes more so from when she talks about the break-up of the relationship with her former fiancé. To add vinegar to inevitable wounds, tabloids have been all too happy to show said fiancé moving on and smooching with other girls.
Miley insists she is not even really thinking about the break-up, as she is having ‘so much fun’ and loves where she is in her life right now and loves being independent and can ‘express’ herself etc .etc , yada yada yada. Me thinks she doth protest too much. It really is reflective of the ‘I’m fine’ syndrome women often hide beneath when we are not willing to admit we are actually a million miles from ‘fine.’
I know Miley is young and currently enjoying great career success and publicity. I’m sure she has enough shows to do and parties to attend to keep her adrenaline-charged (until she perhaps finally breaks in a way outsiders can see). Yet despite the ‘my life is great’ show, please don’t try to tell me that behind it all she is not feeling real heartbreak. (I won’t be silly and put a pun about her dad’s most famous song here. Though I want to.) The love of her young life is currently gone from it –she admits they currently don’t speak; she’s just 'so busy'- and unless she is some sort of cyborg, she must be going through some unpleasant cloudiness at the moment. I think she’d garner respect if she expressed that things aren’t all posies and roses.
It’s fair enough if she’s chosen to keep a side of herself closed to avert media intrusion or if she doesn’t want the tedium of media blaming her current behaviours on ‘inner turmoil’ and a need to act out.
Generally though, if someone is going through a time of recovery from a bruised soul they shouldn’t be ashamed to admit, allowing breathing space to deal with it. (As long as you are not allowing self-pity to draw you in and suffocate you.) It is not admitting weakness, simply letting people know you are a human being going through human things.
So just because Miss Cyrus may be, we don’t have to be ashamed to talk it out during times when we are left a little broken.
