Shaming Miley Cyrus- Why We Still Need Womanism

Social media sites and blogospheres have lit up today in reaction to the Miley Cyrus VMA performance. Feminists city to city are calling attention to the slut shaming that has apparently surfaced against Miley, yet little attention or regard has been paid to the racial implications of her performance. VMA performers for the past 2 decades or more have appeared scantily clad and questionably sexualized during their performances; yet, Miley's  performance is not just ridiculed for her explicit sexuality but more importantly for her mockery of Black urban dance culture, gross misuse and objectification of Black women, and exaggerated exploitation of furry culture and bisexuality. Here is a link to a blog posting that articulates the racist overtones of the performance. This performance and the little attention given to the reactions from the performance beyond just the slut shaming problem which is also relevant, is is why we still need womanism.

Written by Monica U. Ellis, M.A.