New Style

Miley Cyrus and Beyonce have shown us a side of them that we have never seen before with both of their most recent albums.  The sex appeal is insane and their raunchy lyrics about sex, alcohol, and drugs leave most fans wondering where this secret persona has been hiding.

 However, while both Miley and Beyonce are dressing more risqué, dancing more provocatively and singing more scandalous songs, they are still being perceived very differently.  Beyonce has received nothing but praise, while Miley has received nothing but criticism. While both Miley Cyrus and Beyonce have made similar transitions into more sexual versions of themselves, why is Miley seen as trashy while Beyonce is seen as classy? Why is Miley getting the short end of the stick when both her and Beyonce are essentially doing the same thing?

What exactly are Miley Cyrus and Beyonce doing?

Miley Cyrus and Beyonce are defying the gender stereotypes of women and saying no to emphasized femininity.  Emphasized femininity exaggerates gender differences as a strategy of adaptation to men’s power and stresses submission and accommodation to men’s desires.

Both Miley Cyrus and Beyonce are blatantly showing that this is not something they stand for.  They believe that as women they should have the same rights as men do, which means that if they want to dance around half naked they can, and if they want to sing raunchy song lyrics, they can do that too.  They are saying that it is okay to be who you want to be regardless of if you are male or female.

Why are people still responding to Miley Cyrus and Beyonce differently when they are fighting the same cause?

What’s the difference between Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball in her Wrecking Ball music video and Beyonce on a stripper pole in her Partition music video?

 

What’s the difference between Miley Cyrus in her We Can’t Stop music video and Beyonce in her new music video 7-11?

What’s the difference between Miley’s VMA performance and Beyonce’s Grammy performance?

Miley vs. Beyonce

It is important to remember that just because both Miley Cyrus and Beyonce are women, it does not mean that they are the same person.

Miley is young and at an age where it is normal to party and act crazy (the only difference between her and many others her age is that she is in the limelight).

 Beyonce is older, married and a mother.

While they are both expressing their sexuality, they are doing so in a way that is relatable to their age and the stage that they are at in their life.  It doesn’t seem out of the ordinary for someone in their early-twenties to be at a house party drinking out of a red solo cup, while someone in their thirties is dressed up and sipping on champagne.

Different Types of Women

This issue is addressed in Michael Kimmel’s book The Gendered Society.  Kimmel addresses that people are so concerned with the gender differences between men and women that they often forget to acknowledge the differences among women and among men.

If gender varies accross cultures, over historical time, among men and women within any one culture, and over the life course, can we really speak of masculinity or femininity as though they were constant, universal essences, common to all women and to all men? -Michael Kimmel

Just as gender differences between men and women lead to hierarchies and men being perceived as the more dominant sex, multiples femininities lead to hierarchies among females as well.  When comparing one woman to the other, it is easier to see their differences rather than their similarities.

That is what makes Beyonce performing in a sexy black leotard or dancing on a stripper pole in dim lighting more acceptable than Miley Cyrus preforming in a leotard with a face on it or sitting naked on a wrecking ball in florescent lighting.  Beyonce’s presentation of herself seems more tasteful, even though there is very little difference in what they are doing.

Creating their own femininity

In his book, The Gendered Society, Kimmel also brings up the argument that we ‘cut our own deal’ with gender stereotypes and gender role expectations.  By this, Kimmel means that we are taught the appropriate behaviors that are associated with masculinity and femininity and from that we create our own personal masculinity or femininity that feels right to us.  Because of this, we need to be thought of as individuals and not be defined by gender stereotypes.

Miley Cyrus should not be seen as a lesser to Beyonce or judged because of how she chooses to express herself.  Instead, she should be accepted for who she is and applauded for what she stands for.  Although they present themselves differently, both Miley Cyrus and Beyonce are pushing for a world where females are treated equally to men and they are not afraid to break barriers to make it happen.  People need to stop viewing Miley Cyrus solely as the girl who sticks her tongue out and twerks with a foam finger and more as a girl who isn’t afraid to express herself and stand up for her beliefs, even if it is in a more unconventional way.

As Kimmel would word it, this is the path of femininity that Miley Cyrus has chosen to take and as she continues to age, the way she chooses to express herself will most likely change as well.  Instead of breaking her down or labeling her as trashy, we should accept her for who she is and allow her, as well as Beyonce, to continue to use their music as a way to stop gender stereotyping and promote equality for all women.