But then my second thought was: "Wait. It's still Friday in California..."
So here we are. Seven Quick Takes Friday-which-is-really-Saturday-but-is-still-Friday-somewhere.
I've heard enough about Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMAs to be sure I didn't actually want to watch it (and warning: it was way past PG-13 so please don't watch it unless you're prepared for some serious depravity (and if you're under 18 and reading this: please ask your parents first!!!), but I'm actually glad I saw it for myself. You can wax eloquent all you want about how Hannah Montana's gone south (did you even watch that show? have you seen the attitudes kids developed as a result of thinking that being like Hannah Montana was a good idea?) but from what I saw, Miley's gotten a ridiculously bad rap for that performance.
Let me explain:
First - it was a mash-up. So Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams have 2/3 of the responsibility for what just happened there (as do all of their agents, etc.). Second - have you seen the music video from Miley's 1/3 of that mash-up? (DON'T.) No, seriously, kids - don't. It's messed up.
But why, dear Society, are we dragging her over the coals for being messed up during a music awards performance when she was already that messed up, and when the people she was performing with were equally messed up? (They all had a choice: stars, background vocalists, and dancers. They didn't have to be a part of this. They chose to participate.) Miley's performance at the VMAs was far less messed up than the music video to her 1/3 of the mash-up. Have you listened to the lyrics for that three-song mash-up? (All three of them?) What else did you expect?!?!
Miley is just a really famous kid in her early 20's, trying to figure out who she is and what matters in life, and she's been given a really bad script for it. Instead of bashing her for her choices, why aren't we praying that she'll return to her roots and remember that life's a climb, and not some kind of illicitly sexual performance? Why, instead of bashing her for being a slut, aren't we praying that this kid who did (at least at one point in her life) believe in God (and maybe still does), would use her position in public society to promote His kingdom instead of her own, or anyone else's?
No, that performance wasn't right. It was seriously whacked, and there are little girls who idolized Hannah Montana and have grown up along with her who will think that behaving that way as teenagers is what they need to do, to capture the attention of the guys that they like, and there are little boys that have grown up thinking that responding to that kind of behavior is the only way to go - but we need to tell them there's a better way.
Which is why, if you read nothing else about all of the drama concerning Miley Cyrus' performance over the past week, you do need to read this post by Elizabeth Chapin about talking to boys about girls like Miley. It is absolutely the most well-balanced and thoughtful response I've heard to all the craziness this week.
I have a friend who is wrestling with her femininity and wondering where gender roles speak into that.
Oh, my goodness. Can I just tell you how much this breaks my heart?! (And how much I want to buy her a copy of Ruby Slippers?!)
Wake up, Church!!! Divisions between men and women are supposed to be a thing of the past, and it was Jesus who made it so. Ladies, listen: you are not less than because you're a woman. You're His answer to "it's not good for man to be alone." Girls, did you hear that?! You make things better. God didn't think the world was finished without you. And you image God to the world in ways that men never could. So quit thinking that your femininity is a curse. It isn't. You make things better, simply by being who you are.
Thank you.
And keep on keeping on. Continue to "be who you are..." - as Dr. Seuss would say. And men, please: be who you are, too - but please don't ever live that out in ways that restrict the freedoms that Christ has given your sisters.
On a somewhat related note: ... the following conversation may or may not have happened yesterday:
Me: "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe; she had so many children she didn't know what to do...
A. (after a thoughtful pause) responded: "She should get them all dates. Then they'll get married and move out and she can have the shoe back to herself again."Noted: There is nothing at all disturbing about living in a shoe. The only disturbing prospect about any of this is the overcrowded nature of said shoe...
Here's an alternative solution: all of her children should be cast in roles that will make them potential film stars. Ben Affleck apparently got his start on The Voyage of the Mimi. I may not have remembered that Ben Affleck played a starring role, but if I were ever stranded on a desert island?
I totally know how to distill water with string and a piece of plastic. While tracking whales. #saywhat?!
That's PBS success, right there. And look at him now, all Batman and whatnot...
And now it is almost 4:00am CST, which is an hour past Friday night in California...
Which means it is quite past time to say goodnight.
G'nite!
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