In Praise and Defense of Miley Cyrus

I know what all of you must be thinking right now: Allie officially has the musical taste of a third grader.
But please hear me out.
Since working at the Boys & Girls Club, I have been exposed to the music of Miley Cyrus. Which should really come as no surprise. Cyrus has infiltrated the culture of our youth today. She IS youth culture; especially when it comes to girls (I think the boys are all secretly in love with her, no matter how much they say they hate her).
Miley is on tee-shirts and lunchboxes. She has her own toy guitar that plays all Hannah Montana songs. 3-D movies, wigs, video games... She is taking over the world.
And I am suprisingly relieved. Relieved that someone loud and spectacular (however obnoxious that may get) is teaching tween girls around the world that there is more to life than being blonde and shiny... As we see on Cyrus's Disney Channel t.v. show, "Hannah Montana." Sure, she may be a highly recognizable and in-demand pop star, but she's also something else: a normal girl who gets silly with her best friend, does prat falls, and argues with dad over allowance. Kind of like the old Clark Kent--Superman switcharoo.
I found out this summer just how popular Cyrus is. Because I'm surrounded by bubbly little girls all day long. This morning for instance, I made oatmeal with the help of five-year-old Alexis. As she scooped spoonfuls of applesauce into bowls, she sang along softly to the Hannah Montana c.d. that I had playing in the background.
I listened, and realized these lyrics and the voice behind them had power. Not scary power but good power. I found myself wondering, was there anything like this when I was younger?
Rewind to 1999. I was 13 years old and singing along to someone seemingly similar to Miley. Pretty hair, cute clothes, a down-home, girl-next-door type.
Britney Spears burst onto the scene with her bubblegummy pop song "Baby One More Time." And the second it reached my ears, I loved it. And my friends loved it.
I played it on my stereo over and over again and danced in front of my mirror, mouthing the lyrics... Oh, the lyrics:
"...oh baby, baby, the reason I breathe is you/boy you got me blinded/oh baby, baby, there's nothing that I wouldn't do..."
Yes, I knew all of them by heart, and actually still do. But when I look closely at those lyrics, they seem a blandly pathetic. It sounds like this boy Brit's singing about has her wrapped around his finger. He has her blinded. And there's nothing she wouldn't do for him. It sounds like she's in a state of groveling . Is this the subconscious message Britney was sending me and millions of other girls my age at the time? That the way of females is that of one highly susceptible to blindly falling hard for males and not having one ounce of inner strength or poise to us?
Others followed Britney. Mandy Moore was "craving for you, missing you like candy." Christina Aguilera had to be "rubbed the right way." Jessica Simpson thought she was in love, "doing silly things when it comes to you."
All were a bunch of girls pining over guys. Yearning for their touch. Acting totally out of character because of stirred-up emotions.
When comparing the aforementioned songs to Miley's repetoire, it really stuns me how different the subject matter and messages are:
Miley's song "Who Said" complains about the problem of fitting a girl into one small definition. Who says a girl can't be Superman or the President? Miley says she knows she can be anything.
In "I Got Nerve," Miley sings, "I know where I stand/I know who I am/I would never run away when life gets bad..." I like this confidence, this assertiveness in contrast to the wishy-washy feelings portrayed in pop songs of yore.
"7 Things" lists the characteristics she hates about the guy that did her wrong. He's insecure, he plays games, he's vain, his friends are jerks... The song has the funniest punk-pop feel to it. I can just picture a bunch of twelve year old girls moshing in their bedrooms to this song.
What I'm seeing from Miley Cyrus's discography is that she's giving young girls a chance to simply ROCK OUT. And, my God, that is so important.
I've been reading in a book titled "Are Men Necessary?" about how contemporary women are digressing back to the sentiments of the 1950s, becoming much more demure; ready and willing to please men before caring for themselves. I've noticed this to be true. Admittedly, I have even fallen victim to this notion. It's as if the feminist movement of the 60s/70s never happened. But maybe, just maybe, Miley Cyrus's music can counteract this digression and save the future female generation.
I've seen many a young girl at my workplace rocking out crazily to this music. And it gives me hope that they will consciously and/or subonsciously learn from whoever wrote those lyrics for Miley.
I like what writer Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon.com has to say on the subject:
"Remember junior high and high school, when the unself-conscious weirdness of childhood gave way to all that adolescent awkwardness and self-doubt? Most adults I know sure do, because lingering inside all of us is a permanent vestige of that person we were typecast as then: the geek, the jock, the angry art chick. We cast a bittersweet glance at our tween girls, and know all that awaits just a few years from now for them. So if they're learning, through parental-patience-testing repeated plays of "Who Said," that "every girl has a choice," if they hear "Nobody's Perfect" enough to consider that it's OK to cut themselves a little slack, perhaps they'll have just a little more ammunition for the esteem-battering days to come."