Miley Cyrus sets a poor example for younger impressionable fans, not because of her sexualized actions, but because of her usage of what she believes to be black culture as a method for gaining publicity.

    For days, people spoke of Cyrus’ VMA performance with Robin Thicke. Most of the shock concerning the performance stemmed from Cyrus’ risque dancing with and touching of married Thicke. However, what irked me was the first half of her performance.

    During the first half of her performance, Cyrus danced on stage while poorly singing her hit song “We Can’t Stop” and essentially using “big booty” black women as props in her show. Leading up to the performance, Cyrus repeatedly spoke of her definition of “being black.” She felt that being black was an attitude, rather than a skin color. To a certain extent, she is correct. “Being black” is an attitude that usually accompanies physically being black.  However, the attitude she displayed on the VMAs is the same attitude most in the black community agree doesn’t represent us.

    Nonetheless, many African-Americans simply took her performance as a sign of her ignorance of black culture and what it means to be black. Many, including Jay-Z, spoke up about her apparent ignorance and tried to educate her.

However, Cyrus recently admitted she knew fully well what her actions meant and how others would feel about them. She knew that her performance — the near dehumanization of black women, twerking, and all — would upset people and gain her more publicity.

    This is why Cyrus is a poor influence for any impressionable young people that admire her. I don’t care if Cyrus decides to show more skin and dance provocatively. She’s 20 years old. She’s a legal adult, meaning she can display her sexuality freely. However, anyone who willingly and knowingly offends and marginalizes an entire group of people is someone no younger person should fully admire. That type of behavior is unacceptable at any age.

I am a strong advocate for parents raising their own offspring and not letting celebrities reign as their child’s primary influence. As parents, their job description includes being one — if not the primary– influence over their children. Still, if my child admired Cyrus enough to list her a significant influence, I would be concerned. I would not want my child to admire someone who offends and marginalizes others just for attention.

So to the McIntosh students who have younger siblings that admire Cyrus, please consider this: one easily can stop a child from dressing provocatively, but stopping the way a child thinks is far more difficult. If a child adopts Cyrus’ mindframe of knowingly oversimplifying minorities, those harmful thoughts can stick around far longer than the short shorts in the closet a parent easily could throw away.