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Don't Worry, Miley Cyrus Is Still Freaky

With "Mother's Daughter," Miley Cyrus makes a pro-choice tribute to feminist punks.

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Anyone still concerned that Miley Cyrus might be reverting back to her squeaky-clean Southern roots can stop right now, because it's clear that Miley isn't going back to white dresses and fields of wildflowers anytime soon.

Her newest video, "Mother's Daughter," finds her celebrating feminism, freedom of choice, queerness, and gender fluidity. She spends most of the video rolling around in a skin-tight red leather bodysuit and calling herself nasty, evil, and a witch—all words traditionally used to denounce women who don't comply with patriarchal norms. "Don't f**k with my freedom," goes the refrain, and it's clear that Cyrus is deadly serious: She has a fanged genitals to prove it.

Miley Cyrus - Mother's Daughter (Official Video)www.youtube.com

Though her performance comes off as slightly trite and exaggerated, the video's strongest point is its lineup of diverse bodies, all in flattering and powerful positions. That's a refreshing change from the legions of slim, mostly white, heteronormative-looking backup dancers that have been constants in music videos since the dawn of MTV. Guest features include 11-year-old philanthropist Mari Copley, body-positive actress and model Angelina Duplisea, dancer and activist Mela Murder, non-binary professional skateboarder Lacey Baker, trans models Aaron Phillip and Casil McArthur, and Cyrus's own mother, Tish Cyrus.

Overall, the video is decidedly intersectional, not exclusively fixated on race, gender, or sexuality but rather concerned with tearing down the boundaries between them. Along with its diverse cast, it features an array of feminist messages, including "virginity is a social construct" and "my body my choice" flashing between clips, alongside "images of breastfeeding, C-sections, menstruation pads—everything [about the female body] that's supposed to carry some taboo, but we should be beyond that," in the words of the video's director, Alexandre Moors. This imagery and the video's overall concept were modeled after the punk aesthetics of pioneering feminist groups like Riot Grrrl and Guerrilla Girls.

miley cyrus mother's daughter Image via YouTube

"The video is about the woman's body—the right to own your own body and make it free from the male gaze, in any way shape and form," said Moors in an interview with the New York Times. "It's a broad message, and we're not trying to be dogmatic. But we're living in difficult times in America, and what I get from this video is that it injects a lot of energy and determination and the right fuel for the struggle."

Still, in an era where social justice equals profit, it's likely that we'll be seeing more and more pop stars (or rather, their marketing teams) cashing in on diversity and social awareness. Sometimes, that will lead to painfully manufactured flops like Taylor Swift's ill-advised "You Need to Calm Down," which used a demographic Swift was not a part of as an accessory, so that she could place herself at the helm of a phony brand of allyship.

On the other hand, Cyrus—who is actually bisexual and who has a long history of supporting LGBTQ+ causes—comes off as a bit more genuine in this video than Swift did, as she's not trying to speak out for groups that she doesn't belong to. She also puts her own body on the line, drawing "mixed reactions" for its "intense imagery," according to Fox, and seemingly promising that her commitment to radical feminism is not just an act.

However, what really needs to happen in this era of social-justice-as-branding is the elevation of voices who actually belong to marginalized demographics. After all, Miley Cyrus has done performed her fair share of cultural appropriation, picking up and dropping identities at will; perhaps she's found her niche in intersectional feminism, but time will tell.

In the end, it's great when stars support intersectionality and representation, but that doesn't make up for actually recognizing artists who don't belong to dominant identities (or who aren't backed up by massive corporate record deals).

On the other hand, in a nation that seems closer to Handmaid's Tale-levels of dystopia each day, any protest is better than nothing, right?

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Miley Cyrus Is Still The Worst

Her new EP sucks too.

Facing allegations of cultural appropriation, Miley Cyrus took to Instagram in 2017 to clear the air about her comments surrounding Hip-Hop.

"At this point in my life, I am expanding personally/musically and gravitating towards uplifting, conscious rap," she wrote. "As I get older I understand the effect music has on the world & seeing where we are today I feel the younger generation needs to hear positive powerful lyrics!"

On "Unholy," a two-minute cut from Cyrus's latest EP SHE IS COMING, she sings: "I'm a little drunk, I know it. Imma get high as hell. I'm a little bit unholy. So what? So is everyone else." On "D.R.E.A.M," Cyrus calls out: "Hit the ghost, raise a toast / Pop the molly, drugs rule everything around me." Later in the song, Ghostface Killah makes an awkward appearance and raps: "Purple Perc, sticky green Mollies, sipping lean, got the white that's sure to light the floor like in 'Billie Jean.'"

It's not uncommon for Miley to say one thing and do another. She has often labeled herself as someone who "can't be tamed," and that assessment has only been somewhat accurate. In 2009, Cyrus and some friends were seen slanting their eyes in a gesture that typically mocks Asian people. Groups like The Organization of Chinese Americans demanded an apology, but Cyrus refused until the blowback became too intense (she finally stated that the whole scandal was a valid "learning experience"). During a performance of her song "We Can't Stop" at the 2013 MTV VMAs, she stripped down to a nude latex bra and panty set and twerked on misogynist shit-bird Robin Thicke. After being additionally criticized for using black dancers as accessories during the performance, she told Rolling Stone: “those aren't my accessories. They're my homies." Shortly after her Bangerz tour wrapped up–each performance on the tour included scenes of mock orgies and inflatable penises–Miley gave a controversial interview with Billboard, wherein she dismissed hip-hop as misogynistic, despite her direct appropriation of the genre.

Later in the interview, Miley insisted that her Bangerz follow-up would be country influenced and more family-friendly. 2017's Younger Now kept that promise. Country-infused and devoid of hip-hop influence, her record went on to sell only 45,000 copies it's first weekand was derided by critics as being "lifeless" and an uninspired attempt at reinvention. "[It's] too soon to know whether this, finally, is the 'real' Miley standing up," wrote The Guardian. It's clear now that her return to hip-hop was all but inevitable after Younger Now's flop. After all, it's been proven time and time again that Miley is desperate to remain famous.

Yet the main issue with SHE IS COMING is that it's equally as uninspired as Younger Now. "Party Up the Street" is stiff and lifeless, with Swae Lee sounding lost and confused as he stumbles through his verse: "You can see our feet from the street since the garage was halfway open," he sings breathily. "The Most" is a flaccid love song that attempts to justify Miley's toxic behavior towards her now-husband Liam Hemsworth. "How many times have I left you in the deep?" she sings in closing, "I don't know why you still believe in me." The issue with believing and trusting in Miley Cyrus is that more often than not–as Liam Hemsworth can attest–she's going to break your heart. Everything she does is always for Miley's gain, and while fans will view her IDGAF behavior as its own form of feminism, it's hard to look past the selfish nature of it all.

SHE IS COMING is destined to conquer the radio, but it also plays like a requiem for Cyrus' individuality. It seems that the "real" Miley will remain a mystery to everyone, including herself.

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