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Monday, August 26, 2013

on the vma's + miley's performance

The fallout from yesterday's VMA's is pretty brutal. The reaction from viewers on social media and the media in general is intense. If you haven't heard, Miley Cyrus performed her new song "We Can't Stop" and "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke last night. I saw about 5 minutes of the VMA's. After a morning at church and afternoon by the pool with my sisters, I flipped on the TV and sat down on the couch with a bowl of pineapple. Noticing the VMAs on a mainstream channel, I turned it on (hoping to catch a bit of *NSYNC's reunion) and instead my eyes were assaulted with Miley Cyrus' performance. My jaw dropped. My bowl of fruit set to the side. As I watched the horrifying performance unfold, my stomach turned and I literally almost gagged. 

As a young 26-year-old woman, I get that MTV is known for raunchiness. I get that some of you careful parents don't even pay for cable TV to be in your home because your goal is to protect your kids from garbage (my family never had anything but clean VHS's growing up and I plan to guard my future children's eyes and minds from most of what is on TV.) Yet, the sad reality is that most children and teens today - Monday, August 26, 2013 - saw Miley's performance last night and/or they will see or hear of her performance today. In this digital age, it's inevitable. It already went viral. And it is being viewed and shared and joked about on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, news websites, and forums. It is being replayed on YouTube videos and on little kid's iPhones at almost every school in America today. 

I know some wonderful Christians who are calling us to be loving - to be careful and wise and to not bash or hate on Miley. I agree, absolutely. I've loved some of her music (I used to belt out "Party in the USA" with the best of 'em!) I am praying for her. And if I sat down to chat with this broken, precious young woman I would take her face in my hands as I cried - I wouldn't yell or scream or judge or condemn. I would love her, be there for her, and talk to her honestly. Yet, I am not of the school who believes Christians are called to just be silent. Especially with what goes on in our dark culture. I for one do not believe I am called to smile and nod along with everything the media and our world throws at me. We are called to be strong. To speak boldly. To be upfront. To be very honest. To speak truth in love. And to not be afraid or ashamed to speak out. We are living in a world that is slowly but surely becoming gray. Robin Thicke's nasty song "Blurred Lines" is very telling of where we're at in our culture, isn't it? Lines are becoming blurred and when lines become blurred and boundaries are taken away, people get hurt. There is black and white, wrong and right. It can be so easy to be confused in this day and age. So I feel compelled to write honestly about what is true

I personally felt violated while watching the performance. Disgusted. Shocked. Maybe you did, too. Take a quick look at Twitter this afternoon - many people felt shocked. And you know what the truth is? We should all be shocked and disgusted. And I truly believe it is important to talk about why. I am passionate about being really real and really honest here on my little blog. I think some Christians don't want to talk about real, relevant issues but I'm not one of them. I feel called to really be upfront with you guys - as if we were sitting in my living room chatting about real life over coffee. 'Cause, if I am not real, honest and straight-up with you, then why even write a blog? 

3 Reasons Why Miley's VMA Performance Should Shock and Disgust You 

1. The performance clearly alluded to and referenced little girls. Teddy bears. Stuffed animals. Pig tails in her hair. A pink and purple teddy bear outfit. Am I the only one who noticed how this performance was styled to look like a scene (possibly a nightmare) out of a child's nursery?

The truth is that 1 in 5 women have been sexually abused. ONE IN FIVE, you guys. That's ALOT. And you know what? Anything that even remotely references little girls and sex in an equation together should be publicly called out and banned. Working with women and girls in ministry for years, I have personally counseled many, many women who have experienced sexual abuse. It's not a joke and it's never, ever something to parade around on stage as entertainment. Not only is it absolutely damaging to viewers (especially children) but it is provocative to perverted people who are sexually attracted to exploiting and abusing children. And who can deny this is unacceptable? 

2. The performance was overtly sexual and undeniably pornographic. Let's be honest here: not only did Miley strip down to a skintight, nude latex bra and almost thong underwear that showed most of her bare backside, but her "dance" moves which involved a foam finger could hardly be called a "dance." They were something straight out of a strip club/porn film. I'm not going to link to the video or pictures here because many of my sweet readers are teens. But go read a mainstream news article on CNN, NBC or Fox - you will find that many liberal celebrities and writers are even speaking out, calling her performance sexually explicit. If you have seen it, you can't deny it. (And by the looks of it, poor Will Smith and his family may or may not need therapy after last night's show.)

The Parents' Television Council spoke out in outrage over MTV's choice to allow Miley to perform in this way on stage on a platform accessible to a national audience of all ages. "This is unnaceptable....MTV continues to sexually exploit young women by promoting acts that incorporate 'twerking' in a nude colored bikini. How is this image of former child star Miley Cyrus appropriate for 14-year-olds?" 

Undeniably, Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus performed in a pornographic, sexually explicit manner - purposefully and happily exposing millions upon millions of people (including young children) to porn. And this, my friends, is absolutely unacceptable. They are both adults (Thicke, a 36-year-old married father. Cyrus, a 20-year-old engaged woman) and they are responsible for their actions. Yes, we should pray for them. No, we should not hate them or abuse them verbally. But, we need to be upfront and honest about the facts: they performed porn and they are now responsible for that. 

3. The performance set a negative, toxic, damaging example for children. Over the past years, Miley played the role of Hannah Montana - she's a former Disney star who - to this day - has a huge following of young kids (especially young girls) and she carries a whole lot of influence. Millions-wide. The fact that she and the production team clearly purposefully styled her performance to call to mind little girl references and pornographic material is incomprehensible to me. Especially when sexual violence and exploitation of children - and particularly little girls - runs rampant in this world. 

Take note of the audience positioned right below the stage at eye-level? Young people. 

Miley is making a statement in her performance, setting an example of what "being an adult" looks like. She has transitioned from child star to adult star, giving kids a perverted view of what being an adult woman looks like. 


My dear readers, I believe it's important to think about why we feel disturbed or disgusted by something. Thinking things through, being smart and really understanding why something in our hearts tells us "that is wrong" is key as we navigate the ever-darkening world and culture we find ourselves in. Stay strong, beautiful friends! Speak truth. Don't back down or get discouraged. Think through why you believe what you do. Be careful what you listen to, watch, and who you look up to: we are very influenced by what we see and hear, and who we admire. 

Don't be confused by the blurred lines in our "gray" culture - recognize the black and white - wrong and right. Be encouraged! Be strong! And don't be swayed. Look to Jesus. He is the hope we have in this dark world. 


  1. Amen sista. I haven't watched the performance and don't plan on it. As we say in the South, bless her heart. She's in big need of some prayers.

  2. yesss!!!! amen to all of THIS!!! her performance was sickening and the evil one is using her to make this world fall in with lust even more!! thankful for Jesus and that we can hope in Him. All we can do is pray for people like Miley.

  3. This was a great great perspective Erin!! I plan to share the link to this post in one of my own tomorrow.

    I was watching the VMA's with a group of people from my hall in our dorm's lobby. We were all mainly watching to see *NSYNC (I'm a HUGE 90s music fan), and because of that we unfortunately got to see Miley's peformance. It was 100% the most disgusting thing that I've ever seen in my life. I thought it was gross just because of the sexual nature, but I never even considered the perverted factor until reading your post- and I now see how true that is! That makes me feel even more disturbed.

    The good news is that many other celebrities also felt the same way, and I was encouraged to read some articles today featuring tweets and comments from celebrities that saw it and felt the same way. Hopefully with that much of a negative reaction morals might be making a comeback into awards shows...... I will say that I've never watched the VMAs before and honestly *NSYNC was the only reason that I tuned in! I much prefer the Grammy's since they are a classier event.

    Thank-you for sharing the *truth*!! Your blog posts always amaze and encourage me, and this was no exception. :-)

    xoxo Miss ALK

  4. Proud of you for standing up for good, clean values my friend! Love you! Praying for you. Thank you for yours. xoxo. Talk soon!

  5. While I didn't watch the VMA's (mostly because I don't like award shows and I had a final exam to take), Miley and her "twerking" have been clogging my news feed. Curious, I clicked on a story and to my shock, I see Miley's tongue sticking out (something Gene Simmons from KISS would be envious of) and her gyrating against Thicke.

    I understand that she's a young woman and wants to do all of the stupid things we did at her age, but she made it clear a long time ago that she wasn't Hannah Montana anymore. So, why is she still trying so hard to break out of that image when it's already shattered on the floor?

    Her performance at the VMA'S was disgusting and disgraceful because it sends the wrong message to impressionable girls/ladies as well as young boys/men. I mean, we wonder why we are treated like sex objects. Well, we have our answer and we will continue to be glorified objects until a generation stands up and decides not to let sexual objectification or gray areas hinder their abilities to determine what is right or wrong.

    In a society that applauds sex/promiscuity while degrading intelligent women, it may be awhile before change happens.

  6. Love love love! Amen amen amen!

  7. I am so proud of you for standing up and writing about this. I purposefully have not watched that performance, but I saw the music video for that song, and I felt like throwing up afterward. I was shocked speechless. Literally. I'd never ever seen a music artist go that far. I can't believe she would do that, when she knows that she has young girls looking up to her. It discourages me, to be honest.

    Thanks for speaking up about this, and for not being one of those people that just hang their head and let it go by.
    Great post, girly. Praying for you always.

  8. Oh my gosh exactly. I also feel like weather or not she signed up to be a roll model, she is one. She became famous being Hannah Montana. Little kids look up to her. I just wish she would keep that in mind and have some integrity.

    I read recently that her parents are getting divorced. I feel for her, thats the worst, ive been there and it's easy to get lost when that happens. My heart honestly feel broken and sickened by this whole thing. I pray that someone leads her to Christ and that she lets Him in.

  9. Loved reading your words on this! I didn't watch the VMAs either. However, I couldn't avoid the news of it today... Miley & so many others like her in the public eye need our PRAYERS. They are so lost and they don't even know it AND they have so much influence in our world. It is all so incredibly heartbreaking. The thing that disgusts me the most is that Miley has often claimed to be a Christian...????

  10. Amen and amen sister! Tis is why Leon and I don't want nor need cable.. We have been living happily without it and don't want to bring junk in our family.

    I honestly didn't even see her video until I came across youtube and like you I am also planning on writing a post about it because words need to be spoken..

    It seriously disgusted me to tears for the same reason as you.

    I was not only sexually molested by my own father but family members as well that brought much insecurity to my life so really her performance made me want to barf! Thanks for your honesty girl and check out my post about it tomorrow.

  11. Thank you for writing and sharing this! I agree 100%!

  12. Amen! Thank you, thank you for standing up and stating the truth!

  13. I think that Blurred Lines is what it is and Robin Thicke is who he is. MTV has been putting boundary-pushers like him on their award shows for years because it does exactly what they want: pushes the boundaries. I'm not saying his type of performing is what we should be watching but, like you said, he's 36.

    Miley is a different story. She's just so overtly RIDICULOUS. She's had every opportunity in the world to be a normal person and a role model (which she totally is and says she doesn't want to be). This is a case of parenting gone wrong. I think enough people were horrified (even the Smith family!). This may be the breaking point. Every cent she's ever made has come from tweens/teens and their parents. It's a shame that she's seen it fit to go this way.

    Thank you for this post Erin!


  14. This is so well said and your sweet heart pours out in your desire to love on Miley.

  15. So well said. Excellent post! I completely agree with you. Thank you for this post.

  16. Wonderfully put, friend.

    I watched it a day later and could not have been more uncomfortable. From a woman no less. After reflection among my family, we let the performance sink in and realize she is still loved and needs to know God still loves her.

  17. I'm upset over it for all the same reasons. I thought it was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen, particularly because of the implied Pedophilia. As well as, the whole fake sex act she was performing. It's definitely going to make me rethink watching the awards next year. And I don't think any child should be allowed to watch that junk.

    All we can do is pray she gets some help. She's clearly very unbalanced.

  18. Oh I have so much to say on this subject and completely agree with you! I was also disgusted by it and mostly just confused at what was going on because the performance looks like something out of a drug induced nightmare. It also frustrates me that a lot of people will brush it off as "well that is what our world has come to.." but it is so sad to just stand by while this goes on. Thankfully a lot of young kids have probably felt that the performance was beyond weird too (including Will Smith's kids) As a girl that has been dancing and participating in recitals since I was 4 years old I think that I can say I know the difference between what dance is and what isn't. When performers like JT have a well choreographed sequence THAT is DANCE..NOT what Miley was doing ;)

  19. We do not watch MTV or anything of that sort i our house either. I pulled this video up on youtube, as we have a tween daughter and I wanted to be able to discuss it with her if she had heard about it at school. I had to turn it off - totally gross. I felt sorry for Miley that she felt that she had to get attention that way. I also felt sorry for her parents. But, most of all I am just sad that our country is so immune to that garbage that we allow that on tv. It is time that Christians stand up and be heard! We have voices, pay taxes, and should be heard! the mainstream media does NOT represent everyone in this country! Susan

  20. It is just so heartbreaking. I didn't watch the VMAs but after hearing all about Miley, I got on youtube. Just so sad. I feel like Disney stars are set up for failure. They must have this squeaky-clean image and then as soon as they are free from Disney they go absolutely wild.

  21. Amen sister. Amen! Thanks for sharing--you put into words everything I thought when I saw the video. xo

  22. Amen Erin :) So much wisdom friend! I appreciate the way you speak the truth in love. Sometimes when we see things that make us angry or upset, it's not easy to do that. I totally agree with you on every point you made. Why they continue to encourage such horrible behavior, and then question why the world looks like it does? Thank you so much for sharing this friend. Love you tons! xo

  23. I LOVED this post! I haven't seen the performance, and I refuse to watch it! Just this morning a friend told me I HAVE to watch it because it will kill me dead! I HAVE to watch it so that I can see just how awful it is. I HAVE to watch it because I will be SO shocked... NO THANK YOU!
    I'm afraid the more hits she gets on that performance... the more encouragement it will give her to keep acting like, well, NOT a lady.
    It's so heartbreaking that this is the type of publicity she'd rather have, than no publicity at all!
    Women are worth SO much more than "the world" is leading on and it's heart breaking! We have to do all that we can to teach our daughters, nieces and friends that our self worth is worth so much more than the world lets on!

  24. I didnt watch the VMA's but did look up the video for me and my best friend to watch. Esp since it was all over fb the next day. I must say as I sat there and watched it my jaw dropped and I now know why her dad is embasrassed of her. It's quite sad actually esp if many young girls looked up to her and all. and there's others like Amanda Bynes and all who have just turned into this person who kids dont need to look up to anymore. They definitely do need our prayers and need help none the less

  25. Thank you for this post. I was mortified watching this. It was sickening. Now I understand why my dad NEVER allowed us to watch MTV and still doesn't in his home.

    ~Ashley @ A Cute Angle

  26. wow. i didn't even really hear about this performance until about 2 days ago. i just heard bits and pieces--no gruesome details as to what miley did. i have not seen it. thank you, yet again, for writing this and taking a stand on what you believe is right. love you, erin.


  27. I completely agree with everything you wrote! The performance was just disgusting. This is why my daughter is not allowed to watch MTV!

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