Hannah Montana’s Grooming…

April 28, 2008 | 9:42 PM

A lot has been said in the last couple days about Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana’s photos in Vanity Fair.  It doesn’t seem too out of place for this kind of stuff to happen these days, but to the best of my knowlege this case stands out for two reasons: (1) even Britney and Christina were sixteen or seventeen before they started doing these kinds of photoshoots- Cyrus is fifteen and (2) both were in their solo careers and far removed from Disney before they went the way they did.  I don’t think anybody expected Cyrus to do this kind of stuff, and daddy Billy Ray had been clear that he wasn’t going to allow it.  Oops.

Anyway, I’ve really tried not to pay much attention to this topic, but I ran across a very interesting post about Miley Cyrus’ “grooming” by Vanity Fair on Gawker.  Gawker makes a connection between the magazine and a manipulative style used by pedophiles:

There’s a technique called “grooming” that pedophiles use on their victims (yes, we just learned about it today, thank you). One definition says “Grooming behavior is intended to make the victim or potential victim or victim’s guardians feel comfortable with the molester and even interested in interacting with him.” And here’s a characteristic of a regressed child molester: “They place pseudo-adult status on their victims and then view them as they would their peers.” Now take a look at the following behind-the-scenes pictures from Vanity Fair’s controversial new Miley Cyrus photo shoot by 58-year-old lesbian photographer Annie Leibovitz and ask yourself if any of that rings a bell. We’re not accusing these stylists of being pedophiles, we’re just saying… ugh…

All I’m saying is… WOW. In this PC world, I’m almost as surprised by the connection by Gawker as I am by the photoshoot itself.  I’m not sure where I stand, nor do I think it’s even important where I stand.

What’s important to me is the concept of “grooming.”  The thing that disturbs me is that I’ve watched adult volunteers “groom” youth in the same way.  You know what?  That’s sick.  (On another note, Louisiana is working on a plan to make more predators pause before pursuing.)

[Photo copyright Vanity Fair]

Posted in Christianity, Ethics, Life, Media