Lifestyle

Miley Cyrus Expresses Her Thoughts On Feminism And Her Splits With Disney And Liam Hemsworth

by Katie Gonzalez
Stock

Maybe this is the real Miley Cyrus — not the version of her stage persona who rides into arenas on giant hotdogs, or her Instagram persona who can't seem to stop taking selfies.

This Miley Cyrus spoke candidly with Elle Magazine about feminism, her transformation from a childhood Disney star, and her high-profile breakup with Liam Hemsworth. And she sounds way wiser than her 21 years.

In the interview with young blogger Tavi Gevinson, Cyrus opened up about the criticism she received for her hyper-sexual performances. But instead of her usual "f*ck the haters" attitude, Cyrus broke it down articulately, highlighting a real double-standard that exists for female entertainers:

"I still don't think we're there 100 percent. I mean, guy rappers grab their crotch all f*cking day and have hoes around them, but no one talks about it. But if I grab my crotch and I have hot model bitches around me, I'm degrading women? I'm a woman — I should be able to have girls around me! But I'm part of the evolution of that. I hope."

Cyrus also weighed in on modern day feminism, and like many have recently advocated, took a much more egalitarian approach to the issue.

"I'm just about equality, period. It's not like, I'm a woman, women should be in charge! I just want there to be equality for everybody."

And although Cyrus (and everyone else) would admit her Disney character, Hannah Montana, is a thing of the past, she didn't bash the channel for forcing her into her character's innocent, bell bottom-wearing role. Instead, she seemed to thank Disney for letting her go when they did, but also for bringing her up in that strict, teeny-bopper fashion.

"I got the most intense training. There's times where I wish I could have just started as a new artist, but the world has kind of allowed me to do that. I feel really lucky — a lot of kid stars get all crazy or stuck in what they were, so they can't actually become what they're meant to be."

So many times people look at Miley Cyrus and probably see the exact opposite of what they want their young daughters to become.

But Cyrus' insight on her most recent break-up — which included ending an engagement — kind of makes her a role model for girls everywhere.

She was strong enough to admit the hurt she felt at the dissolution of the relationship, but proved that real strength comes from the ability to be alone, and saying that a guy isn't needed in life to determine happiness or security.

"When I went through a really intense breakup — you know, I was engaged — and when I was with him or when I was on Disney, the thing that gave me the most anxiety was not knowing what to do with myself when Disney wasn't there to carry me anymore or if I didn't have him. And now I'm free of both of those things, and I'm fine. Like, I lay in bed at night by myself and I'm totally okay, and that's so much stronger than the person three years ago, who would have thought they would have died if they didn't have a boyfriend."

I know Miley has an on-stage persona to maintain, but it'd be nice to see this side of the singer — whose honestly comes across as smart, and not just vulgar — more often.

Maybe it's because she's getting more comfortable and assured in the role she's playing, but this interview proves that she has huge potential to be an actual role model for girls who want to party occasionally but also want to be well-versed in female-empowering ideas.

via Huffington Post, Photo Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images