Ugh. Just... ugh. Ugh. Between the raging rape culture that was once again brought to our attention by the horrific Twitter reactions to American Horror Story: Coven's
premiere, and this latest reminder that Robin Thicke still exists and
says things, we just... we just need a break, OK? Because Robin Thicke blames Miley Cyrus for VMA performance, and we're just exhausted.
I’m singing my butt off, so I’m sitting there. I’m looking up at this
guy, and I’m singing. I’m not really paying attention to all that.
That’s on her. I’m like, people ask me, you
know, do you twerk? I go, listen, I’m the twerkee. I’m twerked upon. I
don’t twerk myself, OK? I’m just twerked upon.
(Emphasis ours.)
Listen. Listen. We saw that performance. With our eyes. The
working ones, in our heads. Miley Cyrus may have been the one to bend
over and wiggle her booty, but here's the thing: 1) So what? We're still
confused as to why people are still upset about that, and 2) Robin
Thicke, sir, you were there, too.
Miley Cyrus bent over, and twerked, and generally wiggled, but Thicke must have stumbled oh so
conveniently to find himself right up against that very famous
derriere. He may not have been twerking, but he was definitely part of
the equation, and it's kind of lame to claim otherwise.
Thicke also wrote "Blurred Lines,"
which happens to be the song they were performing, so it feels kind of
disingenuous to push all the blame onto the lady acting out the lyrics
to his own song. Don't blame Miley Cyrus for not being as easily
"domesticated" as the song claims; she already warned us years ago that she can't be tamed.
We do agree with one thing Thicke said about that VMAs performance and the press attention that followed: “It’s silly.”
With one word, Miley Cyrus deepened her individuality — and her dating pool.
“I’m pansexual,” the 22-year-old singer says in the October issue of Elle UK, on sale Thursday.
The term covers the sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender
identity. In other words, the button- and tongue-pushing pop queen’s
bedroom comes with an all-access pass.
“Calling oneself pansexual is opening up to every human possibility,” says Jennifer Bass, communications director at the Kinsey Institute, a longtime temple of sex research, in Bloomington, Ind. MILEY CYRUS PASSES LIT JOINT IN PRESS ROOM AT THE VMAS
Miley Cyrus speaks onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards held at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
(Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
Miley Cyrus speaks onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards held at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
(Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
“It’s an attempt to be inclusive and to step outside of conventional categories people are put into,” she adds.
And the fearless Twerking Girl said as much in a Paper mag interview, without using the actual term “pansexual.”
The word, which is relatively under-the-radar if you’re not a sex
researcher, sends a message as clear and direct as a wrecking ball.
While bisexuality suggests two genders, Cyrus’s latest personal label of
choice is gender-blind.
Are you straight? Gay? Bi? Questioning? Transitioning? Let’s party.
Actor Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus arrive at the premiere of Touchstone Picture's "The Last Song" in 2010.
(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
MILEY CYRUS FLASHES AUDIENCE AT THE VMAS
Cyrus is open to men (like hunky actor and ex-fiance Liam Hemsworth). And women (like stunning model Stella Maxwell,
who she’s romanced). As well as transgender men and women who may not
even identify as male or female (stay tuned). Bottom line: Former Disney
star joneses for everyone.
And, yes, pansexuality is a thing. There’s even a flag for it —
horizontal stripes in pink, yellow and blue — which has been waved since
about 2010.
The label isn’t new, but in the age of the Millenial, in which individuality looms XXL, it’s coming out of the shadows.
11 photos view gallery
Miley's outfits during the 2015 MTV VMAs
NICKI MINAJ LAUNCHES FEUD WITH VMAS HOST MILEY CYRUS
While there are no hard statistics on pansexuality, experts say a broad
ballpark figure could be between 1 and 2 percent of the general
population.
“It would be a small portion of those who might have thought of
themselves as bisexual at one time,” says Virginia psychologist and
certified sex therapist Geoffrey Michaelson.
“A pansexual might think the term bisexual is limiting and not
inclusive of their ability to have love for and sex with a transman or
transfemale. They feel open to all.”
Pansexual flag
Like Cyrus. The pop performer joins Texas legislator Mary Gonzalez, 32, who traded her bisexual label for a pansexual one three years ago.
“As I started to recognize the gender spectrum and dated along the
gender spectrum, I was searching for words that connected to that
reality, for words that embraced the spectrum,” Gonzalez explained in
2012.
MILEY CYRUS LEADS THE VMAS RED CARPET CIRCUS
Still, it’s a bold declaration by Cyrus, who’s never been shy about discussing her own sexuality going every which way.
82 photos view gallery
Miley Cyrus' most attention-seeking moments
“I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and
doesn’t involve an animal and everyone is of age,” she said in the
summer issue of Paper, out a couple months ago.
“Everything that’s legal, I’m down with,” she added. “Yo, I’m down with
any adult — anyone over the age of 18 who is down to love me. I don’t
relate to being boy or girl, and I don’t have to have my partner relate
to boy or girl.”
In Elle UK, Cyrus says that she’s “very open” to her pansexuality. “But
I’m not in a relationship. I’m 22, I’m going on dates, but I change my
style every two weeks, let alone who I’m with.”
Indeed, change is a constant for one-time “Hannah Montana” star who
emceed Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards in a parade of freewheeling
— and at times freakish — outfits that screamed anything goes. Make
that, everything goes.
Stella Maxwell and Miley Cyrus. Image from Miley Cyrus instagram page.
(Instagram)
“What Miley’s saying is, ‘Don’t pigeonhole me. I’m an individual,’”
Michaelson says. “That’s part of her fantastic appeal as a person and as
a human being. She’s thinking outside of categories and bringing her
individuality to the sexual arena.
“That’s pretty good for our tolerance and our compassion toward people
who are different from us,” he adds. “Under it all, Miley’s simply
saying, ‘I’m me.’”
And she used the VMAs as a platform for others who just want to be themselves. She ended the broadcast with a performance of her new song “Dooo It!” that was introduced by a group of transgender young people.
And to anyone who thinks Cyrus’ all-inclusive sexual appetite amounts
to gluttony, Michaelson says, “She’s not being greedy. She’s just being
Miley.”
