Sure, there are a lot of things way, way more important than this. The collapse of the US economy and the ripples of that collapse that are affecting hundreds of millions across the world; the wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan; the erosion of our civil rights at the hands of a government run amok. But just because there are large, genuine problems of enormous magnitude that does not provide an excuse to excuse smaller problems, which this is. I am blessed with sons and so am blessed with the problems that come with raising boys, but do not experience the problems that come with raising girls. Would I care if any of my boys saw the offending photograph? No. Would any of them be interested for more than a moment? I don't think so. The older boys would glance and look away, and the younger boys would glance and say "ew". But for those with daughters, I can see that this could be a problem, but the problem is merely an obvious example of a continuing problem of society's own making. Remember Halloween? Lots of very suggestive costumery for young girls. Makeup is marketed to young girls and parents allow it. Suggestive clothing, for lack of a better term, is more or less the norm. And so there is a sort of cognitive dissonance at work. We want our little girls pure and unsullied, but we allow their exposure to the less pure, and are surprised that they want to grow up. Juno anyone? I don't see a big problem with the Miley Cyrus picture, but then, neither I nor my sons have venerated her as some sort of pure pop icon. Hannah Who, they might ask? We don't have television, we don't have cable. We're out of the tween-girl loop. If my sons look up to anyone, it is accomplished adults-- writers, politicians (I know, amazing, isn't it?), artists, musicians, carpenters, professors, teachers. I trust Annie Leibovitz. She is a talented artists, and if she thinks this was a mistake, somehow, well-- who among us has made no mistakes? But I think this photograph, if it were of someone none of us had ever heard of, someone we had hung no expectations on, would be very illuminating. It might provoke questions, uncomfortable questions perhaps, about just how we view young women, or old girls, and where the line should be drawn between the two.

Okay…I get the controvery over Ms. Cyrus’ degree of dress and pouty pose in the cover of Vanity Fair. What I don’t get is the time…energy…thought…words spent on it. I want people to talk about the real issues that profoundly effect our youth. Here is just one example. Take this quiz: How many American households are affected by a serious mental illness? Did you guess one in four? Because that’s the most recent stat. Did you know that nearly 10% of all people suffer from a serious mental illness? Did you know that 80% of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder self-medicate, thus developing issues of addiction on top of their genetically-caused illness? Did you know that a vast majority of those incarcerated at all levels–highest at over 70% in juvenile facilities–cost taxpayers millions a year and have diagnosed mental illnesses that would be cheaper to treat? Did you know that the average age of onset is 17 and that many of the world’s greatest minds are lost to the stigma and symptoms of mental illness? Really folks…there are a lot more pertinent things to discuss with our kids and in our public forums. Knowledge, not gossip and conjecture, is power. I invite you to to my website at http://www.katemclaughlin.net to learn more.

I am not surprised at all. That is Hollywood. It is up to us parents to make sure we do our job or responsibilities to instill to our children the importance of strong spiritual and moral values so that they will not be influence with that type of wordly ideas.

It seems to me the only recent teenage celebrity to escape some kind of scandal is Hilary Duff. Actress and mom Jamie Lee Curtis posted a very interesting blog post in reaction to the whole Miley VF scandal: Jamie Lee Curtis Blog

To be honest I think they are horrible photos -- a little too sexy maybe. Shame on Dad for letting them be taken though... We've all witnessed what happens when a teen idol goes the sexy route (Britney Spears et al) -- it's a slippery slope. IMO a star can't be both teen role model and hottie What's the message for our daughters? - sex sells? -- you have to be thin to be loved? - looks are what matters?

yes, I watched her too in American Idol (Idol gives back) and though I know that she's just following a script Ithink she her lines were horrible. She spoke like bratty IMO. I watched her as Hanna Montana and honestly I like her more when she's Hanna than when she's Miley. Well, I stand to be corrected anyway since I only watched her once in American Idol, I haven't seen any of her interviews or tv guesting so I know I shouldn't be too harsh on her. I like her face, she's has charming eyes ... Going back to her recent photos in vanity fair, I think the reasn why she's getting so much reactions(most are angry and disgusted) bcoz her portrayal as Hannah Montana is indeed very effective and appealing and people forgotten that this girl is real and is blossoming/budding a lady. If she happened to be like other teen stars like Hilary Duff or Lindsay Lohan and isn't the person behind Hannah Montana's success amongst children then perhaps her photo shoots in VF won't create too much noise. She shouldn't have done such daring poses for the sake of her young viewers/fans, she couldn't care less for that matter.

My kids made me watch her performance on American Idol and it was horrible. It is not to long until her star fades out and she is replaced with the next flavor of the month. Just another good example of why we need to stop paying so much attention to celebrities.

She looks like she is 12 in the photo!