Diaries of a Beauty Queen

Before Bill O'Reilly finishes lambasting Billy Ray Cyrus on national television for allowing his daughter Miley to be photographed backless by photographer Annie Leibovitz, he should take a moment to reflect on the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. "Oops! I Did it Again" was released in the year 2000 when Britney was eighteen. Her parents and producers made the wise decision. While the song and video appeal to a younger audience, Britney had reached the age of consent leaving her immune from possible legal backwash that could have occurred as a result of negative media coverage. JonBenet Ramsey's parents made the wrong decision, preening her from almost infancy to compete in beauty pageants. Miley Cyrus falls somewhere in between these two examples of "female idols." LeeAnn Rimes was only thirteen when her debut single "Blue" was released, and she became the youngest artist in history to win a Grammy Award. It could have been then the poison infected the wound, and the exploitation of America's youth began at the expense of the unholy greenback. Country music in recent years has not been known for virtuous artistic achievement. Conversely base elements of Hip/Hop, R&B, Rap, and Glam Rock have infiltrated the aesthetic of country music. Unlike Garth Brooks and Shania Twain country music videos became ripe with attributes of soft-core pornography leaving them nothing more than eye candy for a country audience looking to have a good time. Gone were the heart wrenching and soul searching melancholic lyrics of traditional American country music. "We just all want to have a good time, Billy Ray!" The concept of teen idols is an old one, and it could be best represented by Walt Disney's inception of the Mickey Mouse Club. Would Bill O'Reilly have felt the same way if Annette Funicello was photographed backless in l955 on the set of Beach Blanket Bingo? There seems to be something unsettling about modern country music imagery. There was plenty of teenage skin being exposed in the l950's and recently on shows such as MTV's" The Grind," a dance showed aired from l992-l997. Everywhere you look there are examples of teenage sexuality, but it is the context that makes them acceptable or deplorable. Many Americans would probably agree that an artistic image of a young woman backless captured by a notable photographer isn't necessarily sexual. One only has to ask Johannes Vermeer's wife in the novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" what she believes. In the context of the novel and film, Cornelia Vermeer adamantly feels the portraiture of their newly employed cleaning lady by her esteemed husband painter is marital sacrilege. In his and Griet's perspective the portrait is an expression of art in many ways. Vermeer finds a connection and understanding from Griet that is itself beautiful and satisfying in a way very different than the love for his wife. It is not necessarily sexual at all, but viewed from an unhappy and jealous wife's perspective, the relationship takes on new found contempt and scorn. This kind of understanding could best characterize what is beautiful about the youthful generation. In the throes of puberty and adolescence there is a kind of naivete that is hugely appealing, because many of the negative connotations of life experienced in adulthood are absent. In many ways youthfulness provides an empty canvas upon which to paint. Just as parents understand with altrustic love, admiration for their children for these qualities does not mean they want to have sex with them.