Miley v. Muslims
August 29, 2013
Bill Donohue comments on reactions to Miley Cyrus and the
Miss World pageant:
Last Sunday, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Miley Cyrus simulated masturbation
with a giant foam finger, grabbed her crotch, rubbed herself against a man old
enough to be her father, pretended the man was performing anal sex on her, and
walked around in a nude latex bikini. Her mother loved it. So did her manager.
Millions of young girls and guys loved it as well.
Next month, the Miss World pageant will be held in Indonesia. Some Muslims are urging
the government to cancel the event. According to the leader, Riziek Shihab,
“The Miss World pageant is only an excuse to exhibit women’s body parts.”
Who are the real feminists? Miley’s fans? Or the Muslims? If debasing women is
the yardstick, the Muslims win.
A perusal of the websites of the National Organization for Women and The
Feminist Majority yields nothing about Miley, nor even a word about
sexploitation. However, there is a great deal of commentary on abortion and
lesbianism.
In this regard, the Catholic position is instructive.
Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae, was a clarion call to men
and women: today’s culture allows men to sexually exploit women, cheapening
relations between them. Pope John Paul II spoke eloquently about the
commodification of sexuality, offering us a “Theology of the Body.”
We don’t have to agree with those who want to ban beauty pageants to know that
their concerns are not trivial, especially in a day and age when Miley (and her
dutiful mother) may be lurking right around the corner.