Miley Cyrus, the Pole Truth

Miley Cyrus, the Pole Truth

Monday, August 10, 2009

Viewers of tonight's Teen Choice Awards will be shocked at the teen queen's choice of dance partner.

miley cyrus pole dance teen choice awards

Oops she did it again. No, that's not Britney working the pole, but Miley Cyrus, apparently well on her way to following in the pop wreck's footsteps.

While taping the show that airs tonight on FOX, the scantily clad "Hannah Montana" star channels Nomi Malone, from the uber-trashy cult favorite "Showgirls," by gyrating on a stripper pole, flanked by her posse of dancers.

Of course, it's not the first time Cyrus has attempted to undermine her sanitized Disney image. She's posed semi-nude in Vanity Fair, and has had her share of risqué images leaked across the Internet.

As they've done countless times before, many are ready to take the teen star to task for what they deem as raunchy behavior. But according to Dr. Michelle Golland, a licensed clinical psychologist, the Miley bashing is out of hand. "The public is putting this hyper-focus on her and her sexuality." The truth is, says Golland, "She looks like any pop star transitioning her image."

As far as the Teen Choice performance, Golland doesn't even believe Cyrus was pole dancing. "I've seen pole dancing," she says. "Miley was holding onto a pole. It doesn't count." Ultimately, remarks Golland, "She could have been doing things that were much more inappropriate."

Considering some of the dances teens are doing these days, is Miley's pole dancing any different?

Dr. Golland is a USC graduate and a licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY#16974). She works with adults, teens and is an expert in the field of marriage and relationships. Dr. Golland has given her expert advice on CNN, HLN, MSNBC, ABC, and Fox news. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and wonderfully exhausting two children.

Strange love at the Teen Choice Awards!

filed under: celebs & entertainment

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14 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

How disingenuous can you be? It doesn’t matter that it’s not exactly the same “real pole dance” a stripper would do. Miley is still dancing with a pole, and believe me, that is not an accident. She is trying rather heavy-handedly to use some conventional (and by now cliched) symbols to signal her transition to adulthood. But the point, to me, is that in the name of “finding her own sexuality” and “maturing” she’s really doing neither. She’s actually sending a very immature and brainless message to girls: that “growing up” just means learning to cater to men, learning to exude a certain kind of generic, pre-approved “sexy.”

- michelle

Posted 08/10/09 05:25 PM

i saw the dance and people r making more of it then it is. Miley is growing up and at least she has clothes on. if you follow her on twitter u know she is going through a tough time at the moment so instead of critizing she needs support. i cannot believe how much negativity and critizing is in this world.

- leah

Posted 08/10/09 05:57 PM

Leah, People like you are the reason things like this happen. Get your head out of your butt. I bet you voted for Obama didnt you??

- Derek

Posted 08/10/09 07:09 PM

Derek, what does voting for Obama have to do with a teenager dancing around a pole? I am not saying this is ‘great’ but it could be a lot worse. My question is why the heck did her parents approve this?

- Sarah B

Posted 08/10/09 09:48 PM

Really Leah? Miley needs to get a grip. No girl her age needs to be on a pole like a stripper. I’m only 14 & I would never do something like that. It’s not ‘growing up’. If anybody else were to get up there, it’d be an atrocity. Miley has NO excuse for doing this. She needs to be more like Selena Gomez. I hope she doesn’t end up like Miley.

- Shaylee

Posted 08/10/09 10:06 PM

Miley’s pole dancing is different from the dances other teens do; other teens don’t have thousands of elementary-school fans watching, and mimicking, her every move. She has no excuse for this, and whether she was dancing with the pole or not she should know better than to pose with it and know what people are thinking as she poses with it. I’m with Michelle on this one, this is no accident.

- Emily

Posted 08/10/09 10:28 PM

I think Miley is trying to appeal to an older audience because she is getting older. My family lives in the same part of the same state as her family’s primary/first home. I’ve never cared for her show because it seems as though they go to a lot of trouble to over-do their southern accents. If my daughters talked like that I would hire a speach therapist, or as Miley would say “haar uh spe-uch thur-u-pest”.

- ame i.

Posted 08/10/09 10:57 PM

The pole dance they just showed on fox was nothing! The picture of her on here with the pole is worse than anything they showed on fox. Either they edited a lot of it out, or people are bashing her for absolutely no reason at all. Even if she did do something with the pole that they didn’t show on tv, people need to lay off her and realize she is growing up just like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera did before our eyes. When they were Mileys age they were wearing much smaller and sexier outfits than Miley has. -JD-

- JD

Posted 08/11/09 12:05 AM

Don’t you People have anything more pressing to worry about than Miley Cyrus? She’s an entertainer. She chooses which way she wants her career to go. If you don’t like it DON’T WATCH. It’s very simple. You have the ultimate say over what your kids do. If you disapprove, don’t let THEM watch. That’s the wonderful thing about our country. We get to make choices. Oh and there is something very sexist about a company (Disney) who would make such an uproar over Miley Cyrus & her pictures, dancing, etc., when they employee Zack Effron who has done much more riské poses.

- Rachelle

Posted 08/11/09 01:27 AM

She’s practicning for when her music career goes in the dumper.

- Anonymous

Posted 08/12/09 01:36 AM

guyss everybody knows that miley cyrus is a role model and 4-12 year old kids look up to her .. she rlly should be carefull about that .. but sometimes she has to do something for her .. without thinking about anybody BUT her .. she has a life.. sometimes she has to stop thinking about the fans .

- ashley

Posted 08/12/09 04:00 PM

I think Miley should of known better to do this. I feel like she was doing this 2 get Nick Jonas attention. She’s needs 2 start acting like a sixteen year old instead of a 22 year old. i would never put a pole on the stage if I was perforiming like that.

- Anonymous

Posted 08/13/09 12:02 PM

GO DEREK!!! i totally agree with you!

- Krissy

Posted 08/15/09 07:20 PM

Wow! Does anyone else think this has gotten out of hand? It makes perfect sense that she is holding onto a pole. Now follow me people, if you were dancing on top of a rolling ice cream cart you would need to hold onto something as well, right? But besides that if you don’t like it try using the parental controls and monitor what your kids watch. Everyone else who has a problem can change the channel. So move on with your lives!!

- Kalika

Posted 09/01/09 05:26 PM