Amanda Palmer nails what's wrong with Sinead O'Connor's comments on Miley Cyrus

How about this? I don't agree with either Sinead O'Connor or Amanda Palmer. Sinead O'Connor has issues. Amanda Palmer is advocating public nudity and simulation of sexual acts if that's what performers feel compelled to do- and I think that's out of line. If one has to pull off soft porn and beyond to sell records then they are obviously not talented enough to have record deals in my book. Music should sell itself. I shouldn't have to see what someone's look or political statements are- I should be able to listen to the music and decide based on that alone if it's crap or not- and I do. I don't think it is empowering to women to degrade themselves and I also don't think that women should de-feminize themselves either.

tgg said:

We live in the 21st Century, not the Victorian or Dark Ages. Times are a-changing, and for the better!

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No. Just no.

They're called "private parts" for a reason. Bathsheba was more than likely bathing without the intention of attracting anyone's attention, and it was David who went out of his way to be a Peeping Tom.

I don't want to criticise Miley too much, but I am sort of uncomfortable with what she's been doing.

It seems like Miley might be doing all this stuff because she wants to look like an adult, and get away from Disney. That, to me, seems to lack dignity. I don't mean because she is naked, but because of why she is doing it. Lady Gaga, does scenes where she is nearly naked, but for her it seems to be art, and a form of self-expression.

In some ways, I feel like there is more dignity in what some porn actors and prostitutes do.

I suppose it depends if the motivation comes from inside or from others. With Miley, I wonder if what she is doing really represents her character, or if she is doing it because she feels she has to.

I know I could have this all wrong. She might naturally want to show off like that, and the only reason I have a problem is because I remember how she was before, and thought that was her.

seashale76 said:

I don't think it is empowering to women to degrade themselves and I also don't think that women should de-feminize themselves either.

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I do agree with alot of your post, but not so much with this bit. I don't know if what Miley degraded herself. I don't really know what you mean by 'degraded' here.

I don't think women or men should there telling women what it means to be female though. Women oppressing women is no different from men doing it. Each person should simply be themselves, regardless of sex. If that means one sex tends to act or think in one way, that's ok, but there's no need to shame individuals who don't conform to stereotypes.

I agree that music should sell itself, and you shouldn't have to get naked to do that.

I do also do not like what Miley is doing, but I refuse to jump on the "trash miley" bandwagon. She is young and she has some difficulties. She has to work through them.

Sinead O'Connor is irrelevant now, not that she ever was relevant to start with. I barely remember her having some hit about 20 or 30 years on radio, but would not even remember that fact if she didn't have unusual name (as far as Irish performers go, "Riverdance" and its spin-offs beats the hell out of her). Celtic music is cool, if never listened to it, is better than one might initially think. I like Celtic music only slightly less than Native American Indian flute music and chants, which is my favorite music (along with classic rock and classic country and jazz/blues).

tgg said:

What's wrong with public nudity? The Bible does not condemn it one bit. Look at Isaiah 20:2 for instance, or Bathsheba bathing outdoors in her courtyard. God did not condemn them for it.

There is also a difference between erotica and pornography, and public nudity is NOT always sexual or pornographic.

Amanda Palmer is a very talented woman, having been raised a performer all her life and been in a band called The Dresden Dolls for a number of years before she went solo.

With that said, I do agree with you there are some videos which contain nudity in them in which the music is pretty crap if you look at the one that Justin Timberlake did for "Tunnel Vision". Pretty awesome video, but the song itself is forgettable. The public weren't hoodwinked either - the song just about scraped into the "Bubbling Under" section of the singles charts.

As for women being publicly naked being "degrading" to their character, that is codswallop. Jesus never said anything about it, and neither should we. We have a lot of guys in the music world exposing their bodies for the public to see, so why shouldn't the girls and women do it without any retribution?

We live in the 21st Century, not the Victorian or Dark Ages. Times are a-changing, and for the better!

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What is codswallop? I like the sound of that word.