Miley Cyrus made headlines on the last day of May when she released her sex-positive EP, She Is Coming. Not just because of the NSFW tracks, but also the merch that came with it. I mean, a $20 condom with a hotline (1-800-SHE-IS-MC)? The price is way too high, but hey, at least Miley is all for safe sex.
On Tuesday night (PH time), Miley dropped her music video for “Mother’s Daughter,” the first song from the EP. The song is described as a women empowerment anthem as Miley makes a point that she’s free to do whatever the f*ck she wants. The video also has no shortage of feminist and inclusive imagery. In fact, we found some aspects of it #wokeAF as well, especially in today’s social climate.
In case you missed all the symbolisms and inspiring cameos in “Mother’s Daughter,” here’s a rundown of ’em.
“Don’t f*ck with my freedom”
This is a line from the song’s chorus. You might also remember seeing this in Miley’s post when she addressed the trolls who said she deserved to be sexually harassed in Barcelona. It’s a line many women could resonate with, especially when there are news like anti-abortion laws being passed, sanitary napkins are treated as luxuries, and the fact we are still expected to be subservient to the patriarchy. Even the marginalized who are being detained at the US-Mexico border and those being driven away from their homes can relate to this line.
Miley’s right—no one should ever come in and f*ck anyone over by taking away their basic human rights.
Sanitary napkin shot
We’re willing to bet that many people (most likely men) weren’t thrilled to see the shot of a woman wearing a sanitary napkin in her lacey panties. This is a staunch reminder that periods are normal and should be normalized on mainstream media.
We’re also looking at the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race who prohibited Manila Luzon from wearing a period dress on All Stars 4 because it was “distasteful.” We know RuPaul himself has a song with Miley called “Cattitude,” but we hope he saw this and allows period-themed outfits next time.
“Virginity is a social construct”
Throughout the music video, there are words flashing on the screen. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss them and their important message—one of them says “Virginity is a social construct.”
Again, this is a reminder that virginity isn’t a measure of one’s “purity.” As Her Campus would note, this concept originated in the Bible where old religious people would dictate that a woman’s virginity should be saved until marriage, and that premarital sex is sinful. This then creates the misogynistic notion that women are sluts if they lose their virginity before marriage. Until now, we still see this archaic mindset.
But it’s 2019 now and we should stop this notion. What’s important now is to teach people how to have safe sex and not feel bad about wanting to experience pleasure with other people. You do you, boo!
What Miley’s “vagina dentata” catsuit means
“Vagina dentata,” or “toothed vagina” is a mythical condition that was believed to have been created as a cautionary tale “for men to beware where they put their d*cks lest they lose them.” This condition was also explored in the 2007 horror-comedy film Teeth where a woman uses her toothed vagina to exact revenge on the men who abused her. Brutal.
Anyway, Page Six called Miley’s outfit a “vagina dentata catsuit” because of the crotch area’s Venus flytrap shape. This can be interpreted in a couple of ways: 1) That women’s vaginas are tough because they can go from having periods to birthing a live human; and 2) That the word “p*ssy” shouldn’t be used as a derogatory term to denote weakness.
So much inclusivity!
Aside from her mom, Tish Cyrus, Miley also invited different people to showcase various forms of bodies and identities. These included the likes of plus-sized model Angelina Duplisea, dancer Amazon Ashley, non-binary skater Lacey Baker, and fierce momma Mela Murder.
Probably one of the stars of the video was Aaron Philip, who is an Elite-signed trans model with cerebral palsy. You can see her looking fierce in a fur-lined wheelchair and purple platform heels. In an interview with Naomi Campbell for Paper Magazine, she talked about people being more considerate of those with disabilities like herself. But more than anything, “I want nothing more for myself than to be normal and to be seen as normal because I know that I am normal, no matter what my intersections are.”
These people represent some of the marginalized in society who deserve as much of the spotlight as Miley. Again, we should all acknowledge their presence without being condescending. They should all be treated decently and like any other human being—no hate, no discrimination.
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What’s your favorite part of Miley Cyrus’ “Mother’s Daughter”? Tweet us @preenph!
Art by Tricia Guevara
Screengrabs from YouTube
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