Which of the following does not belong? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Mary Wollstonecraft, Michelle Obama, and Miley Cyrus.

Along with licking sledgehammers and being a complete annoyance to the entertainment industry, Miley Cyrus is now calling herself the biggest feminist in the world.

I think she’s confusing the term “feminism” with the term “train wreck.”

During an interview with UK radio station Capital FM, Cyrus stated, “I feel like I’m one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women not to be scared of anything. Girls are all beautiful.”

She then let the DJ slap her behind as if he was playing the bongos. If there’s something that screams women empowerment, it’s letting a man play the drums on your butt.

Afterward she said, “Thank you for banging me.”

In the same interview, Cyrus also said that we have about 105 years on this earth. Aside from her complete misconception on the average life span, the serious issue that should be addressed is she is using the term feminism as an excuse to justify being attention hungry.

According to the Huffington Post, sociologist Catherine Hakim said, “There’s absolutely no contradiction at all between being a feminist and taking your clothes off and being comfortable about displaying your sexuality.”

 Millions of women are comfortable with their sexuality, but refrain from getting naked at the drop of a hat while seeking as much publicity as possible.

 You can change the world for women, while keeping your clothes on and your tongue in your mouth. Believe it or not, it has been done before.

 Feminism is not about the over-sexualization of women. It’s about the empowerment of them.

 So Cyrus wants to be a feminist? Why doesn’t she discuss how women are still earning less than men for doing the same job? She can talk about how there are debates over women birth control methods, yet men have no problem buying contraception.

These barely scratch the surface of the gender inequalities our country faces today.

 After performing on stage with Robin Thicke to his song “Blurred Lines,” which might be considered the most misogynistic song of the year, to have Cyrus proclaim herself one of the great feminists of our time is completely contradictory of her actions.

 Young and impressionable girls should not be looking at Cyrus as a role model. Instead, a better example of feminism is found in someone like Malala Yousafzai.

Unfortunately, chances are that more people are familiar with Cyrus than they are with Malala, the young Pakistani girl who stood up for education equality and was shot by the Taliban because of it, according to the New York Times.

Since then, Malala has spent the year traveling as an advocate for female education and strength.

That is the kind of young woman the media should report on. Instead, we get an obnoxious spoiled brat in her post Hannah Montana phase who thinks cutting her hair and acting out makes her a fighter for women’s rights.

We can all agree that the world of entertainment is an arms race for who can be the most shocking and ostentatious. Cyrus has built this persona for publicity, but to do so and justify it as being a representation of feminism is insulting.

They say with age comes maturity, but in this case, I don’t necessarily find that to be true.

Cyrus, you’re no feminist. You’re just some loud 20-year-old who’s on minute number 13 of your mercifully short 15.

 

-Dominique Wald is a senior communication major from Santa Clara, Calif. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.