To twerk or not to twerk~ Thank God it’s a question I will never have to ask.

I didn’t watch the MTV Video Music awards, but it appears that you didn’t have to be a viewer to get wind of the performance by Miley Cyrus. I have never been a fan of MTV,  but when I got wind of how much press she was getting, I decided to delve into what the hoopla was about. It didn’t taking much investigating, since she was featured on almost all the major TV news networks, and the newspapers. It seems that her ability to “twerk” is outstanding. You might not know what it means to “twerk”. Well, neither did I but it can now be found in the Oxford Dictionary online. It means” to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner, involving thrusting hip movements and a low squatting dance.”

      I come from a “different generation” and was told that kind of behavior was tawdry and unacceptable. If the Nuns saw anything resembling hip gyrations, you would be sent to Chapel and told to say hundreds of Hail Mary’s to repent. I remember one time when my grandmother was visiting and I was going out in a pair of shorts, a tank top and boots and how berserk she went over my attire. That was the fashion of the day, but she was appalled that a young mother of three would display herself in that way. She came from a small Sicilian village and modesty was preeminent. She had five children and I’m sure she had no clue how they were conceived.

     Yes, each generation pushes the envelope. But how far do we push? Miley Cyrus  has been a role model for many young girls. She emerged out of the Disney culture and seems hell-bent to prove she can be seductive and titillating? But what about her vocal abilities? She is supposed to have a decent voice, but does anyone care? Does she not realize that her vocal talent becomes secondary to her audience focusing on how little she’s wearing, a foam finger and lots of gyrating?  Obviously she is not the only one. Many of today’s vocalists are semi-nude, surrounded by semi-nude dancers, and a host of side effects. They have become their own circus act.

    Whatever happened to simply standing on a stage with a microphone and a great band? Too boring, or has our need to use sex to sell everything from meatballs to music become the norm? I loved Frank Sinatra. His vocals, the songs, and the musical arrangements. But, how much more popular would he have been if he had come out and sung in a thong? Thank God we’ll never know?