SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
Miley Cyrus is growing up from her Hannah Montana days. Get over it.
ROBIN GIVHAN On Fashion
with the fact that she is no longer the Hannah Montana character for whom their wee obsessive girls went into high-pitched paroxysms of admiration. Cyrus once again has demonstrated
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that she is a performer and a businessperson — not the protector of childhood innocence. Parents are distressed because she recently released a music video for “Who Owns My Heart” in which she is dressed skimpily, made up heavily and, at a certain point, dancing enthusiastically —but not vulgarly — in a crowded nightclub. Her movements are sensual and suggestive, but they are less provocative than the grinding rumbas that are regularly showcased on an evening of “Dancing With the Stars,” during which contestants — some of them teenagers, some senior citizens — are vehemently admonished by the judges for not being sexy enough. Cue to the audience’s applause. Leading the Miley-is-a-bad-bad-girl
charge is the Parents Television Council, whose president, Tim Winter, noted: “While we understand the desire for a teenaged performer like Miley Cyrus to break free of the typecast roles that made her a star, it is unfortunate that she would participate in such a sexualized video like this one. It sends messages to her fan base that
t some point soon, the parents of America are going to have to let Miley Cyrus go and come to grips
are diametrically opposed to everything she has done up to this point.” It’s true that Cyrus, now 17, rose to fame and fortune thanks to Walt Disney and the adulation of zillions of prepubescent girls. But she is outgrowing that demographic, and if she is to continue on an upward trajectory — and not become a creepily stunted child star — she has to cultivate an older fan base. And like a fashion designer who has to exaggerate a point on the runway so people remember the message, she has been yelling quite loudly from the concert stage, the pages of Vanity Fair and in her videos that she is barreling toward adulthood. What must she do to be heard? Pull an Erykah Badu striptease in the middle of the Magic Kingdom? It’s debatable whether the best way for Cyrus to make her impending adulthood clear is to writhe about in boy shorts and chain-mail halters. Still, our popular culture is known for neither nuance nor subtlety; we require a smack over the head — a Lady Gaga- size, meat-dress drubbing — before we start paying attention. Cyrus is on the cusp of womanhood
and figuring out, albeit in a very public way, precisely the kind of adult performer she is going to be. This is always more complicated for girls than boys — as singers like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears have learned. Yet no one batted an eye as Justin Timberlake traveled the road from teen idol, to bringing “SexyBack,” to offering up the gift that keeps giving in arguably one of the funniest “Saturday Night Live” skits of all time. It would be odd, quite frankly, if Cyrus were not flexing her sexuality in ways that some might perceive as beyond what is appropriate for someone her age. She is, after all,
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the former Mrs. Brady and her dance partner, Corky Ballas, took great pleasure in plotting how they might shock the audience and judges. So they made a point of being downright skeevy. Henderson rightfully believed that she would get a pass for her dirty dancing—indeed, that she would be applauded for it. And mostly she was. The judges, however, gave her a little talking to. Her dancing was fairly awful, and the sexual bravado was meant to cover that up. For them, it all just stirred up an ick factor. From the first episode of the season,
ARTURO RODRIGUEZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS ADAM LARKEY/ABC
DISCOMFORTING? Miley Cyrus’s moves may seem too mature, but Florence Henderson’s antics, with Corky Ballas on “Dancing With the Stars,” too immature.
growing up — not standing still. The difference, of course, is that her teenage fantasies are acted out in professional videos posted on YouTube. Most teens have to be satisfied with amateur flip-cam versions of their bedroom dance parties. Still, if parents have a gripe against Cyrus — reactionary though it might be —they should remind themselves of the raunch-fest on “Dancing With the Stars.” Don’t look, kiddies! At least Cyrus’s video dance partners are fully clothed. The professional male dancers on “DWTS” regularly strip off their
shirts to gin up as much sexual frisson between themselves and their often awkward — see Bristol Palin — young dance partners. And the teen dancers are regularly asked to perform numbers — such as a tango or rumba — that require a far more sophisticated understanding of sexuality than does Cyrus’s freestyle, hormone-infused, nightclub bounce-arama. For all the fretting Cyrus has sparked among parents, one wishes there was more discomfort with the role Florence Henderson has chosen for herself on ABC’s dance competition. Just recently,
this 76-year-old has been trying to demolish the stereotype that a mature woman can’t be sexy. And yes, like Cyrus, she has an image she wants to update. The grinding was her way of announcing to the audience that she should not be confused with the “lovely lady who was bringing up three very lovely girls.” So get over it. But instead, she played directly into the cliche of a sexually avaricious older woman. On the show, she has become the senior citizen who does the darndest things. She is, like Betty White, the inappropriate grandmother. Henderson could have used age to her advantage, underscoring a knowing and confident sex appeal. Instead, she gave a performance marred by both insecurity and desperation. Raunchiness at any age is distasteful, but deep into the AARP years, it’s especially disappointing. Not because Henderson should know better, but because she deserves better. Arguably she has experienced enough life and passed through that stage of sweaty and self-conscious bump and grinding to have reached an enviable level of confidence. Where was the controlled eroticism? The cool heat? If Cyrus’s brazen sexuality is discomforting because it seems far too mature, then Henderson’s frat-house antics were incredibly immature. With time, Cyrus may well grow into herself. By then, one hopes that Henderson has grown up.
givhanr@washpost.com Engagements | Weddings | Anniversaries ——Engagements—— ——Weddings——
Mary Graham& Evan Bliss
—March 2011—
Emily Grant Marries Matthew Turner —October 10, 2010—
To place an announcement: email:
weddings@washpost.com phone: 202-334-5736 fax: 202-334-7188 ——Weddings——
——Weddings——
Kerney Scott Marries Samuel Perlick —September 5, 2010—
rent assignments, the bride was stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, and the groom was stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Mary Graham and Evan Bliss
Mr. and Mrs. David Graham of Wil- liamsburg, Virginia announce the engagement of their daughter, Mary Katherine Graham, to Evan Hale Bliss of Bethesda, Maryland, son of Donald and Nancy Bliss .
The bride is a graduate of Bucknell University and holds anMAfrom Mon- terey Institute of International Studies, of Middlebury College. She is present- ly working in the US Embassy in Nicaragua as a Foreign Service Officer. Mary is a Fulbright Scholar of 2005.
The groom is a graduate of Kenyon College and The Landon School. He is employed with the Henry Jackson Foundation in their HIV/AIDS division. He is a talented musician-song writer and performs throughout the country. Evan also writes a Sports Blog for the Washington Post.
A March 2011 wedding is planned in Bethesda, Maryland.
Matthew Turner and Emily Grant
Captain Emily Hope Grant and Captain Matthew Demetri Turner, both of the United States Marine Corps, were married Sunday, October 10 in Brook- lyn, New York. Father John Lardas, a Greek Orthodox priest, celebrated the marriage at Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral.
The former Capt Grant, who has assumed her husband’s name, is a civil affairs officer in Quantico, Vir- ginia. She is a graduate of Yale University.
Capt Turner, 33, is an intelligence officer in Quantico, Virginia. He is a graduate of Clark University.
——Anniversaries——
Jackson 30th Anniversary
—October 12, 1980—
Although the couple grew up a half- block apart in Brooklyn Heights, they met in Iraq. The groom’s mother mentioned to him in an email that a neighbor had joined the Marine Corps. While deployed to Fallujah in 2006, the groom saw the bride was posted there as well. He approached her in the Camp Fallujah chow hall. Capt Grant, then a lowly second lieutenant, stood at parade rest while Capt Turner attempted small talk. “Well, this isn’t going anywhere,” the future groom later described his thoughts about their first meeting.
Capt Emily Turner, 30, is a daughter of James Grant and Dr. Patricia Kavanagh of Brooklyn. Mr. Grant is the editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, the financial markets publication. The bride’s mother is a neurologist in pri- vate practice in Brooklyn. The bride’s grandmother, Maria Kavanagh, lives in Silver Spring.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott Jackson
Scott & Blair (Greenspan) Jackson of Clifton, Virginia were married Oct. 12, 1980 at Westwood Country Club. Their first date was at Arena Stage in 1977. They own & operate Blair Inc in Springfield, Virginia, an exhibit design & fabrication company. They are the parents of 3 college grads, Clay, Beau & Shy Jackson.
Capt Matthew Turner is a son of Dr. Clyde and Irene Turner, also of Brooklyn. Dr. Turner is an internist, retired from Maimonides Medical Center. Mrs. Turner is a teacher at The Packer Collegiate Institute. The bridegroom’s grandparents live in Brooklyn.
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Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Perlick
Kerney Margaret Scott and Samuel Chason Perlik were joined in marriage on Septem- ber 5th, 2010 at the Belvoir Chapel on Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Dinner and dancing followed at the historic Woodlawn Planta- tion in Alexandria, Virginia. The bride is the daughter of Major General (US Army, Ret.) and Mrs. Bruce K. Scott of Mason Neck, Virginia. The groom is the son of Colonel (US Army, Reserve) and Mrs. Paul Perlik of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The bride and groom are both graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Class of 2007. The bride is a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot and platoon leader, cur- rently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The groom is currently attending the Maneu- ver Captain’s Career Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, having recently returned from a year long deployment in Eastern Afghanistan with 3-509 Infantry (Airborne). Prior to their cur-
The couple chose to have their siblings as their attendants. The Maid of Honor was the bride’s sister, CPT Karoline Scott of San Antonio, Texas. The bridesmaids were the bride’s sister, MAJ Kate Scott Gowel of Charlottesville, Vir- ginia and the groom’s sister, Jessie Perlik Mattingly of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Best Man was the groom’s brother, Will Perlik, a sophomore in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. The groomsmen were the bride’s brothers; CPT Andy Scott of Fort Carson, Colorado, 2LT Alec Scott of Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmits- burg, Maryland, and Adam Scott, a junior at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
The bride wore an elegant gown of silk organza, accented with a lace bolero during the wedding ceremony. She car- ried a bouquet of roses, dahlias, hydrangeas and orchids in sat- urated summer hues. The bridesmaids wore short, deep blue silk dresses and each car- ried a bouquet of a single color to complement the bride’s flowers. The groom wore his Army Dress Blue uniform. The wedding ceremony concluded with a traditional military saber arch.
The Captains Perlik recently bought their first home in Cameron, North Carolina, where the groom will join the bride upon graduation from the Captain’s Career Course in December.
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All materials must be received by Monday at 1 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. James Simpson Mr. and Mrs.ThomasVanderMale PLANNING A WEDDING?
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Thomas & Lillian VanderMale Of Gaithersburg, Maryland were married October 20, 1950 at the Central Methodist Church in Lake Odessa, Michigan. They will be celebrating this event on October 23rd at a dinner with family and friends. They have a son Edward and daughter Luanne.
Congratulations to James and Delois Simpson of Washington, D.C., who celebrated 60 years of marriage on October 14, 2010. They have been blessed with five children, Cynthia, Joyce, James, Jr., Gail and John; nine grandchildren and eleven great- grandchildren. We love youMomand Dad!
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Marx
Jessica Faith Rafferty and Jeffrey Loren Marx were married Saturday evening at the Mayflower Hotel inWashington, D.C. Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer officiated. Mrs. Marx, 28, is a corporate event planner with Booz Allen Hamilton. She is a graduate of Skidmore College of Saratoga Springs,NewYork and The Bullis School of Potomac, Maryland. She is an active member of the Junior League of Washington. She is the daughter of Rhonda Friedman and James Rafferty of Potomac, Maryland and Kalispell, Montana. Her father is Principal Counsel for renewable energy with AREVA, Inc. an interna- tional energy company. He was a founding partner of the Washington law firm Harkins Cunningham LLP. Her mother is a bioscience industry con- sultant and serves on the boards of Girls Inc. of Washington, D.C. and the MontanaAcademy Foundation in Mar- ion, Montana. Mr. Marx, 31, is a consultant with Toffler Associates. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and holds Masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering and in Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the son of Merrill Shepard Marx and Steven A. Marx of Tampa, Florida. His father is the founder of The Center for Sales Strategy, a sales and manage- ment consulting firm based in Tampa, which he serves today as its chairman emeritus. He is on the board of Tampa-Orlando-Pinellas Jewish Foun- dation, Hillels of the Florida Suncoast, and the Cornell Radio Guild, among others. His mother is an independent accountant. She is on the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Tampa, and volunteers as a mathe- matics tutor at Academy Prep Center of Tampa, a private middle school serving the poor.
The couple will honeymoon in Italy and reside in Arlington, Virginia.
——Anniversaries——
VanderMale 60th Anniversary
—October 20, 1950—
Simpson 60th Anniversary
—October 14, 1950—
Jessica Rafferty Marries Jeffrey Marx
—October 16, 2010— ——Anniversaries——
Kossis 1st Anniversary —October 18, 2009—
Mr. Blair Kossis and Mrs.Andrea Lavin Kossis photo credit: Hough Photography
Mr. and Mrs. Patrick J. Lavin of Alexan- dria, Virginia are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter,Andrea Brooks Lavin, to Blair H. Kossis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Neil B. Kossis of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The couple was married on October 18, 2009, and is celebrating their first anniversary.
The bride earned her bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and Spanish fromWake Forest University and mas- ter’s degree in urban and environmen- tal planning from the University of Vir- ginia. She is employed as the commu- nity project services manager at the Community Design Center of Pitts- burgh and is a LEED Green Associate.
The groom earned his bachelor of business administration degree in marketing, management, and adver- tising from Kent State University. He is employed as the property manager at Oakland Planning and Development Corporation.
The wedding and reception took place at First Colony Winery in Char- lottesville, Virginia. The bride’s honor attendant was Amy Kilroy, and the groom’s best man was his brother, Eric Kossis. The evening prior to the wedding, the bride’s parents hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Ivy Inn Restau- rant in Charlottesville.
The couple honeymooned in Sedona, Arizona, and reside in Pittsburgh.
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