In a new Paper Magazine cover story, Miley Cyrus reinvents herself once more, this time as pop’s biggest proponent of sexual fluidity since Madonna. While Cyrus has used her post-Hannah Montana second act to shock via sexuality, her latest declarations — coupled with her LGBT-activism — position her as more of an ally and advocate, not only for gay rights, but for gender fluidity and sexual experimentation.
As Paper’s Amanda Petrusich reports:
[Cyrus] says she has come to consider her own sexuality — even her own gender identification — fluid. “I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and doesn’t involve an animal and everyone is of age,” she says. “Everything that’s legal, I’m down with. Yo, I’m down with any adult — anyone over the age of 18 who is down to love me. I don’t relate to being boy or girl, and I don’t have to have my partner relate to boy or girl.” She says she’s had romantic entanglements with women that were just as serious as the ones (Liam Hemsworth, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Nick Jonas) that ended up in Us Weekly. “I’ve had that,” she admits. “But people never really looked at it, and I never brought it into the spotlight.” She recalls confessing to her mother, at age 14, that she had romantic feelings toward women. “I remember telling her I admire women in a different way. And she asked me what that meant. And I said, I love them. I love them like I love boys,” she says. “And it was so hard for her to understand. She didn’t want me to be judged and she didn’t want me to go to hell. But she believes in me more than she believes in any god. I just asked for her to accept me. And she has.” These days, Cyrus only wants to grant others the same clemency.
Although her recent statements are her most radical, Cyrus hasn’t shied away from bold political and cultural statements related to sex and gender (not to mention weed) in the recent past — and now that she’s amping up her activism for homeless and LGBT youth via her Happy Hippie charity, there’s likely little chance she’s going to tone down her outspokenness now. Here’s a quick roundup of what she’s had to say in the past.
Cyrus wrote an essay for Glamour in which she explains her gay marriage tattoo (an equal sign) and likens the fight for gay marriage to the Civil Rights Movement:
“I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color?”
She seems to have a favorite dildo, the “Hand of Adonis.”
Not only is it well rated among fisting enthusiasts, it’s 16 and a half inches in length and not intended for beginners. Miley’s brought it up a few times on Twitter (see above — nope, that’s not her hand).
She’s thrown her support behind transgender rights and the celebrities who are advocating them.
The Happy Hippie site features essays praising Caitlyn Jenner (who Cyrus has been teasing as a new collaborator) and highlighting the biggest injustices facing the trans community. There’s also her backyard session with Against Me!’s transgender leader, Laura Jane Grace, singing her “True Trans Soul Rebel.”
“I am honored to be a part of this movement and living in a time to witness the revolution!” Cyrus wrote, before Jenner unveiled her new name. “Bruce Jenner spoke beautifully about using his platform and fame to DO GOOD and to make real change, and I want to do exactly that!
On being called a lesbian because of her short haircut: actually, that’s a compliment.
“Everyone said I was a lesbian but I’m like, ‘Being a lesbian isn’t a bad thing. So if you think I look like I’m a lesbian, I’m not offended. You can call me much worse,'” Cyrus told the Toronto Sun two years ago. “I’ve been called much worse. Being a lesbian is a compliment more than what else they call me.”
She’s not down with Urban Outfitters, whose president Richard Hayne donated $13,000 to right-winger Rick Santorum’s campaign, among other conservative campaigns.