Twerking

I guess every generation has an entertainer or two that has explicit behaviour on stage. This isn't a new concept but I think Miley's clothing that night increased the shock factor besides her twerking.

Twerk - The rhythmic gyrating of the lower fleshy extremities in a lascivious manner with the intent to elicit sexual arousal or laughter in ones intended audience

I found the definition in the Urban Dictionary.

My generation had Madonna and Prince. Their behavior on stage was shocking at the time . Offensive lyrics , and obscene dance. Mild compared to Twerking though. One member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers preformed with just a tube sock covering his junk. Flea, the bass player for the RHCP has also been on stage completely nude. I don't recall anyone making a big deal about that.

Miley is like many entertainers who got locked in very high expectations. She constantly has to reinvent herself to get away from being Disney Channel's Hanna Montana. That role worked for her as a young teen but to further her career as an adult she went to the extreme. She isn't the first Disney actress to go bad or reinvent themselves. The Mickey Mouse Club had a few. Many had to go to the extreme to get away from the squeaky clean image they maintained for years on Disney.

Christina Aguilera's song "Dirty" was an eye opener. The video and the way she was dressed was raunchy .Britney Spears has continuously reinvented herself.  Britney got involved with drugs after marrying & divorcing young.  Everyone watched Britney's life crumble in the tabloids. Lindsay Lohan was another Disney princess to fall from grace, her destruction has been ongoing for years. Not all of them could be clean cut like Annette Funicello. Even as an adult Annette's behavior was reminiscent of her behavior on Disney.

And it's not just the kids who started their careers on Disney. Other child actors who played certain roles for years were unable to get into a serious adult career. Or their new roles were stereotypes of old characters. Some child actors and performers were able to maintain careers as adults but the failure rate seems greater.

Sadly some cute kid actors look homely as an adult such as Macaulay Culkin. His career dissipated once he hit puberty and failed to materialize as an adult. He had a great career run during the 80s and early 90s. This once A list actor can still get bit parts but isn't taken seriously. Culkin wasn't the first actor to be unable to move from child to adult roles. Macaulay Culkin has battled drug addiction this last decade. 

Miley will continue to take chances and reinvent herself to further her career. Hopefully she won't ruin it before then because of twerking.