Annie is a good photographer with a point of view shooting for a magazine that encourages her to have a considered perspective. I think Annie's comment with this photographic might have been youth being exploited for sex. Miley does look like she just had sex (good sex, from the smile). She also looks beautiful. Sex can be beautiful. To me the photograph points how deceiving beauty can be. How can something so sincerely beautiful be bad? The strong reaction it provokes forces the viewer to confront her own comfort and opinion of marketing sex and youth and caused the nation to engage in a dialogue about the potential dangers of what we've come to consider acceptable. I can't say for sure that that was Annie's intent, but like I said at the top, she's not an idiot and Vanity Fair is no fool. I think it's safe to say that the photograph had more of an intent behind it than sex appeal.

True it is only her back. But I think the thing that gets people is that they know that she probably has nothing on under the sheet, even if we don't see it!

If there is nothing wrong with it think about what she was wearing under the sheet and all the men around her!

A few people have captured what's wrong with this picture. It's not the near-nudity; it's the way it's presented. Miley has definitely been posed to look as if she's just had sex. The stark contrast between the lipstick and the skin tone accentuates the jaded, over-sophisticated look of the photo of a 15-year-old girl. The media bombards our kids with images like this constantly: of Miley (whose character on Hannah Montana often dresses like a streetwalker), of Brittney, of Jamie Lyn, of every celebrity or celebrity wannabe. Is it any wonder we have skyrocketing rates of young teens experimenting with sex? Let's face it, teenagers have been faced with raging hormones since time began. When everything they see encourages them to think of sex as something to be engaged in casually and without regard for the emotions that should accompany it or the adult responsibilities that often follow it, we begin to see our culture being consumed with interest for people based not on their talent or their contributions but rather on their willingness to shed their dignity and their clothes. The blame for the problem with Miley lies not with the photographer, who is notorious for pushing the boundaries of good taste, but with Miley's parents, who should be content with the money she has already brought them and not willing to sell her out for more.

I really wish news like this would not end up on huffington, digg etc. Lets focus on the things that matter, not 15 year old and her taboo accident. I do however beleive that this strong public reaction warrants conversation, I would just prefer it on E! rather than my intertubes.

AMERICA AMERICA! WHEN ARE YOU GONNA OPEN THOSE BIG EYES OF YOUR TO SOMTIN BETTER THEN A BARE BACK?

The photo is suggestive of her having just had sex or encouraging sex - that's the issue, not that she's flashing a bit of skin. I don't think the styling of the photo makes her look beautiful at all, I think it makes her look seedy. I don't really care and it doesn't offend me but I think it definitely highlights Leibovitz's artistic Achilles heel.

9:58 PM Anonymous Says:
This is not a "beautiful" shot. Her lipstick is too dark and her hair is a mess, like she's been tossed about in that bed. It looks like she just got laid. The photographer knows that is the look she wanted and it probably turned her perv dad on to think his was just rode hard and left sticky wet. Why would she do this pose? Shame on her, the photographer and her perv dad.
____________________________________________________________________

"rode hard and left sticky wet"???!! Can we say SICK COMMENT??
Um, excuse the rest of the world, but YOU are the obvious perv.

Since when is a bare back considered "nudity"? Oh yeah, since people like you developed flippers and crawled out of the swamps onto dry land and started "thinking" with your peanut-sized brain.

Show business. You got to love it or hate it! Britney posed on Rolling Stone in her undies and bra, Christina did her "dirrty" video and wore interesting outfits that showed some skin, Jamie Lynn is pregnant at 16 and going to be a mom at 17, Vanessa Hudgens had some pics on the web not that long ago, and the list of young hollywood can go on and on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this picture. Miley was embarrassed and Annie says it is "very beautiful". It's done and printed.

Even if I didn't know who Miley is, the photo strikes me as terribly odd; I see an adorable "baby" faced girl (she's fifteen but actually looks younger to me) in a seductive (not artistic) pose. It just looks so wrong. If you put any other child (and Miley is a child) in that shot and showed it to anyone they might think it was porn. The entire shot is extremely suggestive - bare backs is not necessarily just a bare back - there's a big difference between my daughter walking around in a towel over her suit at the pool and Miley sitting in what *appears* to be a bed, wrapped in a satin sheet w/nothing underneath. No, this isn't important news compared to so much else that is going on in the world but as a parent I am saddened for her sake and also because of her status as a role model the picture sends yet another regrettable message to our girls that it's okay to be objectified. I don't see this as Miley's fault, she's just a kid but who the heck is guiding her? Miley's career will be okay; bad press in this world unfortunately only seems to catapault the young girls even further into fame but I hope Miley the person is okay. I feel so sorry for her.

This is our culture, a culture that exploits and abuses that which is innocent, natural and beautiful. Young girls are constantly exposed to sexualized images of themselves that pander to the exploitation culture. Just look at Rolling Stone, where Ms. Leibovitz made her reputation--it doesn't sell solely on the basis of over-the-hill rockers; there's always some nubile flesh on the cover to draw in another demographic. Once a girl turns 18, she's ripe for the wolves; it's a countdown to the moment when she can legally (legitimately?)pose as an object of sexual desire...remember those shots of 17-year-old Britney in her undies, on the COVER of RS? Vanity Fair is hardly the great offender here, which is not to say the nearly-topless photo is appropriate. We need to become more conscious as a society, encouraging positive, healthy and non-exploitative depictions of young women.

You people who are saying "there's nothing wrong with showing her bare back" and "more skin is revealed in a bikini" aren't GETTING it. It's not the fact that she's showing her back or how much skin is shown. It's the CONTEXT in which it's being done! The silk sheet, the mussed hair, the smeared bright red lipstick... it is very obvious what they were trying to convey in this photo shoot, and it's NOT alright to do that with a 15 year old child. I fault her parents. They claim to be such God-fearing people who pay such close attention to what their daughter does. Did it not trigger any sort of alarm in Billy Ray's head when the photographer said "Okay, now I want you to take off your clothes"? I know if it were my child, that's the point where I'd throw up a hand and say "Whoa there... I don't think so." Shame on you, Billy Ray and Tish.

When you are in a position of pursuing a career and you have a chance to do a pictoral spread in an "Artistic" magazine such as Vanity Fair at fifteen, it must be exciting to say the least. This girl is pulled in a thousand different directions and all she knows is to trust the opinions of those around her. I totally see her point of view here. She trusted the photographer and her parents. Then later, looked back at the pics with different eyes. Hasn't that ever happened to anyone here? Haven't you ever done something that you later said was probably not a good thing? How is this her fault? I still love her!

This is just plain STUPID. Period. Shame on all your dirty minds!

Ha ha ha...
Now I just read that someone said her "lipstick was smudged"?

Is the glass half empty or full in YOUR world....its art AMERICA...
There are other things to worry about...like the Lens Crafter commercial, when the guy puts on a pair of glasses and looks at a woman [who is really] half dressed...now thats a terrible message.
That is NOT art. Miley's pictures ARE art!!
Find something worth worrying about. YOUR children shouldn't be looking at Vanity Fair anyways. So stop your XXXX!!!!