Miley Cyrus isn’t afraid of being single. In fact, she seems to be handling her recent split with Patrick Schwarzenegger just fine. The “We Can’t Stop” singer recently discussed her love life and her sexuality during an eye-opening interview with Time magazine.
“It has a lot to do with being a feminist, but I’m finally okay with being alone,” Cyrus, 22, told the mag. “I think that’s something we have to talk about more: that you can be alone.”
The outspoken star often wears her heart on her sleeve, and has publicly made out with women. But the entertainer — who called off her engagement to Aussie hunk Liam Hemsworth in September 2013 — doesn’t feel the need to put herself in a certain category.
“I’m not hiding my sexuality. For me, I don’t want to label myself as anything. We love putting people in categories, but what I like sexually isn’t going to label me as a person,” she added, noting that she’s had relationships that “weren’t straight.”
She continued: “There are times in my life where I’ve had boyfriends or girlfriends. And there are times where I just love being with myself and don’t want to give part of myself away to someone else. I think that’s a new freedom for women, especially. I don’t know that my mother would have been able to be 22 and secure in being alone. But my future doesn’t rely on having a partner.”
Cyrus’ revelations come as she tries to raise awareness for her Happy Hippie Foundation, which was created to help empower LGBTQ and homeless youth. A longtime supporter of the gay community — and known for her over-the-top sexual performances — Cyrus noted that there’s a pressure to define yourself sexually. To prove her point, she recalled her infamous 2008 Vanity Fair photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz.
“Our world revolves around sex. Like, when I did this photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz when I was 14 or 15, everyone jumped to make it this sexual thing,” she said of the portrait, which showed her covering her breasts with a white sheet. “But I never thought of it as sexual. Annie never thought of taking a sexual photo of a teenager. But everyone made it something it wasn’t.”
