Growing Pain
Last week, at a causal event for ABC, “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter wore a revealing gold mini dress. The teen immediately received backlash, with many saying that her dress was too much for the casual event or that she was revealing too much skin. While other 19-year-old stars might be able to get away with a more scandalous look, child stars like Winter are always the target for critics anytime they dress even marginally on the provocative side.
This is not the first child-star to receive backlash for dressing provocatively. Celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Bella Thorne, and so many more have lived almost their entire lives in the spotlight. Yet, the media never seems to cut these “Disney darlings” a break when they decide to show some skin. It’s as if people are so used to seeing child stars only as children, that they forget that they grow up, mature, and need to discover themselves just like any other teen. I’ll admit that Bella Thorne posting herself getting a bikini wax on Snapchat is a little extreme, but this behavior does not mean she is “going crazy.” Teens post snapchats of themselves drinking, partying, and more all of the time. Thorne dying her hair, getting piercings, and exploring her sexuality is not deviant from the behavior displayed by any teen growing up.
What is most unjust is that these criticisms do not seem to apply to male child stars. When Nick Jonas stripped down to his underwear for a shoot for Flaunt magazine, he only received praise. Headlines read that Jonas has “blessed us” with his nude photo shoot. Yet when Cyrus – who became famous at around the same time as Jonas and is about the same age as him – went nude for her “Wrecking Ball” music video, she received negative reactions. People called her “disgusting” and “a bad role model.” During her time of wearing bodysuits and twerking, people accused her of trying too hard to be edgy and mature. Now that she has “tamed” herself and is dressing more conservatively, people finally have accepted Cyrus and seen her as grown-up. The media is praising her for leaving her “antics” behind her, yet it was these antics that allowed her to become the happy, mature woman that she is today.
I consider myself to be a pretty modest dresser, yet I think I can relate better to celebrities like Cyrus than “good teenaged role models” like Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. Swift and Gomez are great celebrities to look up to; they are beautiful, smart, accomplished, charitable and graceful. But when I transitioned from being a tween to a teen to now becoming a young adult, I would not consider myself to be the least bit graceful or put together. I made mistakes (and I’m still making them), I was irresponsible at times, and I didn’t know who I wanted to be. But neither did Cyrus or any other “messed up” teen star. Cyrus showed me that discovering yourself is a long process. Along the way, you are going to face critics, and you are going to be knocked down. But, she showed everyone that if you ignore it all and continue on the road to self-discovery, you might just find happiness. The media may see a more toned down Miley as a sign of her becoming “normal” again, but I think she was just a normal teen all along, trying to figure out who she wanted to be.
Teen stars do not deserve to be held to a different standard than any other star. So what if Ariel Winter shows some skin? She’s not 11 years old anymore, and she should be able to wear what she wants without fear of criticism. It is hard enough to have to grow up in the spotlight, and I can only imagine that the harsh comments increase as these child-stars get older. These stars do not deserve to be treated differently than other teens and young adults, and they should not be viewed a certain way just because they became famous at a young age.