“The denial of lower, coarse, vulgar, servile – in a word, natural – enjoyment, which constitutes the sacred sphere of culture, implies an affirmation of the superiority of those who can be satisfied with the sublimated, refined, disinterested, gratuitous, distinguished pleasures forever closed to the profane. That is why art and cultural consumption are predisposed, consciously and deliberately or not, to fulfill a social function of legitimating social differences” – Bourdieu, 1984
Definitely more nipple action than Miley in ‘The Birth of Venus‘, Botticelli 1486:
The nipple party continues with ‘Gabrielle D’Estrees and One Of Her Sisters‘, artist unknown 1594:
And if you thought Miley was bad, at least she was in the privacy of her own wrecking-ball room. ‘The Luncheon on the Grass‘, Manet 1863:
It looks like there may even be some bondage happening in ‘Nude, Green Leaves and Bust‘. Picasso, 1932:
Kahlo also communicates suffering with revelation of her body in ‘The Broken Column‘ 1944:
And there’s even full-frontal penis action in Lucian Freud’s ‘After Cézanne‘ 2000:
Miley’s looking pretty tame after all. She even has shoes on:
BINARYTHIS 
Pingback: Let’s Talk About Class: Hierarchies of Taste and Gender | BINARYTHIS
This reminds me of the sex scene in Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie d’Adèle) where naked female bodies are juxtaposed with paintings of many different female behinds… It’s sad how we are automatically subject to society’s ridiculous obsession with female voluptuousness/materiality starting from the moment we look at beautiful paintings…
Reblogged this on Tiffany's Non-Blog.
Reblogged this on The Feminine Mystake.
Loved this post – studied art history for a year so recognised alot of the art and actually proper laughed.
And not just any shoes either. Brown shoes. It speaks deeply to subconscious longing of the feet. Often overlooked…literally. One day, everyone will be wearing shoes just like those, but she’ll be the only one to claim, she did so, while riding a giant destruction ball.
Perhaps, like the societal contributions of many of the great artists, Miley will only truly be appreciated… after she’s gone.
Perhaps, like the societal contributions of many of the greatest artists, Miley will only truly be appreciated… when she’s gone.