Is This A Naked Photo Of Miley Cyrus?

Well, it looks like Hustler's got some competition in the Miley Cyrus porn business: the ever reliable internets are claiming that this grainy photo is Miley nude. Here's a comparison of this photo with another Miley shot. Your thoughts?

We'll be staying neutral on the question of whether it is or isn't her, but we would like to offer a little bit of commentary on the situation. Miley Cyrus first came to our attention at the tender age of fifteen, when she posted nude (albeit covered by a sheet) for Vanity Fair, since then, there's been a silent countdown to last week, when the budding young sexpot would become legally okay to ogle.

It's not so much that we want to decry the hypersexualization of the youth, because, firstly, the idea that eighteen is a magic age when we suddenly become sexual is an obvious fallacy; and, secondly, anyone who thinks that teens having sex lives and sexual awareness is a new phenomenon has clearly had their head in the sand since forever.

But there is commentary to be made about our obsession with this taboo of youth. The age of consent exists, not because minors are asexual beings who only enter into sexual relationships through coercion and trickery, but because we as a society have decided that minors are not capable of making good decisions about sexual relationships and presentation, and should thus be hands off. And yet instead of having the intended affect of making minors off limits, this taboo has led us to treat any sign of underage sexuality as precocious and highly of note—when, of course, it's just horny teens doing what they do.

But now that Miley has reached legal age, the taboo has been lifted, and we can all rejoice. And though there is a sense of relief, it's also a bit anti-climactic. Because what, exactly, is the there there? Miley is a lovely girl, of course, and a celebrity to boot: but would any of us care quite so much if it weren't for the fact that we weren't supposed to care for so very, very long?

Well, now that she's of legal age, perhaps we can sort that out. Here she (maybe) is, America: your sweetheart in the nude. How do you like her now?