Miley Cyrus' Rebellion: Teen Angst or Something More?

What's up with Miley Cyrus? Parents everywhere seem to have some strong opinions on the matter, whether favorable or not.

It's pretty evident the Disney starlet is on the cusp of adulthood. Whether she's strutting around in her skivvies in music videos, painting the town red in barely-there hot pants, or nonchalantly sipping a beer with her pals, she's eager to show the world she's all grown up.

And, really, who can blame her? After spending most of her adolescence constrained by the shackles of Mickey Mouse, she's finally free to let loose with her new, bad girl self.

Miley turns eighteen later this month, a milestone birthday even for those of us whose childhoods weren't documented by Disney.

Like most child stars, Miley's entire career has been plagued with criticism. The goody-good southern sweetheart once publicly professed to be saving herself until marriage, but even that seemingly innocent proclamation drew some heat.

Then, remember that 2008 'Vanity Fair' photo shoot with Annie Leibowitz? Miley was soooo embarrassed about her the coy, slightly-risqué photos of her naked self wrapped in a sheet. She was quick to remind us she was a wholesome Christian girl, and her parents apologized and blamed the photographer for exploiting their young daughter.

And now, only two years later and still underage, sweet little Miley is pole dancing, kissing girls and rolling around provocatively in her bedroom. And to think, that's only what's been caught on tape!

The Parents Television Council was up in arms at Miley's video for, 'Who Owns My Heart?' And her mature, heated performance alongside Kevin Zegera in, 'The Big Bang' is garnering attention from critics, too.

But can you really blame a teenage girl for wanting to be seen as something other than Hannah Montana? Maybe she's trying a little too hard to move past that squeaky-clean image forced upon her for all these years. Or maybe there's some truth to the rumors that she's acting out in response to her parents' separation.

Miley Cyrus is no longer a fresh-faced little girl. And while I certainly hope she doesn't fall into the archetypical 'party girl' cliché, frequenting nightclubs and snorting cocaine, I don't think we should be reprimanding her for having a little teenage fun. What eighteen-year-old doesn't rebel on some level?

Parents are responsible for being role models to their children. Any mom who's looking to a teenage girl to set a moral standard for her own daughter isn't doing a very good job of parenting. We can hold the character of Hannah Montana to impossible standards, but the real-life Miley Cyrus needs to live, learn and make her mistakes just like the rest of us have.

I understand the dismay of parents seeing a girl, who they once put on a pedestal for their own children to look up to, drinking underage, grinding with boys, and wearing less-than-conservative clothing. But let's face it-- Hannah Montana's got to grow up sometime. And I assure you, most seventeen-year olds are behaving similarly to, or even worse than, Miley. Luckily for moms everywhere, their 'perfect' children's mistakes won't be caught on tape.