Fashionism: the industry's biggest secret? It's full of feminists

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Miley Cyrus: I'm one of the world's biggest feminists

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She is best known for writhing around naked on a wrecking ball, licking a sledgehammer and “twerking” suggestively with her tongue hanging out.

But Miley Cyrus is, she claims, one of the world’s biggest feminists.

The 20-year-old singer, who most recently courted controversy by appearing to smoke a joint on stage in Amsterdam, has argued there is a double standard when it comes to men’s and women’s bodies.

No-one minds if a man goes topless on the beach, she said, adding: “So why can’t we?”

She told BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat: "I feel like I'm one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything…

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“I’m for anybody and anything, I don’t care what you want to do, what you want to look like.”

The former Hannah Montana actress has attracted criticism for her highly sexualised performances, which have seen her strip for her Wrecking Ball music video and gyrate against the singer Robin Thicke at MTV’s Video Music Awards.

On Sunday she lit up what looked like a cannabis joint as she accepted the award for Best Video at the MTV European Music Awards.

But Cyrus insisted her on-stage persona and revealing outfits were all part of her act.

"I don't actually walk around all day twerking with my tongue out dressed as a teddy bear," she said.

"I never worry about what I do on stage making me look bad. I think people if they actually knew me would be surprised at how normal I am.”

While her claims to being a standard-bearer for feminism may be greeted with scepticism by some, others were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Catherine Hakim, a sociologist and author of the book Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital, said she “absolutely” agreed with her.

“There’s absolutely no contradiction at all between being a feminist and taking your clothes off and being comfortable about displaying your sexuality,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“She’s using it for her own purposes, she’s increasing her fan base, she’s making a lot of money, she’s doing what she wants to do.”

Cyrus was right to highlight the “double standard” around men and women taking their clothes off to make money, she argued, pointing out that the footballer David Beckham had done so in advertisements.

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