By Ann Powers, Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
America has condemned -- and fetishized -- jailbait since long before
Miley Cyrus disrobed with her parent's permission in early 2008 for Vanity Fair. Yet the "Hannah Montana" star's trip-up was truly rather innocent compared to what has gone before.
Even so, there was an immediate
fallout, and the multi-platform teen star apologized for the photos just as they were becoming public (as she also did when photos leaked from her MySpace page) . In the days that followed the release of the Vanity Fair photos, a range of responses inspired a debate that played out in the press. Yet it was a debate that’s been happening in America for decades, and one that again reflected society's unresolved feelings about teen sexuality -- specifically the paradox of young women as both sexualized threats and victims.
What follows is a look at some key cultural moments regarding the sexualization of teens over the past few decades –- some incidents that have caused debate, others that inspired reflection and some that just resulted in a lot of money being made.
