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Monday, Aug 10, 2009 7:50 PM UTC

Miley Cyrus: Too young to pole dance?

At the Teen Choice Awards, the starlet takes a note from exotic dancers

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Topics: Broadsheet, Love and Sex,

It’s been but a month since 16-year-old Miley Cyrus sent jaws dropping by posing in a black leather bustier and thigh-high boots for Elle magazine. Now, the Hannah Montana star is set to scandalize parents once again, this time with a pole-dancing performance on the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, which airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. Those of you who can’t wait to evaluate the inappropriateness of said pole dance or who refuse to sit through the two-hour-long show, you’re in luck: When the show was pre-taped Sunday night, a sneaky audience member caught the routine on camera and posted it to YouTube.

The video begins with Miley clad in booty shorts and high heels, singing her song “Party in the USA.” Then the controversial object is wheeled in — but it isn’t just any stripper pole, it’s an umbrella stand on top of an ice cream cart, minus the umbrella. She climbs onto it, grabs the pole, drops it like it’s hot and shimmies rather innocently as the cart is pushed across the stage. Now that’s some potent imagery: an emblem of childhood (an ice cream cart) juxtaposed with a symbol of modern young womanhood (a stripper pole). Looks like her managers are following the Britney Spears sexy-virgin path to success — or self-destruction, depending on your perspective.

Tracy Clark-Flory

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkflory on Twitter and Facebook. More Tracy Clark-Flory.

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