I expected some backlash for this one — and I got it — but I also discovered that plenty of people agree. Take her VMA turn in the context of current pop music  — with its  astoundingly retro set of gender relations — and what Miley did, tongue and all,  looks a little more impressive:

At the VMAs, Cyrus shared the stage with Robin Thicke, whose “Blurred Lines” is a throwback in every way to the days when girls were seen as mere tools for boys’ pleasure. And yes, in a reference to the women in Thicke’s video, Cyrus was almost naked, while Thicke was fully clothed.

But in her tongue-wagging way, Cyrus turned the script around. Unlike the women in the video, she didn’t just prance past him or — oy, Marlo! — allow herself to be pet. She sang with him, teased him, challenged him, and proved herself the bigger star.

Read the rest of the column — including nostalgia for “Free to Be You and Me” — here.