The controversy over Miley Cyrus’ Vanity Fair spread, in which she is wrapped in a sheet and nothing else, spotlights our culture’s preoccupation with sexualizing young girls and the alleged role models they aspire to emulate.

The picture, which Cyrus now claims to embarrass her, was taken with her parents present. They apparently thought it was artistic and beautiful. Disney, which has a billion-dollar stake in Hanna Montana’s image, didn’t see the pictures quite the same way.

Here’s what they said in the NYT’s  story about the pictures:

A Disney spokeswoman, Patti McTeague, faulted Vanity Fair for the photo. “Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines,” she said.

The (Vanity Fair) article, written by Bruce Handy, seems to support that claim, quoting Ms. Cyrus as saying, “Annie took, like, a beautiful shot, and I thought it was really cool. That’s what she wanted me to do, and you can’t say no to Annie.” She also said of the photo, “I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way.”

Ms. Cyrus had a different view in a prepared statement released on Sunday:

“I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”

Beth Kseniak, a spokeswoman for both Vanity Fair magazine and Ms. Leibovitz said, “Miley’s parents and/or minders were on the set all day. Since the photo was taken digitally, they saw it on the shoot and everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait of Miley.”

Putting aside Disney’s corporate concerns on protecting their product’s image, why doesn’t anyone say this sexy shot, along with the disturbing picture with her father, is unsettling and inappropriate? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m glad we have a Hannah Montana ban in our house.