When Miley Cyrus Came Out to Her Mother as a Bisexual Person at 14: “I Admire Women in a Different Way”

In a 2015 interview with Paper Mag, Miley Cyrus openly discussed a significant turning point in her life. At the age of 14, she first revealed her bisexuality to her mother, Tish Cyrus. It was an epiphany that revealed her exceptional capacity for acceptance and self-awareness, even in the face of probable rejection, especially from her devout family.

“I remember telling her I admire women in a different way. And she asked me what that meant. And I said I love them. I love them like I love boys,” Miley told Paper Mag, per Billboard. This revelation, which coincided with her acting debut as Hannah Montana, surely represented a turning point in her personal journey.

It wasn't easy for her to come out to her mother as bisexual. Tish Cyrus originally struggled to understand it because she was driven by her concern for her daughter's safety and her dread of social criticism. According to Miley, "It was so hard for her to understand. She didn’t want me to be judged and she didn’t want me to go to hell. But she believes in me more than she believes in any god. I just asked her to accept me. And she has." The unconditional love and support that Tish ultimately gave to her daughter, nonetheless, radiates through this story.

Miley's honesty and courage in telling her family the truth is a credit to both her character and the depth of their relationship. Miley has never been someone who fits neatly into categories or classifications. She states outright, "I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and doesn’t involve an animal and everyone is of age." Her flexible and all-encompassing view of love and relationships reflects a wider cultural change toward the understanding that love knows no boundaries. She goes beyond traditional ideas of gender and identification, highlighting the fact that neither she nor her partner must identify as just a boy or a girl.

Miley acknowledged that she had battled throughout her childhood to understand her own gender and sexuality in an interview with Variety in 2016. She said, "My whole life, I didn't understand my own gender and my own sexuality. I always hated the word ‘bisexual,’ because that's even putting me in a box. I don't ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl."

In recent years, Miley's public presence has been distinguished by this openness. She has evolved into a representation of unconditional love and acceptance of oneself, motivating many people to embrace their own truths. Her transformation from being used as a punchline on Saturday Night Live to an important, edgy, and significant presence in the entertainment industry is a testament to her persistence and the importance of being oneself.