"I told my mom, 'I'm not buying another magazine until I can get past this thought of looking like the girl on the cover'. She said, "Miley, you are the girl on the cover,' and I was, like, 'I know, but I don't feel like that girl every day.' You can't always feel perfect"
About this Quote
Her mom's line is both comfort and cultural indictment. "You are the girl on the cover" sounds like reassurance, but it also reveals how identity gets flattened into a single, marketable frame. Miley's reply flips it: yes, she can inhabit that image for the camera, but she can't live there. The subtext is that perfection isn't a personal achievement, it's a lighting setup. The gap between the photographed self and the daily self isn't failure; it's the cost of being turned into a product.
Context matters: Cyrus grew up in the prime years of teen-magazines and Disney-fied pop stardom, when "relatable" was itself a style directive and female performers were trained to look effortless while being relentlessly managed. Her language stays plain - "I was, like..". - which keeps the moment intimate, almost embarrassed. The closing line, "You can't always feel perfect", lands as a small rebellion against an industry built on making young women feel perpetually one purchase away from being okay.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cyrus, Miley. (2026, January 16). I told my mom, 'I'm not buying another magazine until I can get past this thought of looking like the girl on the cover'. She said, "Miley, you are the girl on the cover,' and I was, like, 'I know, but I don't feel like that girl every day.' You can't always feel perfect. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-told-my-mom-im-not-buying-another-magazine-88960/
Chicago Style
Cyrus, Miley. "I told my mom, 'I'm not buying another magazine until I can get past this thought of looking like the girl on the cover'. She said, "Miley, you are the girl on the cover,' and I was, like, 'I know, but I don't feel like that girl every day.' You can't always feel perfect." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-told-my-mom-im-not-buying-another-magazine-88960/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I told my mom, 'I'm not buying another magazine until I can get past this thought of looking like the girl on the cover'. She said, "Miley, you are the girl on the cover,' and I was, like, 'I know, but I don't feel like that girl every day.' You can't always feel perfect." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-told-my-mom-im-not-buying-another-magazine-88960/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






