By Ann Powers, Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

America has condemned -- and fetishized -- jailbait since long before Miley Cyrus disrobed with her parent's permission. Yet the "Hannah Montana" star's trip-up was truly rather innocent compared to what has gone before.

Even so, Miley and her team anticipated the fallout. The multi-platform teen star apologized for the photos just as they were becoming public. Disney then released a statement of its own, claiming that “a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines.”

Vanity Fair defended the photos, arguing that Miley’s parents were present and approved the “beautiful and natural portrait of Miley.” Finally, photographer Annie Leibovitz responded to Miley’s statement, apologizing that her photos had been misinterpreted.

The range of responses inspired and mirrored the debate that played out in the press in the days that followed. But it’s a debate that’s been happening in America for decades, and one that again reflects society's unresolved feelings about teen sexuality -- specifically the paradox of young women as both sexualized threats and victims.

What follows is a look at some key cultural moments regarding the sexualization of teens over the past few decades –- some incidents that have caused debate, others that inspired reflection and some that just resulted in a lot of money being made. (Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)