In women, experience isn’t a carbon credit for lost time.
There’s very little to say about this that hasn’t already been said a thousand times, so I’ll just post the link from The Daily Beast, written by Samantha Allen.
You can also type “Madonna” into the search bar on this site for further commentary on the Queen of Pop or whatever.
No one would accuse Madonna of being a slouch, resting on her laurels and so on…
She works incessantly, travels the world tour after tour after grueling tour.
But no matter how much Madonna tours, she is still 57, not 25.
Hello memo.
The harder she tries to be chronologically seamless, the farther away she lands.
Racing with the devil is a fool’s errand someone who loves her obviously neglected to mention.
Grills? Seriously?
If my 83-year-old mother wore grills, I’d have her committed.
But for Madonna, it’s an unintended tragic pantomime she can afford to ignore.
Delusion, after all, isn’t against the law.
But even Madonna can’t buy back the bad press.
Sadly, she’s become an embarrassment to the Baby Boom.
Not her accomplishments, not her work ethic, not her contribution to the world of Pop.
But everything else.
If my generation’s greatest fear is maintenance of personal dignity, Madonna is our crucible.
So again, it’s all about money, honey, delusion notwithstanding.
Would she be held to the same standards? If not, why?
The article uses several celebrity examples of older men who seem to get away with certain behavior that Madonna would be skewered for.
The narrative here is that older women, in general, are held to completely different standards to that of older men.
Sometimes this is true, but not always, as I’ll explain.
First, an example of what you’ll read in the “bullet-pointed” article:
1: Harrison Ford, Private Plane Pilot. On March 5, the 72-year-old actor crashed his World War II-era plane. The story made headlines around the world, all honoring how well he managed to handle the accident and hoping for his speedy recovery.
Madonna’s Headline
No longer High, Flying or Adored, Madonna Crashes on the Runway and the Charts.
My Take: Madonna, in particular, set herself up for all of this.
Either she cannot see, or chooses to ignore, the reality that “25 and 55” are two different things.
While rock stars like Mick Jagger still rockin’ n’ rollin’, we’re all in on the fantasy.
Jagger has never pretended to deny – or in any way change public perception of – his age.
In the case of Madonna, it’s the other way around.
Her album covers are case studies in Photoshop overindulgence; her competitiveness with pop singers half her age the punch lines of every late night missive; and her incessant allusions to bedding young men is as cringe-worthy as biting a dry Popsicle stick.
With Madonna, it’s not about men and women being held to different standards, it’s about Madonna not coming to terms with reality as the rest of the world knows it.
The final 11 bullet points cite:
2] Paul Newman: Car Racing at 70.
Madonna’s Headline
Bitch on Wheels: Desperate Madonna Still Thinks She’s in the Race
My Take: Again, this is not about age as much as it is about Madonna. Nobody ever beats up on older female triathletes. They applaud.
3] Iggy Pop, Shirtless at 67.
Madonna’s Headline
Icky Pop: GrandMadonna’s Topless Photo Looks Like a Map of the Old Stars Homes
My Take: Iggy Pop looks like a friggin’ monster as he did 30 years ago. No one’s ever disputed that. The fact that he’s preternaturally shredded only makes him a greater curiosity, not sex symbol.
4] Tom Cruise, Fencing at age 52.
Madonna’s Headline
Right of Light Saber: Madonna Learns How to, Literally, Stab Her Friends in the Back
My Take: They’re probably right about this one.
5] Russell Crowe, Knitting at age 50.
Madonna’s Headline
Unapologetic Stitch: Will Madonna Knit Baby Booties for Her Next Boyfriend?
My Take: This one reaches for a story it never quite lands.
6: Brad Pitt, Motorcycle Riding at age 51.
Madonna’s Headline
Motorcycle Mama’s Message to Her Children: Biking Is Fine!
My Take: If Madonna wants to ride motorcycles, nobody cares as long as she isn’t riding it in a tu-tu.
7: Sean Penn, Surfing at age 54
Madonna’s Headline
Drowned World: Madonna Desperately Tries to Stay Afloat
My Take: Not to hammer a point to oblivion, but if Madonna wants to resurrect herself, an acoustic guitar and her voice on stage would be enough to fill arenas anywhere.
8: Johnny Depp, Owning and Island at age 51.
Madonna’s Headline
From British to Bahamian, Madonna’s Un-American Ambitions
My Take: See #5 Russell Crowe.
9: Sting, Tantric Sex at age 63.
Madonna’s Headline
Chanteuse on the Loose: Madonna’s Sexual Stretch Marks
My Take: It is true that Madonna would be the laughing stock of the world if she were to publicize something like this in light of her recent missteps.
10: George Clooney, Sports at age 53.
Madonna’s Headline
No Longer in a League of Her Own, Madonna Strikes Out on the Playing Field, Dribbles in Public, and Chases After Tight Ends
My Take: If Madonna competed successfully in a triathlon, she would set an example for women her age. Instead, she expects people to just imagine her doing it, along with everything else.
11: Denzel Washington, Boxing at age 60
Madonna’s Headline
Former Musical Heavyweight Madonna Now Hits Below the Belt
My Take: If Madonna wanted to box, no one would care one iota.
12: Kevin Costner, Horseback Riding at age 60.
Madonna’s Headline
Madonna owns… wait, she fell off her horse in 2005, leaving her with a broken hand, busted collarbone and three cracked ribs. One very popular New York Newspaper wrote it…”Madonna Falls Off Her High Horse.”
My Take: I remember this story well, and again, Madonna is her own worst enemy.
When Keith Richards fell out of a coconut tree or four-wheeler or whatever the hell happened to him in Hawaii, he got flowers and high-fives, not a tsunami of negative press because he’s cool being who the hell he is!
Bottom line:
The article is not about gender stereotypes.
It’s about Madonna…as usual.
Where she started…
What’s left…
After belting out her classic song of female empowerment “Express Yourself,” at Coachella, the 56-year-old pop legend, Madonna, pulled the 28-year-old singer, Drake, back in his chair to plant a heavy kiss on his lips.
Then all hell broke loose.
~~~
Naivete in grownups is often charming; but when coupled with vanity it is indistinguishable from stupidity. Eric Hoffer
~~~
Madonna is closing in on 60 years old and a shadow of her former self, which I know is shocking to those of you who think she resembles the woman on the cover of her new CD.
If she were a writer or folk singer or politician or television actor or newscaster or cashier at WalMart she could go on and on and on. But sex symbol? Please.
And that gold dental grill!!! Seriously??? What drugs drive people this far off the ranch???
I guess it has everything to do with being at the top of the pop music world for decades only to feel pressured to pass the baton to the next generation.
If it were me, I’d do the same damn thing as long as I had no idea how ridiculous it made me look.
I’m sure no one let’s her in on this dirty little secret, though.
Why would they? Their careers rest on her perpetuity no matter how desperate she looks in the process.
But what propelled her to stardom is still part of who she is today. In this sense, she is stuck in the past, always looking for the next opportunity to resurrect herself, this time around with an undercurrent of indignant rage.
The bottom line is that she is no longer “herself” on the outside, which means that she has to redefine who she is on the inside.
At this writing, this does not appear to be happening.
Nonetheless, what she’s going through is not unique to women.
Men become the punchlines of jokes when they live the way they did 30 ago, refusing to acknowledge that 30 years have passed.
We all age. It sucks. It’s nature’s cruel joke. Call it what you will. But it’s a reality we all face no matter who we are.
Some fare better than others, mostly because they’re not Madonna.
They don’t have to fill stadiums, pander to fans, focus on trying to bend and shape perception of aging until people no longer see it.
In this sense Madonna as “Madonna” is her own worst nightmare.
If she wants to salvage her dignity and assure a resurrection of sorts, she should take her own advice and perform alone on a simple stage with an acoustic guitar.
No dancers, backup singers, pyrotechnics and god’s knows what the hell else.
Now that would be a concert worth seeing.
POSTSCRIPT
Who attends Madonna concerts?
1] Older women who relate to her midlife delusions.
2] Gay men who imagine Madonna loves them more than she loves herself.
3] No one else that I’m aware of.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/11/madonna-gay-fans-_n_6846882.html
UPDATE
Now Drake has said that, in so many words, he was delighted to have had the opportunity to be kissed by the queen, Madonna.
Yea right, dude.
Best to cover your ass.
Madonna Louise Ciccone [aka Madonna] was born in Bay City, Michigan on August 16, 1958, which makes her 56 years of age. Her career started in 1979 and since that time she has amassed a fortune exceeding $800 million dollars doing exactly what she wanted to do with her life, which is pretty much everything a human being could possibly hope to do in one lifetime, or 100 for that matter.
The tailwind from her career would be enough to propel most clinical narcissists into old age without the help of a therapist, but not Madonna. No. She demands the world see her the way that it did 30 years ago, in spite if the fact that it is 30 years later.
In light of this, it’s no surprise that she levels charges of “ageism” as if that’s going to somehow guilt-trip her fans into some sort of collective hallucination.
The poor woman just fell off the stage during a comeback performance, for god’s sake. That’s about as bad as it gets for a cultural icon that uses fame the way human beings use blood.
Youth is gone, Louise. I’m sorry. I feel it, too. So does everyone else our age. But we don’t do ourselves any favors trying to be something we’re not. If you want to believe the applause you receive from aging women and drag queens constitutes transcendence, I’m sorry.
I remember seeing Madonna at NYC nightclubs back in the late 70’s. She was unknown, striking, wildly creative, and always blitzing for attention. She leveraged the currency of youth to achieve her objectives when she had it in spades. Some people are fortunate that way. Personal conviction is something most of us have to earn over time.
Nonetheless, after many decades of Madonna being Madonna, her relevance is vanishing. And while in all likelihood she can still fill arenas, the reason has everything to do with nostalgia and nothing whatsoever to do with another successful reinvention.
If she wants to act, let her act. Meryl Streep still does it. If she wants to make a nightclub appearance here and there, maybe belt out an old jazz standard, go for it. Woody Allen has a regular gig at Café Carlyle in New York. It’s all good.
With these thoughts in mind, I regret to say that I can no longer rock my crimson Spandex in the gym, in spite of the fact that I haven’t aged a day since 1979.