lisaloves63:

I’ll warn you right up front, this is a rant - you may not agree with it, but I’m getting it off my chest anyway.

I’m a huge fan of Madonna’s, and at age 48, I can relate to her.  Not just as a woman, or an older woman, but because I’ve been a fan of hers for 28 years.  It may sound corny, but I feel like I grew up with her.  At 53, she’s only a few years older than I am.

So here it is, point blank - it’s absolutely making me nuts when I see reviews of the Superbowl Halftime show (where, she was amazing, IMHO), where she’s being referred to as “aging pop singer Madonna”.  ”Aging” - really?  That’s what they want to reduce this smart, talented woman down to?  

You almost never hear older superstars like Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger, both of whom are ages older than Madonna, referred to as “Aging rockstar Paul McCartney” or “Aging Rocker Mick Jagger.”  Okay - to be fair, you hear it once in a great while, but not all that much. Why not?  Because they’re men, because they deserve more respect somehow than Madonna does?  Women aren’t supposed to age - they’re supposed to remain the perpetual hot, firm, toned 20-somethings that everyone thinks they should be.

Or - here’s a better example if you like - Prince.  Have you ever, ever heard anyone refer to Prince as “Aging rockstar Prince”?  Nope, of course you haven’t.  Would it surprise you to know that Prince and Madonna were both born within two months of each other?  But it’s okay to imply that she should be put out to pasture, but not him.

The remarks calling her “grandma” and that “it’s time for the old gal to hang it up” are insulting - it’s ageism, sure, which can be lobbed against men as well as women.  But for her, it’s also sexism, which is a double-edged sword for all women in Hollywood or in the rock industry.  It’s outrageous that the general attitude about Madonna in the past handful of years is, that because she’s over 40, that it’s time for her to sit the hell down and and shut up.  The woman got up at the Superbowl halftime show, and not only danced and performed her ass off with a pulled hamstring (that was revealed Monday morning, and was quickly ignored - it’s much more fun to call her old), but she did freaking cartwheels!  I mean - come on, credit where credit is due.

I know, she’s always been criticized - from age 25 when she first burst onto the scene, she’s been criticized.  She’s bold, she’s unapologetic, she’s afraid of no one, and she has the goods to back it up.  It’s appalling that in 2012, there are still plenty of folks who think a woman should “mind her place”.  And that’s been her lot in life since 1984, unfortunately.  But then to throw in that she’s past her prime because she’s not a kid anymore is probably the most insulting thing you can say about her.  

The simple fact is - we’re all aging.  It’s the great equalizer - it happens (god willing) to all of us.  To reduce anybody down to a number, especially an entertainer who still has a lot more to give, pretty much sucks.

(via charadesninja)