Madonna: Women don’t stop being fun, curious & sexy at the age of 40
April 22, 2018
I’m startled to learn that I haven’t written about Madonna since September of last year! That was when she was out and about, promoting the launch of her skincare line, MDNA Skin. Some-odd seven months later, she’s still promoting the skincare line. Maybe MDNA Skin has been overshadowed by Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, even though the products are somewhat different: Rihanna is doing makeup, Madonna is doing lotions and masks and eye cream. This is a bad fit, right? It was always a bad fit. As I said last year, I like and respect Madonna’s work in general. But I don’t associate her with “having good skin” or “taking care of her skin.” Especially nowadays, when she’s injecting syringes full of crazy into her lips, cheeks, forehead, chin and wherever else. Anyway, Madge is still shilling and she’s given an interview to The Cut. Some highlights:
How we fight ageism: “We need role models. People are afraid of things they don’t know and that are unfamiliar. Women have a different place in the world now. We’re finding more work and fighting for more gender equality in the workplace. As we do that, we should keep working on not only our career but on ourselves. It’s about staying curious, staying alive, and working on making ourselves feel good whether it’s through exercise, skin care, etc. There are no rules.
Life doesn’t stop for women at 40: “It’s an outdated, patriarchal idea that a woman has to stop being fun, curious, adventurous, beautiful, or sexy past the age of 40. It’s ridiculous. Why should only men be allowed to be adventurous, sexual, curious, and get to have all the fun until the day they leave this earth? Why should that only be the domain of men? How do we fight this? By standing up to men and by standing up to social mores or standards that say we cannot. The more women that do it, it will just be a matter of time.
She’s always been a boundary-pushing pioneer: “In the beginning of my career, I got so much flak for using sexuality as part of my creativity and was called a sexual provocateur. Now, all the challenges that I had to face 20 years ago seem ludicrous. What I am going through now is ageism, with people putting me down or giving me a hard time because I date younger men or do things that are considered to be only the domain of younger women. I mean, who made those rules? Who says? I’m going to keep fighting it. Ten to 20 years from now, it’s going to be normal. People are going to shut up.
An approach to discussing aging: “I don’t think about an approach to aging. I just think about my approach to life. I don’t do anything different than I used to do. I keep going. I continue being creative and working. I write, travel the world, am adventurous, curious, learn, and I seek knowledge. I listen to my children, I pay attention to them, and I see the world through their eyes. All those things keep you youthful. Some people go, Okay I don’t want to work anymore. They pack up their bags and move to some secluded villa in the mountains. I get that’s a life for some people, but not for me. Of course, you have to take care of yourself. You have to eat right, practice good nutrition, exercise, and all the obvious things everybody knows. I never smoked. I don’t go in the sun. I’ve always taken care of myself.
The move to Lisbon: “I never think I am fighting age. I’m just continuing on with my life as I always have. I’ve never gotten complacent. I’ve never gotten comfortable. I keep pushing myself into uncomfortable positions and taken risks. I moved to Lisbon with my four children. I could have stayed in NYC with my comfortable life, but I didn’t. If you keep putting yourself in challenging, new adventurous situations, then you keep yourself alive and youthful.
Real question though: why are celebrities suddenly moving to Lisbon? Was there a Vogue article about it or something? Is Lisbon some kind of tax haven? Is Monte Carlo suddenly too crowded so now everybody’s trying to make Lisbon the new playground for the rich and age-free? As for what Madonna says… I mean, she’s not really saying anything wrong. I agree with her words for the most part. The problem I have with this is how her words are backed up by her actions on a personal level. It’s one thing to say “IDGAF about how I’m perceived, I’m gonna do what makes me happy” and just living your life without care. But Madonna cares. She gives a f–k about how she’s perceived, and she wants to be perceived as someone very young. She wants to look like an Instagram model and that insecurity is all over her face.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, Instagram.
