Madonna Vows to “Keep Fighting” Ageism and Sexism

During a recent interview promoting her MDNA Skin product line, 59-year-old Madonna spoke about her experiences in dealing with ageism and sexism. “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,” the “Like a Virgin” singer expresses. “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.”

 

To combat stereotypes, Madonna says, “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.,” says Madonna, who now lives in Lisbon. “There are no rules.”

“The time for equality is now, not later…It’s an outdated, patriarchal idea that a woman has to stop being fun, curious, adventurous, beautiful, or sexy past the age of 40.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 also expresses “Youth is a state of mind…I don’t do anything different than I used to do. I keep going. I continue being creative and working,” the pop star says. “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.”

Madonna tends to avoid the sun, has never smoked and generally treats her body well. “You have to eat right, practice good nutrition, exercise, and all the obvious things everybody knows…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…If you keep putting yourself in challenging, new adventurous situations, then you keep yourself alive and youthful.”

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