"Can an actress be over forty years old and wait for death?" Madonna is sixty years old this year. A new album will be released, but a radio station said that it would refuse to release her songs because she was too old. Many people laugh at her, afraid that she will break her leg while dancing, saying that she will not accept her old age, but what they really want to say behind it is that the entertainment industry only welcomes youthful bodies, don't you? But she didn't. She said that this ageism is not much different from racial and gender discrimination. "We strive for rights – human rights, gay rights – but in the face of ageism, it is still an unspeakable taboo."

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"Female stars are over forty years old, can they only wait to die?"

This year, Madonna turns 60. In June, she was about to release her 14th album, but some radio stations said they would refuse to release her songs because "she was too old".

Many people love to leave messages on the Internet to laugh at her, saying that they are afraid that their grandmother will break their legs while dancing, that she still wants to learn from Lady Gaga at her age, and even how she has the face to flirt with a boy her grandson's age. What I really want to say behind the scenes is that in this entertainment industry, we only welcome young female bodies, everyone is lined up in piles, and you are not fast.

But she didn't. She said that this kind of age discrimination is not much different from racial discrimination and gender discrimination. "We are working so hard to break through every field - human rights, gay rights - but in the face of old hatred, it is still a taboo and lingers."


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Madonna's new song was rejected by the radio because she was too old!

Madonna, who just turned 60 last year and is about to release a new album this year, is the most important female singer in the pop industry, "Like A Virgin" (Like A Virgin), "Material Girl" (Material Girl), "Like a Prayer" (Like a Prayer), "Vogue" (Vogue), blonde hair and red lips imitate Marilyn Monroe, wearing pajamas and dancing freely in front of the burning cross. The combination of saints and prostitutes - the more she plays, the more real she is, every time she breaks through herself, behind it is a fearless display of female consciousness. (Extended reading: [Gender Observation] Madonna's Bad Feminism, Addictive Tricks)

Can a feminist say that he is a money worshiper? Can a feminist talk about sex? In the 80s, these were highly controversial things. It is Madonna's challenge to worldly values that has made her an indicator of post-feminism, and has also strongly influenced generations of pop musicians. (Extended reading: From Madonna to Female Enemy!) Kang Tingyu: "Will post-feminism make women live harder?" ）

In the past few years, the latest question she has been facing and responding to is: as a female singer over 60 years old, can she continue to show off her sexiness?

In 2019, Madonna released her fourteenth album "Madame X", the new single "Medellín", and the music video scene shows her licking the toes, rubbing breasts, and spanking of male singer Maluma. The video also received 470,000 likes and 130,000 dislikes on YouTube. There was also no shortage of ridicule of her in the messages, including "The boy is flirting with his grandmother", "Where does this world want to go?" "This grandma is trying to turn herself into a lady gaga, I really laugh to death, even Maluma can't save it, I call it karma detonation."


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Why do you recognize your old age? Madonna: "I was punished only because I was sixty years old."

According to a number of media reports, BBC Channel 1 also stated that they refused to broadcast new singles this year. Vogue wrote, "I was punished only because I was 60 years old." （“I’m Being Punished For Turning 60”）

She said, "People always try to shut me up in every way. For example, I am not beautiful enough, I am not good enough, I am not talented enough, I am not married enough, and now this is, I am not young enough."

This is not even the first time this has happened. Rolling Stone reported that in 2015, BBC channel 1 had already been denied broadcast because an engineer said that considering the age of the audience, they would not play her new song "Living for Love", and even said that it was not because of personal preference, but because of listener preferences. Madonna responded to this massively: "This is ageism."

If you think about it, you can understand that this is nonsense - don't young people ever want to listen to music older than their age?


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George Ergatoudis, then head of BBC Channel 1, even responded: "We have to control our audience between 15 and 30 years old, most of the listeners who like Madonna are over 30 years old, and to be honest, we have to move on from Madonna." At the same time, they also said that it is not only for Madonna, but also Paul McCartney and the classic rock band Foo Fighter are also on the list.

Hatred of the elderly, hatred of women, and racial discrimination are all similar in essence

First of all, looking back at the 2015 Rolling Stone magazine report, Madonna's analysis in the interview shows that this set of "rejecting the elderly" logic is very similar in nature to various discriminatory remarks. Whether it is hatred of the elderly, hatred of women, or racial discrimination, it is nothing more than relying on physiological conditions to exclude the existing rights of others, and even deprive some people of a better chance of survival.

In an interview four years ago, Madonna pointed out that age-hatred is no different from the essence of racism: "No one has ever dared to say 'because he's black' or 'because he's gay'. But just because of my age, anyone, everyone, can say humiliating things to me. I always wondered, why are these words accepted? How is this different from racial discrimination, any discrimination? They judged me entirely only by my age. I don't understand."

Can "hatred of the elderly" be considered a gender issue? Of course, especially for women

Secondly, hating the old is of course also a gender issue. After all, fundamentally speaking, most of the society's praise and recognition of women are based on appearance and beauty. And when the old appearance changes, these recognitions will be discounted. As a woman, there are very few chances of survival that they can get after aging.

In Hollywood, it is a well-known fact that when women reach a certain age, they can only receive these two roles most of the time: He Lin's grandmother, otherwise she is a witch.

The most well-known example is Meryl Streep. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she once mentioned in an exclusive Vogue interview that one year she received three drama requests in one go, all of which were witches or witches. "When a woman is over a certain age, you can only play a witch because you are considered 'grotesque'."

What's even more exaggerated is that she was only 40 years old at the time. In the music industry, the same is true.

"Women, in particular, when they reach a certain age, have to accept that they can only look like certain things. But I don't want to play by the rules of this game. I didn't and I won't be."

In the past, she was the queen of pop, the goddess of sex, and the spokesperson for post-feminism, challenging various gender issues. But why, when she enters the age of sixty, as long as she wants to be sexy, she becomes the reason for being ridiculed by the world?

We call David Bowie, who died at the age of 67, a "rock chameleon" and admire his queer outfits. We honor the 72-year-old Iggy Pop as the "Punk Leader", he insisted on being naked until the 2018 concert, exposing the wrinkled upper body, and still able to sing Lust forlife freely.


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We also want to ask, is society ready to accept the common sense that "women grow old too"? Women's appearance and appearance assets have never existed only to please the world. This is true at 20 years old, and so is 60 years old.

Age discrimination is still taboo

As Madonna said in an interview with Rolling Stone:

"We've worked so hard to reach breakthroughs in every area – human rights, gay rights – but facing Old hatred is still a taboo thing, lingering, and people are not ready to talk about it and face it." （“We’ve made so many advances in other areas – civil rights, gay rights – but ageism is still an area that’s taboo and not talked about and dealt with）

Fortunately, Madonna said that she would never stop.

NBC reported that on Chinese New Year's Eve in 2019, she unexpectedly stepped into the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City. Fifty years ago, it was the scene of the first gay movement in American history to confront the unreasonable police ban. On the same day, the comrades who came to the venue to have some fun were overjoyed. She took the stage to read a letter to her comrades and sang. On her other new single, I Rise, which was released in May, she said it was dedicated to these people:

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and I hope this song will encourage people to be who they want to be and who they love themselves." （This year is the 50th anniversary of pride and I hope this song encourages all individuals to be who they are, to speak their minds and to love themselves.”）

"I wrote this song to give voice to all marginalized people. Especially those who never had a chance to say how they felt." She said.


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Racism, sexism, ageism, when we hate dissidents, when we ridicule rather than empathize, make everyone a target of attack. She has long supported gay rights and human rights, and she also talks about the harm of age discrimination to a woman and even a human being.

At times like this, fortunately we still have Madonna.

Bonus screening: Give your Madonna attitude playlist

1.Like A Virgin

2.Material Girl

3.Like A Prayer

4.Vogue

5.Burning Up (12" Version)

6.Crazy For You

7.Holiday

8.I Rise

9.Hung Up

10.Express Yourself

11.Papa Don't Preach

12.Bitch I'm Madonna