twosoulsinaghosttown

Virgin Tour / June 7 / NYC Who's That Girl / June 27 / Florida Blond Ambition / June 11, 12 / NY Girlie Show / October 14 / NY Drowned World Tour / July 26 / NY Reinvention Tour / June 21 / NY Confessions Tour / June 29 ,July 3, NY / July 13, Philadelphia Sticky & Sweet Tour / October 11, NYC / October 16, Boston / November 20, Philadelphia MDNA Tour / September 8, NYC / November 15, North Carolina Rebel Heart Tour / September 17, NYC / September 24, Philadelphia Madame X / September 25, 26, Brooklyn / October 21, 23, Chicago

It’s not just you.

Im not sure Simon Cowell and Madonna faced the same levels of outright cruelty. As for penis size commentary, women face far more scrutiny over their bodies than men. Far more. That is a fact. The egos of men are constantly protected in our society. This doesn't mean it NEVER Happens to men, it means that it happens more to women versus men. (And we are speaking about celebrities here, specifically Madonna) So the patriarchy as a system does very much play into this. There are far more stories of women being coerced into nude scenes vs men. More stories of sexual harassment come from women. More stories of this kind of treatment come from women. The vitriol aimed at her is far higher than any male celebrity. Citing that it does happen to men doesn't discount that it happens to her and other female celebrities - far more. So, I don't feel I am the one lying to myself.

Walk me through how Madonna being attacked for looking "old" or having had "surgery" isn't connected, in some way, to the patriarchy. Site me any public male figures that are aging that are facing this. You can't. We don't do that. It's why it's perfectly acceptable to discuss the breasts size of a woman but never the penis of a male. Everything in our cultural atmosphere is still somewhat in service to the ego of men. Because men - mostly - still hold the power. It's easy to lose sight of this in a culture that has tricked us into believing that being angry and vocal about everything is some sort of rebellious act. It isn't. It's barely the seed that gets the ball rolling. We believe that because we talk about these things - they aren't still happening. They are. It's why you think there is a correlation between how a woman dresses at the gym and the attention she receives because of it. That's a tough mind frame brother. I hope you look inside and stare that ugliness in the face. Now I will give you this - The Patriarchy isn't the only reason Madonna is facing this. One could argue that this is her last big cultural battle in an illustrious career of battling cultural prejudices. But it's also US. It's all of us. As a culture, we are both against bullying and take part in bullying. We have a juvenile belief that celebrities have signed up for our constant judgment and commentary. It's almost as if we believe we are owed something for our adoration. We aren't. You are allowed to think whatever you like, sure, in theory but then we have to live as a society right? And for all of us to exist, we talk and make concessions for each other. We are deciding people should be able to dress, act, identify and feel how they wish as long as they don't hurt anyone else. You have the right to voice opinions about that but free speech doesn't come without consequences. Madonna aging how she wishes is not to upset you or cause you to not identify with her , it's because this is how she wishes to be. The rub here is THAT is the very same spirit you always identified with. And in many ways, The Patriarchy and celebrity/social media culture feeds this dissonance to keep us from changing what we have always known. Part of being in a society is being disagreed with when you craft a Donal Trump like diatribe like the one you posted.

we don't have to perform politics all the time.

Same

I'm new here more or less so maybe it's always like this but I am wondering why some folks are uncomfortable with criticizing madonna for making something that is glaringly cheap, poorly crafted, and elicits a feeling of desperation. Part of being a fan of anyone is the ability to criticize work that doesn't speak to you or doesn't feel in line with a body of work. In this case, the greatest body of work any artist has ever amassed. Being critical is what keeps one from becoming a zealot. It's the same with religious folks who freak out anytime someone points out something that they usually know is true or won't accept is only true FOR them. I think most know this video isn't artistically pleasing. Drug use isn't glamorous behavior, it's behavior that destroys lives. Coming from Madonna who has been notoriously anti-drug - those moments feel desperate and irresponsible. Not because she is older but because they aren't in line with her integrity up until this point. Those abusing her for getting older and expressing that she should "act her age" are doing what most of our culture does these days - perform politics. They will claim to be anti-ageist and bullying but those words seldom line up with actions. And this is widely accepted as the way things are. Everything is okay, as long as you pretend to believe what's trending. The video felt like Madonna was way behind the curved out of her integrity and we aren't used to that. We're spoiled that way. None of my critiques of this video have to do with her age. I hope Madonna continues to shake her ass until she moves on. I know I intend to. This video is poorly shot when held against her body of work, that's a fact I can back up with filmmaking techniques. We can then get deep into the cheap effects, poor wig styling, and the flashing lights that never let us see her. If anything - the biggest fuck you would be to make us look at her as she is because this is her last frontier. But then you look at the comments on her Instagram and you begin to understand why she may be terrified of letting us see her. People lack the ability to criticize art, so they focus on low-level bullying that reveals how broken they are. None of those truths make this video a good video. Most people feel it wasn't. That's the consensus. With that said - one horrible misstep in a career this magnanimous is something most wish they could say. It would do us all well to remember that we really haven't had a major star live this long and stay this successful without self-destructing or selling hair care products on tv at four o'clock in the morning. Since 1984 at Radio City Music Hall, I have looked to this woman for inspiration and I will continue to do so - even when she makes a video that feels like a YouTube video a girl from New Jersey made in her backyard - because that is still in line with the courage of the artist I respect and admire. Viva Madonna!