Madonna is no stranger to challenges in her career. However, the struggles she faces now at the age of 59 are much different from those she overcame when she first started out.
The mum-of-six reflected in a recent interview with The Cut that at the beginning of her career, she was derided as a 'sexual provocateur'.
"Now, all the challenges that I had to face 20 years ago seem ludicrous," she confessed.
"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."
We love her fiery attitude, and we hope it heartens women everywhere who face similar challenges in their lives.
The 'Vogue' singer called for more role models in order to combat ageism, and reflected on how far we women have come.
"Women have a different place in the world now," she explained, "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."
She noted that sexism and ageism are intertwined, saying, "It’s an outdated, patriarchal idea that a woman has to stop being fun, curious, adventurous, beautiful, or sexy past the age of 40.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."
We are so with her! We women continue to be interesting, attractive, talented, and bold throughout the decades. Ageism is getting old.
