Are Gen-X Moms Embarrassed of Madonna and Her Midlife Crisis?
If you’re like me and grew up in the ’70s and ’80s, then you grew up with Madonna. Love her or hate her, you grew up with her.
I was in high school in the ’80s and I loved Madonna. I even wore fingerless lace gloves to the prom. (Shut up.) In college, I remember twirling around a dance floor to Madonna at a frat party–head up, eyes closed and arms out. Madonna was … awesome.
Fast forward a few decades and Madonna is 53 years old (I know! Who can believe?) and she has a new album–MDNA.
Since I had only seen and heard the embarrassingly Kylie-Minogue-like-popish “Give Me All Your Luvin’” that prompted this post, I went over and sampled the album. The only thing I can say is that I was just … uncomfortable. And not in an “Oooo! I can’t handle the naughtiness way.” No, more in the “embarrassed for your friend trying to dress young and pick up college guys” kind of way. The inclusion of songs like “Gang Bang” and “I F****d up” on it just seem forced, like she’s trying to be the cool mom letting the underage high schoolers drink at her house. Even the spelling on the album (like “Luvin’”) is something you would expect from a 20-year-old, not a mature woman in her 50s with an extremely successful career under her belt.
And really, Madonna? Aren’t we way beyond your “Hey! Look at me! I’m shocking!” stage?
Apparently not because according to The Nation, “the music video for the second single, ‘Girl Gone Wild’, has been slapped with an age restriction after YouTube deemed it too raunchy for under 18 year-olds.”
Even the title, “MDNA,” is immature, being a nod to the drug ecstasy (or, “MDMA”). (Although Madonna has said the title has a threefold meaning.)
One of the great things about being over 40 is that you’re at a place in your life where you’ve changed. You’ve learned and grown and evolved. You still make mistakes, just this time they’re a different level of mistake. At least for most of us.
I enjoyed Madonna’s phase when she was wearing less make-up and letting her long hair go natural and she was learning to play the guitar and getting kind of folksy. THAT seemed like evolving. This new thing just seems like she’s regressing … right into midlife crisis. It leaves me wondering if the music video of her surrounded by a groping high school football team is leaving her teen daughter stomping her foot and saying with an exasperated sigh, “Mooooom!”
Category: Over 40
About the Author (Author Profile)
Jacqueline Wilson is a prime parent, wife, published author and freelance writer. She writes here, on Prime Parents’ Club, and on her observational parenting humor blog, WritRams.com: Writer Ramblings on Parenting Imperfectly. Follow her on Twitter as @WritRams and on her Facebook page. She recently wrote an e-Book on the REAL truth about how blogs make money. She recently started Project Purse Club, a support and networking group dedicated to changing the way women treat each other in business and blogging.Subscribe
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I just miss Madonna’s parking cone bra days. Or were they ice cream cones? Speaking of parking, I recently parallel parked for the first time ever.
Love the post, my friend. :)
I kinda cringed watching her Super Bowl show…I sort of feel as if she’s gone through SO many iterations of her own self over the last 25 years or so that she’s not sure what/who she is anymore. I’m very glad she dropped her faux-British accent though…
Meow…Ok I’m done being catty now!
I saw what I assume was the album cover on Spotify…it is the epitome of what this post is about.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I had the Madonna skirts, the bow in the my hair – everything … when I was a teenager. Now I am 42 and when I saw the video for Girl Gone Wild, my jaw dropped. It was ridiculous. Not because she isn’t beautiful and sexy but because I thought we left that nonsense back in our 20′s. I won’t buy it, won’t listen to it and I can’t wait to mock her when she is dry humping boys in her 60′s. Pathetic. :) Great post though LOL.