To the Editor:
Re “Madonna’s New Face Is a Brilliant Provocation,” by Jennifer Weiner (Opinion guest essay, Feb. 9):
Ms. Weiner quotes Madonna as saying, “I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come.” I am curious, how does this represent trailblazing?
Cosmetic surgery for approval or attention, even self-approval, seems less like trailblazing and more like objectification. To see more women aging naturally in the media spotlight would be the definition of a trailblazing and daring example to set.
Suzanne Tenner
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
Jennifer Weiner writes, “I’d like to think that our era’s greatest chameleon, a woman who has always been intentional about her reinvention, was doing something slyer, more subversive, by serving us both a new — if not necessarily improved — face and a side of critique about the work of beauty, the inevitability of aging, and the impossible bind in which older female celebrities find themselves.”
Please. As a 65-year-old woman, I can tell you: Having extreme surgery is certainly not a new way to “critique” the work of beauty, the inevitability of aging, and the impossible bind” in which all older women find themselves.
Thinking about your age, experience, wisdom, big heart, curiosity and the people you love would actually be a good start if you are looking for your beauty.
It strikes me as extremely sad that so many beautiful women in their 40s, 50s and 60s think that erasing their years cosmetically — cutting themselves open, pulling or pushing their skin and rearranging their faces — is a reasonable approach toward getting older.