The Prime of Miss Whomever

I’m blessed to be surrounded by beautiful women of all ages that inspire me every day. But, this week I heard someone say, “She’s past her prime.” I was reminded of the Academy Award winning movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brody where actress Maggie Smith plays a controversial private school teacher in her sexual prime. She ignites controversy by planting sexual ideas in her young students like pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, etc. She’s relieved of her duties by an older head mistress named Miss McKay. In one scene Miss Brody says, “You couldn’t understand, Miss McKay, you are not in your prime.”

Who exactly determines when a person’s prime is over? There is a rich history of women who didn’t hit their stride until later in life. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 64 when her daughter talked her into publishing her books that became the classic series Little House on the Prairie. Julia Child was close to forty when she finally published her first book on cooking. She went on to build an empire, working well into old age. Mother Theresa, on the other hand, became a nun at 18. But, it wasn’t until 1950 at the age of 40, that she left behind everything she knew and established the Missionaries of Charity organization. Founded by only 12 members, it eventually became a worldwide organization and led to Mother Teresa receiving the Nobel Peace Prize at the age 69.

Then there’s Madonna – wildly successful before she was thirty, Madonna has written the soundtrack of our lives. Like it or not, she’s had her way with each and every one of us. Now, in her mid fifties, Madonna is battling a new frontier. How does she stay relevant in a youth crazed culture that mocks her for being sexual post menopause. Kim Catrall said it best as Samantha in Sex in the City when she discovered a gray pubic hair. “No one wants to fuck Grandma’s pussy.”

Madonna is about to show all of us how a female artist can still be at the top of her game in her fifties. Her album Rebel Heart drops on March 6th. Get ready for Madonna’s best incarnation yet, Dowager Queen. She’ll be seen and heard everywhere and no doubtably laughing all the way to the bank.

If you’d like to learn more about the women who inspire me, my book Stonewall to Obama is free today and tomorrow only. Get your copy here.

Here’s what Madonna is saying about ageism…