CatherineRhodes.com

I was flipping through a magazine and saw a photo of Madonna at the Venice Film Festival, and stared in horror at her face. She looks dreadful, barely recognizable. She has what cosmetologists call “pillow face” from overuse of injectibles like Botox, Juvederm, collagen. The swelling also comes from laser treatments and other “work” done.

While I’m no purist about beauty treatments, not by a long shot, there was something about these pictures that made me sad. I came of age in the early ‘80s when Madonna ruled. For a repressed Mormon girl new to the big city, the singer’s confidence and individuality were an inspiration.

Around 1983, nude photographs of Madonna were rumored to exist and were going to be sold to Playboy and Penthouse. Turns out she had posed nude at an art school and someone had taken pictures. They obviously decided to cash in on the snaps when she became famous. This was before the Internet, before you could easily see nudity, and during a time when images of stars — especially in compromising positions — were tightly controlled.

Then she did something amazing: she shrugged it off. “Posing nude was something I did when I was young. I needed the money. So what?” They were published, people bought the magazines, but because of her super-confident handling of the event, there was no scandal.

So you would think Madonna is the kind of person who would just kick expectations about aging right in the groin. “I’m 53, I have wrinkles that are evidence of a life lived at full-tilt, so what?” So much better than pillow face.