For most new artists in the volatile music industry, fame comes with an impending expiration date.
But there have always been a select few artists who continue performing for their entire lives. Women, even in their late 30s, 40s and 50s, stay in the spotlight, bringing in the crowds on stage and the record sales on Billboard. What’s new is that female singers of that certain age are still selling sex appeal. Women like Madonna are redefining what it means to be a female performer past the bloom of youth, or as the French call it, “d’un certain âge.”
The cover for Janet Jackson’s latest album, “Discipline,” features the 42-year-old dressed in bondage-esque leather. Similarly, 49-year-old Madonna routinely dances in skimpy outfits onstage. And Cher’s appearance on “Oprah” in April featured the 62-year-old icon singing a past hit about one-night stands. Unlike performers of the past, these women still embrace the sex-kitten image of their youth. They have to do something to stand out among their peers, since women are the underdogs in music.
“Something like 95 percent of successful pop musicians are men. It’s much less than what you’d expect in other fields,” said Gabriel Rossman, an assistant professor of sociology.
So these women sell the tried and true: youthful sex appeal. And because this tactic allows them to garner so much media attention, students often find themselves affected personally by older women in music.
“Women like Madonna are an inspiration to older women. She has always been really independent and her own person and never made any apologies for anything,” said fourth-year history student Catherine Cuadrado.
But reactions are mixed. Some students caution older female singers to be more careful of their impact on young audiences.
“Sexual themes have been popular in reinvention, and reinvention appears to be essential in lasting power for most artists,” said third-year political science and economics student Samantha Tran. “Their reinventions of themselves are sometimes not appropriate for their target audience.”
Not only are older female performers adjusting with the times by maintaining the sex appeal of their 20s, but they’re also constantly updating their music in order to be in sync with current trends. Two years ago, Janet Jackson climbed the Billboard charts with Nelly’s assistance, and Madonna collaborated with Justin Timberlake on her latest album.
Staying young, at least in the eyes of their audiences, helps female performers retain their marketability.
“In 1955 you had Elvis, and that’s when everything changed. … The ’50s and ’60s saw the creation of a permanent youth culture. (A successful performer was) essentially a permanent child, in a way,” Rossman said.
This trend is incredibly apparent in today’s performers. Madonna’s very fit body, Janet’s tight clothing and Mariah’s much younger husband all allow the artists to still be attractive to their audience.
This wave of sexy, thriving performers can empower young girls by eliminating the age limit on success.
“Seeing people have successful careers even after their “˜prime’ of 20 to 21 is a good influence on younger girls,” said third-year undeclared life sciences student Daniela Hamann-Nazaroff.
By maintaining both their music styles and personal images to appeal to young people in their 20s, female performers effectively stay perpetually in their 20s. They become artists in stasis, their constant change paradoxically creating a lack of growth and maturity in their art.
Whether female artists simply act young on stage or allow that mentality to influence their personal lives, the trend of older female performers attempting to seem perpetually young may be just another manifestation of our society’s obsession with youth. Youth is equated to beauty and attractiveness, which for women is an especially dangerous standard.
“Being aesthetically pleasing is part of their job,” Hamann-Nazaroff said. “They would not be successful if they were ugly, but that’s more a fault of society rather than a fault of the women. Their ability to maintain their beauty, at whatever age, empowers them.”
Thus, the Freudian fixation on youth by artists like Madonna and Cher, is a double-edged sword for women everywhere.
On one hand, these women are still attractive and popular, proving to women that there is no longer a sell-by date for cultural relevance. However, the success of these women hinges on the fact that they continually update themselves to appear like their much younger colleagues.
Effectively, the message portrayed is that, yes, artists can sell records even when they’re no longer young. But it doesn’t hurt to act like they still are.