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Why do people criticize older women (ex. Fergie) having fun at Coachella?
Are you supposed to stop going to music festivals, as a woman, once you hit age 30? Unless you're one of the musicians? I don't get it. Older women can't enjoy music just the same as younger women? There's something strange about people thinking it's desperate for Fergie to have fun with girls half her age, like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Not that I'm putting anyone on a pedestal, I don't get what an age difference would have to do with friendship, you know. Or why people see something sad about the whole thing? Same with people's criticism of Madonna, for not suddenly becoming matronly, just because she's getting older. A 60 year old has as much right to show off herself as sexy as a 20 year old, and it's so messed up to me how so many people are opposed, like the world is controlled by their dick or vagina's ideas of beauty.
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Fashion and Styles?
Probably about identity and engagement. Teenaged fans identify with, thus engage with younger performers. It's less likely for a seventeen year-old music fan to strongly identify with a much older performer, like Madonna. And you'll usually find that shows, and festivals with predominantly younger performers typically attract a younger audience, and vice versa. There are exceptions, many of them, at any show. But Madonna has her 'target audience'. Boybands have their target fans. Female performers who quite blatantly base their image and stage persona on 'youth' can't really be surprised if it does not last into middle-age can they? We can't have it both ways. Anything which is 'in fashion' must necessarily go 'out of fashion'. There can be only one 'leading/cutting edge'. If Madonna wants to dress and perform in a way more usually associated with a much younger woman, she has every right to do so. If people think that it is inappropriate, or somewhat ridiculous in appearance that is their right. What we do or say is our choice. How people react to it is, and will always be, THEIRS. Afraid nothing is going to change that. Are we likely to see the tendency for young girls to identify with and admire much older women? Are younger guys going to find them more attractive and easier to engage with than younger women? Can't see it, can you? Can an older performer convincingly put across the emotions, spirit and issues that are pertinent to teenagers either in their performance or the songs they write? This all works the other way round too, naturally. There will perhaps always be 'serious' singers and songwriters who transcend age and fashion. They are very few. Pop music (in all it's factions, don't say "I only like 'mega death-speed metal' that's different"...it's all 'popular music' in essence) is part of pop culture. It's transient. Here today, gone tomorrow, forgotten next week...as it were. How it should be and must be. How deeply do you want to look for your answer? The music business IS a business. Pop music doesn't just 'happen'. It's a product. Recordings, concert tickets and merchandising are commodities. They are designed and presented so that certain groups of people, grouped together by age and lifestyle etc (it's called a 'demographic') will engage with them, want them and buy them. If your IN the demographic you'll 'get it'. If you're outside the demographic you won't be much concerened or engaged with it. But if you're outside the demographic you're NOT part of the market, so what you think won't make any difference to the way it's presented and marketed.
So, a young girl wants to be like her young, sassy and sexy female media idol and embrace what she embraces. Young guys would like to appeal to the young star, they'd love to date (among other things!) her. And the young female fan might well think "I wish I had Madonna's fame, money and life-style." But do they ever think "God...I wish I was 60" ???
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I understand that women are more easily criticized than men for anything. But if you follow it all back to the underlying cause or reason that any critical person criticizes anything or anyone, male or female in life, it would be to keep them busy and focused on what they 'think' is a problem or issues so they are distracted and don't have to look too close at themselves where the real work needs to be done to grow as a human in some way. It's much easier for people to point the fingers at others. What they don't realize is that when a finger is being pointed at someone else, they have 3 of their own fingers pointing right back at themself. try it, you can't point a finger away from you and not have 3 pointing back, a subtle way of reminding each of us, that the only one we can change or improve is themselves. But unfortunately, thats how a good chunk of humanity operates. Best thing is to grow a tough hide and ignore them cus they're not even of the frame of mind to hear that they are being critical for no good reason.
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Society tells us that at some point, we are supposed to "outgrow" certain behaviors. Take, for instance, your Coachella example. It's acceptable for girls (and guys) Kendall's age to go out, frequent concerts, wear skimpy outfits, etc. However, when a woman reaches Fergie's age, she is expected to slow down a little bit. The idea is that you get it out of your system when you're young, and if you're older and it's still not out of your system, people feel like there must be something wrong.
I would argue that the same rule applies to men - a man Fergie's age hanging out with guys much younger than him and partying at a concert would also receive criticism. Age difference may not have much to do with friendship (you can have common ground with anyone). But society expects Fergie to have different interests than girls younger than her.
Of course a woman should be able to show off her sexuality at any age; but society states that a woman should eventually "grow out" of the urge to do so.
I don't necessarily agree with these societal notions, but they're the explanation for why many people feel this way about the situation you described.
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