What Happened To Madonna's Face? I Don't Think I want a "New New Face"

I forget sometimes that not everyone's life is as celebrity-centric as mine. It's a sad reality that I know way too much about what famous people are doing and wearing. And in the case of Madonna, when they've completely altered their faces.

Always the mistress of reinvention, this recent change has taken things to a whole new level for the superstar. We're not talking switching hair color or trading rubber bracelets for gold, no we're talking plastic surgery.

Madonna is about to turn 50, and she works in a youth-driven industry, so it's not surprising she would go under the knife. It was just a little shocking however to see just how much she changed her look.

In an in-depth piece in New York Magazine, author Jonathan Van Meter explores the new techniques being used by plastic surgeons to create what is been dubbed, the "New New Face."
Essentially they are talking about "re-stuffing" your aging face to bring back the fullness of youth. When you look at Madonna's new new face you can see a fullness in the cheeks that wasn't there a few months ago. In general, you can't be as thin as she is and still have fullness in your face. The piece sites one of my all-time favorite quotes, from actress Catherine Deneuve. "At a certain age, a woman has to choose between her ass and her face."

In our size-zero-obsessed world we can see the direction many women, especially celebrities have gone in, but now apparently thanks to modern science, they don't have to choose between their bottom and their face. Instead of having a healthy, rounded face (and body) you can now be grossly underweight and still have the face of a 12-year-old. Woo hoo!

Last week a photo of Madonna hit the Internet and it was frightening. It made me wonder, what ever happened to aging gracefully?

I wrote a piece for the Cape Cod Times last winter about sexism in the reporting of celebrities, and one Boston based reporter told me that in an interview, Susan Sarandon told her that one of the reasons she chose to live in New York was because she felt less pressure to be perfect.

I think of actresses like Katharine Hepburn and how beautiful she still was as she aged. There is I think, a certain dignity to aging gracefully and being proud of the life you've led. My son Ben, who bless his heart is only 24, and still has a very lovely face, makes a valid point about baby boomers and their relentless pursuit of youth. He doesn't have much good to say about the lot of us hoping to not get too wrinkled and wan. But, I see his point, how far is too far?

Does someone like Madonna have much of a choice? She's about to embark on yet another world tour and let's be honest, selling tickets isn't about who you are as a person as much as it's about how you look and what kind of show you can put on. As the line goes from "Jerry Maguire," "It's not show friends, it's show business," and she's in the business of making lots of money based largely on what she looks like.

Hopefully Madonna's face will settle in, and she'll look more normal soon. Though that's what I thought about Meg Ryan after she altered her gorgeous face. She's never looked the same.

I'm relieved that I get to sit in front of a computer and no one will really care when things start to shift a little bit. Well, that's not true, I'll care. I just hope I have the courage to resist doing anything other than maybe some really good facials and having a good attitude.

I think I'll keep my old face, it's served me pretty well, and I'd rather stick with the familiar than risk a new new face that just makes me look just a little bit desperate and mishapen. And besides, keeping my face looking youthful means I shouldn't always pass up the chance to eat ice cream, I'll pick my face over my ass any day. Even if it does mean I won't look like Madonna, I'd really rather be me. A few wrinkles and all.