Poor, poor Madonna. First her bid to adopt Chifundo ‘Mercy’ James was turned down by Malawi authorities last month on the grounds that prospective parents have to reside in the country for 18 to 24 months before the adoption takes place. Then she turns up at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Annual Costume
Institute Gala dressed like Alice in Wonderland on Crack (though next to Kate Moss’ homage to Joan Collins meets C-3PO she almost looked normal). And now James Kambewa, the man claiming to be Mercy’s father is contesting Madge’s right to adopt the girl, on the grounds that she is a ‘moral-less woman’.
Now while I can’t claim to be a Madonna fan or supporter (though I do a mean Karaoke version of Material Girl) I do take offence to Kambewa’s statement that, “A woman is supposed to be a role model for her daughters. What morals can a woman of 50 have, who has no qualms in showing her delicate parts and displaying herself like that in front of her children?” Someone should tell Kambewa that with all the yoga Madge does, those muscles down there are probably anything but delicate.
So does Madonna’s propensity for crotch
revealing outfits, on-stage mock crucifixions and younger men make her an unfit mother? Of course they do!
Didn’t she get the memo commanding all new mothers to trade in their high heels and fishnets for Crocs and Mom Jeans? And how dare she presume that she could go on satisfying her base sexual desires with younger men? Post motherhood sex is only allowed when one wants to add to the family.
In spite of cries of ‘50 is the new 30’ and
‘women are now owning their sexuality’ (whatever that means) discussion forums are filled with angry men and women who seem to agree with Kambewa. Lets face it, we don’t like to see women past, what’s referred to as, a ‘certain age’ out and about in thigh highs. We like to think of them at home knitting booties and making jam. And Madonna is clearly not doing that if we’re to believe Eric Ienco, her former house manager and cook.
“She’s got two full-time nannies and one part-time nanny. She gets up and has a coffee, then she does two hours of yoga. Then there’s two hours of Pilates. After that, she checks her
e-mails, deal with her calls and the rest of her business. And after that, she spends maybe half an hour with the kids. Madonna puts herself before her children.”
And that’s precisely why I think Madonna is a great role model for girls. We’re all taught from an early age that we should be sacrificial lambs, putting every one else’s needs above our own. Singing, dancing, yoga, bad acting, writing sex books, Kabbalah and unapologetically pissing off religious and political leaders don’t figure on that list of ‘to dos’.
Should Madonna be adopting from Malawi when there are children for her to adopt in her own country? That’s another debate. Should the law be set aside for a famous person? Most certainly not. Should Madonna not be allowed to adopt because she has a bad stylist? Only if she’s planning to dress Mercy up in those bunny ears she wore to the Costume Institute Gala.