Anyone whose studied sociology, or to be frank, has a pair of working eyes, can see the various forms of ageism that continues to exist in today's world. Look at the ads targeted to the female population. Almost half of the commercials you see for beauty care are to "erase fine lines" or "diminish wrinkles" in 4-6 weeks. Speak to any reputable cosmetologist and they can let you know it's almost impossible to erase wrinkles or the signs of aging without some sort of cosmetic procedures being performed. But still, women buy these products by the shiploads.

Pick up any mainstream news magazine such as "US Weekly" or "In Style" and you'll notice every single woman has the flawless face of a young 20-year old (although the actress or singer may actually be in their 30's, 40's or 50's). The emphasis is that youth is beauty. Aging, therefore, becomes the opposite of beauty and attractiveness.

Take a look at the ads involving sexual pleasure for women. The most recent personal lubricant ads for KY Jelly have been targeted at married women in their 30's or older. Yet their commercials show a 30-something year old woman who seems to have defied the signs of aging. She is shown without one single wrinkle on her face. Apparently, if you look young you can be sexually fulfilling to your partner. But God forbid you be older, or even worse, look older, because if you do -- you're not only going to be unattractive to the rest of the world, but undesirable sexually as well.

So, here comes Madonna to rescue women from the ageist world we live in! Yes! Or is she just as much a victim to ageism as most other women? After all, she has obviously been photo-shopped to death on her album cover photo. She has the flawless face of a 25 year old when she looks at us with those sexually aggressive eyes. Her body, no doubt relentlessly shaped by a psychotic workout ethic, looks as tight and taut as it did in her 1986 "Papa Don't Preach" video (which is when Madonna first showed us what can happen with commitment, hard work, and a personal trainer). Should we praise her for her continuous quest to look just as good as her younger competition? Or should we hang our head in shame as she refuses to look and behave like a proper 49-year old should?

This is the question that most of the public, and more importantly women, have to ask themselves. When they denounce Madonna for looking the way she does on her "Hard Candy" cover, what exactly is it they find inappropriate?

Are we jealous we can't look as good as she does at 49? Are we confused because we may still find her attractive, when she could literally be our mother or grandmother? Part of the problem is in our thinking. We have been programmed from a young age in this society to continually put women into boxes and categories where men make up the rules of beauty, vigor, and appeal. This mindset is so ingrained in us that when we encounter someone like Madonna, we react in various ways -- be it confusion, anger, shock, fear, or spite. Madonna defies many of the limitations we put on women in her age group, and pisses off plenty of people because she refuses to conform to society's standards and moral codes.

Why does Madonna always have to try and break the status quo? Can't she just be happy with her kids, her husband, and go away? Why must she always prove that she's still here, even if some of us don't want her around anymore? Why does she always have to be so damn sexual? She's 49! She's too damn old! Go away!

I don't think Madonna ever wanted to be the crusader of any particular movement. No one would've ever predicted she'd still be around, nor would become a figure we'd associate with fighting homophobia, sexual repression, freedom of speech, patriarchy, and nowadays, ageism. But that's what Madonna's become. It is through her work and her statements that she's become a hero to many different kinds of groups. So if it takes Madonna posing in a picture on her latest album with her legs wide open, inviting the listener and public to taste her "Hard Candy" at 49 years old, to spark some open discussion about ageism in today's world -- so be it.

Madonna isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and she's making it clear she's not about to be told when she can and cannot be sexual. Sixteen years ago Madonna wrote in her Sex book, "My pussy has 9 lives". I'm not sure which life Madonna's pussy is on, but apparently it still has some tales to tell in its 49th year.