🧵Rachel Simmons Madonna’s face was trending at last night Grammy’s. Observers tweeted their astonishment at her apparent use of plastic surgery. “Fans ‘so confused’ by Madonna’s ‘new face’ at Grammys 2023,” went the headline in the New York Post’s Page Six.

“Whaaaaaat happened to Madonna’s face?! #GRAMMYs,” said one typical message.

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It’s become a sport to ridicule female celebrities who rely on cosmetic surgery. It’s way easier to diminish Madonna as an individual than question why so many women feel the need to do this in the first place.

Ageism is real, and it cuts way deeper than the knives women or needles women allow on their faces. Last year, in a survey of 6000 women over 50, 2/3 said they experienced age discrimination regularly and that it took a toll on their mental health.

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Women of color reported the highest levels of discrimination. Even as the population skews older, 9/10 older workers see discrimination against them as common; 3/5 say they’ve seen it in their workplaces.

Every minute we spend making fun of Madonna is another minute the system that made her slinks away unscrutinized by us, free to continue shaming women for a natural process no one can control.

Every minute we deride her is another minute we blame women, not the culture.

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And every woman who sees these headlines knows deep down that we are no different from Madonna -- that as we watch this process unfold on our faces we are living in a culture that has slowly disinvested in the value of *every* older woman, not just Madonna.

Managers, please remember that ageism is one of the least discussed forms of discrimination. Take a minute to learn about how to mitigate it.

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