Madonna's topless photos are a triumph for all women - whatever their age

There's no denying it. The last few weeks have seen the cup of celebrity naked flesh runneth over. And I'm not even talking about that jungle reality show.
Today, it emerged that the 'Queen of Pop' has posed, topless, for a spread in the December issue of Interview magazine. Wearing a bustier and leather glove, she reclines on a satin cushion, her hand to her forehead, her boobs bared.

It's styled as a romantic image – very different to the black and white Knightley shot (which appeared in the same publication back in September), where she stared confidently down the camera, hands on hips.

At the time, I wrote a piece defending Knightley's right to be photographed topless. It was, I said, a feminist statement from a woman who'd been roundly criticised for having her modest cleavage digitally enhanced on film posters. Here she was, in all her natural glory. Hur-rah.

Advertisement

Her detractors didn't agree. Who, they cried, wanted to see the actresses 'fried eggs'? Some, unkind, commentators referred to her appearance in the Pirates of the Caribbean film 'Dead Man's Chest'.
Now, just weeks later, Madonna is under fire for committing the same offence.

Madonna, as she appears in a shoot for the latest issue of 'Interview' magazine.

How dare she? At 56, no less. I'd wager you won't see a report today that doesn't mention her age alongside her cup size.
'Still got it!' a few have already trilled.