Hail to the Queen of Pop: why we should all thank Madonna as she hits 65

"We allow old men to be sexual - literally in the case of 83 year old new father Al Pacino, or the gyrating Mick Jagger, 80 this month – we reserve a special kind of disgust for post-menopausal women presenting as anything other than asexual"

Madonna performs onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 1, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Maybe in the future, August 16 will be known as Madonna Day, commemorating a trailblazing woman who refused to go quietly. 

This August 16, she’ll turn 65, and having just survived a stint in intensive care, is set to embark on a world tour commemorating her four decades of pop, seven Grammys and 300m record sales.