You guys are missing the point. Madonna chose to do it in a MUSLIM country to send a message out in support of women and body image. It doesn't matter if this particular part of the country is more lenient.
-ahem- Turkey overall is pretty lenient when it comes to things of that sort, otherwise, this would have been a "Lady Gaga in Indonesia" sort of thing. Turkey overall is considered to be more Westernized than Middle Eastern, and is pretty liberal, considering Turks can engage in activities which would be condemned in Arab muslim countries, such as drinking alcohol. Therefore, sending some sort of "women's liberation against the patriarchal" message in Turkey would be entirely useless, since the country is not even considered Islamic, but secular.
I do admire, like, and support Madonna, but your argument regarding Turkey, given the nature of the place, doesn't make much sense. You would have more of a point had she chosen to perform in the heart of the Islamic world rather than in Turkey, a highly Westernized and secular place.
With that said, I don't think the world expects Hollywood women to "become sweet, aging flower types." If anything, the message seems to be the exact opposite, what with all these plastic surgery happy freak shows walking around (i.e. Joan Rivers). It celebrates that arrested development where women never really quite age and are stuck in some sort of sick perpetual youth, forever chasing their faded looks like a heroin addict chases the dragon. So, Meryl Streep and women like her would be the exception to the rule rather than what is predicted, and the oversexed revealing types would be what the soup du jour would be.
Now... in my personal opinion, I don't think Madonna falls into either category. I really do think she largely marches to her own drum, and was/is part of the feminist sexual revolution in music and culture. I think this revolution has gone terribly, terribly awry, however, but this is a discussion for another time. In any case... Madonna doesn't play into their game at all. Yes, she expresses her own sexuality in the way she sees fit, and that can certainly delve into plain raciness even at this stage in her career, but that's just the way she
is. She's not doing it to fit in with the Hollywood crazies and their oversexed campaigns, nor to comply with the modern "40 is the new 20" bullsh-t magazines try to sell.
In her case, I really do think it is just the way she's always been, and age will never have anything to do with it. She's clearly still relevant, has a strong career, and has successfully collaborated with younger acts. She has no reason to feel fearful or insecure, so if she does something, one ought to assume it is because that's the way she sees it ought to be done.
As for the breast exposure incident, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. She did it to be provocative and fun, it's what she has always done, and what she will most probably continue to do. I dunno why this keeps on being surprising. I'd be more shocked if she showed up to her next concert wearing a cardigan. But as Travis says, the more people continue to discuss it, the more she will do it. It's fun to push buttons.
[size=-2]You know you want to. [/size]
