MADONNA WATCH: It’s no wonder people have...

MADONNA WATCH: It’s no wonder people have been buzzing about the new issue of Playboy, which offers a fascinating, not-to-be-missed essay on Her Lady of Perpetual Hype--a.k.a.--Madonna, coyly titled “Playgirl of the Western World.” Madonna has described herself as a new kind of female role model, but author Michael Kelly coins a memorable term for her act: “slut feminism.” As he puts it: “She is the proponent and symbol of a hybrid pop philosophy that combines the old-fashioned use of sex as a weapon with a women’s liberation-driven bitterness toward men. It’s a cheap and tawdry little philosophy, born of anger, cynicism and ennui, just right for today.” Describing her as “a creature of blatant artifice who repackages herself to calculated effect every two years, as if she were a congressman running scared for re-election,” Kelly summarizes the tart message of her songs and videos: “Men want only one thing and women should ruthlessly exploit that wanting. Make ‘em beg and make ‘em suffer.”