The ‘Bare’ necessities

In his piece on “Bare,” the new Annie Lennox CD, Phil Sutcliffe devotes an entire paragraph to describing the singer-songwriter’s face: “frown lines between her eyebrows, smile lines around her mouth, small vertical grooves above her top lip.... “ This, according to him, is evidence of the musician’s nature (“She’s Just Trying to Work Things Out,” April 27).

I’d laugh aloud, but I’m afraid I’ll deepen my crow’s feet. I’d rage against the inequitable standards women are held to in this culture, but I fear the consequence to my brow. Can one imagine such inane observations on the middle-aged Springsteen or Bono?

As for facial grooves, Sutcliffe ought to confine his comments to the musical variety. What he tries to pass off as psychological insight is simply ageism with a sexist spin.

Sid Andersson

Santa Monica.