MADONNA: SMART TALK

I am disturbed by Kristine McKenna’s recent article (“Madonna Seduces,” July 20).

I willingly accompanied my 14-year-old daughter to the Madonna concert and we both had a fun time. I am not writing to defend Madonna’s merits as an artist or pop sensation. I am writing because I am disappointed that McKenna’s article perpetuates the myth that brains combined with beauty is an impossibility (“. . . and the average IQ was . . . well, let’s just say there seemed to be a lot of girls eagerly anticipating careers in modeling”)!

I would hope that McKenna, a working writer, would be the first to struggle against stereotypes. How would she appreciate a comment such as, “She looks great but can the broad write?” Isn’t Madonna’s “message” that a successful woman can flaunt her feminine beauty as well as her brains? Was it necessary for McKenna to guess the IQ of the women in attendance? Must we all don horn-rimmed glasses and baggy jeans in her company?

Perhaps, in the future, she will exorcise her self-esteem problems before a qualified therapist and leave us competent, intelligent women the right to look as great as we think and feel!

LAURA BRAUNSTEIN

Los Angeles