A sex symbol at 81? Martha Stewart, Sports Illustrated cover star ...

Martha Stewart has been surfing the Zeitgeist since the publication of her first book, “Entertaining,” in 1982. Forty-one years later, her groundbreaking Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover, makes her at age 81 the oldest woman to earn that honour. It will appear on newsstands on May 18.

The SI swimsuit issue has become a vehicle for diversity and inclusion since editor MJ Day took the reins in 2014, converting the old formula of thin yet busty young white women into a more representative array of models. There has been a model in a burkini, plus-sized models, a transgender model and a model with alopecia. Elon Musk’s model mother, Maye Musk, previously held the age record, appearing last year on the cover when she was 74. The magazine says its swimsuit franchise “is all about empowerment and is a platform for championing diversity, inclusion and positive change.”

But Stewart, as always in her storied career, is a cover model who ratchets the concept to a whole other dimension. The shot by Ruven Afanador shows off the TV icon’s assets: artfully tousled bombshell blond hair, a flawless bosom framed by a plunging white one-piece suit, her lineless complexion glowing in the sunshine. An artfully draped tangerine organza cape creates a sculptural shape around her shoulders. It’s a stunning image. It is an impossible image, shattering all preconceived notions of what someone in their ninth decade looks like.

That impossibility can be good or bad, depending on how you view airbrushing and other interventions. The Helen Mirrens of the world have taken a stand to reflect aging naturally. Stewart has clearly chosen to represent the impulse to push things as hard as she can in the other direction. Both viewpoints are valid.

Stewart has always reflected back at us an idealized vision of herself. She transformed (and commodified) the concept of “homemaking” in the ’80s into a competitive sport — from her various perfect country properties with extensive flower and vegetable gardens, horse stables and chicken coops and dreamy kitchen she made cooking and entertaining look effortless and chic. The books begat a deal for housewares at Kmart, ads for which introduced her to TV viewers. Martha Stewart Living magazine followed in 1990 and by 1993 her first TV series launched.

There was of course that time Stewart got caught in the undertow. Her conviction for securities fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy in 2004 landed her in prison for five months. She has often poked good-natured fun about her stint in the big house over the years, but the woman who made her catch phrase “it’s a good thing” admitted in 2017 on the Today show that the indignity of the experience was “an awful, awful thing.”

Somehow, though she represented the hubris of the rich and famous, her career didn’t suffer. In fact, as she’s gotten older, she seems freer to let loose. Her odd-couple pairing with rapper Snoop Dogg, with whom she co-hosted a reality TV show, is an example of how the once-perfect domestic goddess is letting her hair down. Snoop posted in 2019 on Instagram about his “best friend” Stewart: “I invite you all to remember Martha Stewart snitched on NOT ONE soul during her trial. Baby girl kept it 10 toes down and ate that prison sentence by herself, like the true baddie she is.”

Icon to iconoclast, Martha Stewart is once again reflecting something back at us. This time the resonant piece to take away from her SI cover is the idea of an 81-year-old woman as a sexual being. This isn’t her first thirst trap: she’s been steadily using her Instagram account to defy the limits of ageism. So the question is: Will this move the conversation forward? To some extent, yes. Seeing women of all ages, shapes and sizes and colours as attractive is a worthy goal. Personally, I would have liked it had she left a few wrinkles to show through, trophies of experience. But I respect her desire to continue to live the airbrushed life. Perfection is, after all, her trademark look after 41 years of holding our collective attention and encouraging us to make prettier flower arrangements and one-pot pasta.

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