Feminism of Madonna

Throughout best part of her career, Madonna's forays into feminism, womanhood and media representation of women have sparked discussions among numerous feminist scholars and commentators worldwide.

Scholars such as Karlene Faith, Sarah Churchwell and Mary Cross have remarked on the polarization of Madonna, while also noting that it is not only of her, but that feminism itself is divided by many waves, agendas and ideologies.

She was also blasted in equal measurement, while French critic Georges-Claude Guilbert once commented the amount of reproaches that she gets was proportional to her status as a role model.

Other group of authors and academics ranging from Ty Burr to Marcel Danesi and Robert C Sickels, discussed and felt how Madonna's media representation of women's roles/stereotypes crossed boundaries in popular culture at some stage.

Up to early 2020s, her path built in the past continued to be recognized and denied, while a contemporary aged Madonna was criticized by observers like Piers Morgan or appreciated by Sarah Vine and Naomi Wolf among others.

[11] Simon Fraser University's Samantha C. Thrift wrote for Third Space (2003), her "body of criticisms" opened avenues for feminist analysis for Martha Stewart.

[12] Feminists, given the diversity of our social, political, and personal identities and agendas, have mixed views in appraising Madonna's value or harm to women.

[15] The divisive perceptions was also exemplified by French scholar Georges-Claude Guilbert citing the conference "Madonna: Feminist Icon or Material" at University of California, Santa Barbara organized by the Women's Center, which led Guilbert to conclude that it shows that question is not easy to decide, as some feminists left the conference declaring that they hadn't been able to make up their minds.

[16] In 2012, Spanish cultural critic Víctor Lenore convened a researchers panel discussion her as a feminist icon, showing mixed feelings.

[7] In Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World (2011), editors explained that in the wake of second-wave feminism, Madonna "achieved great critical and commercial success by carving out a niche for the sexually empowered and entrepreneurial female popstar".

[34] In early 1990s, some scholars compiled surveys from college students and newspapers about Madonna, concluding she was deemed as "the lowest and/or most dangerous form of the feminine" and as "the antithesis of feminism".

[31] Zoe Lewis, a contributor from The Times, added the phrase "Madonna syndrome" to her description that "women are often the worst enemies of feminism because of our genetic make-up".

[21] Since the 1980s many commercial mainstream female artists have followed in Madonna's footsteps, in engaging with the self-policing, narcissistic gaze [...] These practices are a response to patriarchal culture [...] This also has the effect of pushing the boundaries of conservative (respectable) femininity.

Hunt, citing Madonna's influence in approaching different representations of feminism in her work (such as irony, parody or sexuality), pointed out that "today this ambiguity is a common theme in feminist analyses of women's music".

[59] Madonna has played with various female archetypes, with Robert C Sickels writing in 100 Entertainers Who Changed America (2013), that "her career has always been, justifiably or not, understood through the lens of her womanhood".

[60] Author Cara Hagan in Practicing Yoga as Resistance (2021) described that "she has embodied various definitions of femininity over her more than 40-year career", while The Daily Telegraph staffers add she has been a virgin, whore, wife, mother, witch, diva, saint or sinner.

[65] In the 1990s, commentators such as Lorraine Gamman and Margaret Marshment along with other cultural studies analysts, examined her as "the epitome of the contractions concerning femininity" presented in the media.

[66] During this decade, professor Suzanna Danuta Walters considered the figure of Madonna "emblematic" of the "confused way women are represented in popular culture".

[67] Critic Stephen Holden commented for The New York Times in 1990, that she manipulated the persona of good-bad girl in music videos, concerts and "endless photographs" in a way that made her self-invention a "kind of ongoing performance".

[69] In 2010, Süddeutsche Zeitung's editor Caroline von Lowtzow, compared how she linked patterns that were seen largely "incompatible",[70] while Vicki Karaminas and Adam Geczy similarly agree she achieved "iconic status", labeling her as the "first woman [...] wich [such] mainstream panache and approbation".

[74] Writing for The Guardian in 2010, Charlotte Raven headlined how "the 'new feminism' went wrong", where discussed her figure, saying "Madonna-ised woman sees everything, and everyone, as a means to her end".

[77] In mid-2000s, academics Allyson Jule and Bettina Tate Pedersen considered she seemed "relevant" to millennial womanhood, as she embodied qualities that spoke to a more modern and feminist sensibility.

[84] In contrast to denominational religions, which assign "only" one role to womanhood, that of wife and mother, as Marcel Danesi claims, Madonna "has made it clear that pop culture can provide an equilibrium".

[85] Madonna's enduring success as a mediated feminine icon also ushered in another key theme of contemporary girl culture representation of the female popstar as a virtual teacher, mentor and role model Across different decades, Madonna was cited as a role model for other women for different positive public perceptions, with Ken McLeod from University of Toronto writing in We are the Champions (2013), "her music and videos have influenced countless young women" for the past three decades.

[86] Professor Santiago Fouz-Hernandez wrote in Madonna's Drowned Worlds (2004) that in her early career, she "emerged as a role model for women in many different cultures, symbolizing professional and personal independence in a male-dominated society, as well as sexual liberation".

[87] Guilbert also notes how Madonna once considered and stated: "I'd rather feel women out there in the world can draw strength from what I've accomplished in my life than have other pop stars acknowledge their debt".

[43] Conversely, some criticized those academics that remarked Madonna's status as role model for young women in her heydays, including professor Sheila Jeffreys.

[16] Brian Beacom, from The Herald questioned broadsheet journals when many celebrated her 60-years old birthday in 2018, and championed her as a role model for women, both in her heydays and present.

[117] In 2016, after receiving the Billboard Women of the Year, Madonna touched on sexism and misogyny, and the criticisms she faced, concluding: "'Oh, if you're a feminist, you don't have sexuality, you deny it', so I said 'fuck it.

[27] In 1990, Michael MacCambridge from Cox News Service said that her greatest "cultural contribution" might came from her updated view of feminism: "The degree to which she's helped bury the women-are-smart-or-pretty stereotype".