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Is Madonna still the ultimate gay icon?
Gay & Lesbian: Column
Madonna turns 53 this weekend. Is she virgin on the obsolete?
Gay icons don't come much bigger than Madonna. 'She is a timeless force of nature who has challenged sexism, ageism and homophobia. The older she gets, the more powerful she becomes', asserts Kurt Hoffman, who is organising the third annual Madonna Odyssey party this weekend, in honour of the star's fifty-third birthday.
Often referred to as 'Our Glorious Leader', Madge is part of our subculture's rich history of diva worship. She has referenced every sacred monster from Dietrich to Monroe, revelled in upfront, often transgressive sexuality and demonstrated a highly developed sense of camp. No wonder we loved her.
While some claimed that there was something calculated about her flirtation with lesbianism and Sandra Bernard, her lack of inhibition helped inspire a generation of gay men and women to live on their own terms.
But there comes a point at which provocation becomes predictable. Many felt that she reached this point with the release of her 1992 coffee table book 'Sex'. Her detractors said that she'd gone too far. Even some of her supporters doubted her sincerity. In the years that followed, questions of integrity and desperation gathered momentum as she flitted from one market to another, morphing from 'love technician' to earth mother to rap artist to crotch-grabbing divorced mother of four.
Many of her loyal gay fans looked on incredulously when she started to champion artists likes Eminem, who has been accused of homophobia. Frankly, we expected better from the woman we'd supported for so long.
Since the release of Madonna's last mediocre album 'Hard Candy' three years ago, others have been vying for her crown. One-time wannabe Lady Gaga has fulfilled her own dream of megastardom while standing up for gay rights in a far more consistent way than Madge ever has. 'Our Glorious Leader' may have recently spoken out about same-sex marriage in New York, but this came long after Gaga, who was also instrumental in the 'It Gets Better' campaign aimed at LGBT youth.
Yet in the career of a woman who has so often defied convention, there is one thing we can be certain of - Madonna is not about to surrender her gays to some whippersnapper while she skulks
off to don Norma Desmond's tatty turban. Faced with the threat of a younger usurper, she is now back in the studio recording a new album.
So will gay fans go on justifying their love of their idol? Or is her reign coming to an end? 'No way!' exclaims Hoffman. 'Gaga has a long way to go before she can match Madonna, and there's enough dancefloor time to love them both.'
Time is one thing that Madonna has never wasted. It's also something she is acutely conscious of. She isn't one to give up without a fight. This is, after all, a woman whose last concert recording ended with the song 'Give it to Me', where she warned us that she can 'go on and on and on.'
The question is, how long will we go on listening?
Comments
I now feel rather old when I mention I like, and still listen to Madonna. It's true that some teenagers and people in the early 20s have no clue who she is. All they like is the rather depressing Adele and Just a Lot of Shite (JLS)! I have to admit though that even I find some of Madonna's latest offering a bit hollow, and lacking in the wow factor that made her such a superstar. But who knows perhaps she'll surprise us all again and trump Lady Gaga.
Why is it I feel violated every time the author of this (rather mediocre) article uses the pronoun "we"?
Why does he think it is appropriate to present himself and his musical taste as representative of all gay men? Why do people still think it is OK to do this?
"Our subculture"? Whose subculture? One subculture?
(not to mention the embarrassing "pun": "virgin on the obsolete"...)
Etc.
What is the point of this article? Madonna has her fans and these people will be her fans forever. They are even allowed to love Lady Gaga while still loving Madonna. The more good music out there, the better. Hearing something new and liking it does not replace something old, it adds to it. Why do gays always like to cause drama and rivalries? Life isn't Dynasty and Catfights...
To answer your last question: F O R E V E R! And for good reasons too. I'm getting a very strong feeling you're forgetting one very important thing here - Madonna is not there to cater to you. Period. Her strongest suit is - she is an artist and one of the greatest of our time too. She is in "the game" because she's got something to say, and like no other, she knows wonderful ways to express it. So yes, forever and ever, and then some.
Don't discuss Gaga in the same breath as Madonna please. There really is NO comparison. To draw one using Gaga's copy-cat flurry into 'gay-culture' borders on the ridiculous . I have never known anyone jump on so many band-wagons! One day she will have an original thought. Expectations of Madonna are massively high simply because she is an achiever. She has explored so many genre and given us so much
excitement and spontaneity. She can be serious,
debate World issues with the best yet she can be funny and self-deprecating. No-one can remain on the top-rung of the ladder for ever and by 2012 we
are talking 30 yrs! Show me someone else who is
forced down a rung by usurpers, and steps straight
back up again. They said she was finished in the
early 90's!! Nuff said! Sometimes some forget she
is a working, single mum of 4 and yet she still finds
time to champion causes. I can't believe anyone
would favour 'fakeness' over sincerity!! There are
those who champion causes because they know
they can make a difference, and there are the
others who use them for their own publicity and
ego ! I know on which side is Madonna. Hoffman is right except I have no room for Gaga. She is one big fake!
DIZZYHEIGHTS, it's not really Madonna but your taste in music which could've got stuck in the MUSIC era and earlier. Madge's music, in fact, is evolving and one reason why she remains in circulation is her constant reinvention---which many elderly fans can't cope with. If you feel ecstatic listening to LIKE A VIRGIN, GIVE IT TO ME may be kicking the butts of your kids, nieces and nephews.
I grew up listening to Madonna but lost interest in her after the "Music" album. In the last decade she's become bland, tired and boring.
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