Core Post: Madonna

       The base of my post concerns Ann Cvetkovich's article titled, The Powers of Seeing and Being Seen Truth or Dare and Paris is Burning (1993). Madonna remains one of the most iconic performers and has outlasted many musicians, actors and celebrities in her public relevance. Ann references the fact that their is power divulged in allowing oneself to be objectified, specifically women. She mentions that Madonna in several dance sequences groups herself together with gay men dressed in drag. Its important to note that as a collective, Madonna is costuming, transforming her own identity in the same desire to perform with her ensemble of gay men. 

      This paradigm is created because as much as Madonna uses her position and global power to raise awareness and blur the lines of gender, she remains a straight white women who conforms to the conventionality of white femininity. This can come across as an exploitation of her power and wealth. She has innately the feminine qualities that the gay men in drag desire to emulate, so for her these transitions are merely costume but for them, and the rest of the society striving to achieve white feminine beauty and social privileges they don't get the same choice freedom that Madonna utilizes when transforming her image. I understand the unfairness that plagues Madonnas transforming identity and the appropriation she borrows from subcultures to remain relevant and invite publicity however there are many positives that come from this. 

A.) The fact that she removes her personal life from her crafted musical persona by exploiting herself to a large degree, is a sacrifice necessary for attaining global power.

B.) By conforming to societal conventions of beauty and inviting herself to be objectified, she was given and received worldwide recognition and a powerful position few attain. She effectively used this position to redeem cultural merit by advocating for groups (Gays, Minorities) and introducing concepts mainstream culture were unfamiliar with (Crossdressing, Genderblending). 

        Thus, it is too easy to blame her for having social privileges and for being born as a female in a consumerist decade that happened to objectify women. Rather than playing a small role which ultimately conforms to society, she played society’s ass by first marketing herself as the pinnacle of the status quo (Blonde Ambition Era) only to contradict herself by adopting a masculine male image and performing in male drag costuming. Ultimately, this makes her self transformations noble and reactionary to being an indefinable global performer.