Madonna is the quintessential celebrity, famous for her fame, and her prominence in the media, so that her actual exploits in the worlds of music and cinema are of secondary importance. Truly she was a pioneer — not in her musical style, or her fashions, but in her ability to attract the attention of a culture. She was the first star to create a celebrity based on image rather than accomplishment.
She ushered in a new era of celebrity, one in which image becomes a commodity, something to be carefully developed and tweaked, and every superstar since has followed her example, for better or for worse. But Madonna did it first and Madonna did it best, attracting attention not only in the realm of celebrity gossip and VH1 specials but from academics, most notably feminists and gender theorists. Indeed, her fame has always been based on shocking portrayals of sexuality and gender.
The Material Girl's success with her image-making is evident in how many people believe it, taking her various roles — sex kitten, dominatrix, indeed almost any variety of whore — as statements of her own life and her true personality. But Madonna's portrayals have always been tongue-in-cheek; she plays these characters to make a point, and to attract media attention, not to depict her own life. Notably, her music videos combine these elements of transgression and humor, but the humor manages to elude many viewers.
She has always been the subject of a great deal of discussion among feminists, who debate her nature — is she a bimbo marketing her sexuality and cheapening women in the process, or is she a woman, outspoken and unafraid of her own sexuality? The question speaks to a bifurcation in the feminist movement, with prudes at one extreme and sex radicals at the other, but that's another node.
What isn't debatable is that from the outset of her career, Madonna has been outspoken to say the least with her sexuality. Her first tour saw her performing while writhing on a bed. Later she began to appropriate religious images as well, most famously in her "Like a Prayer" video, which won the condemnation of the Catholic church. The video seems to portray our heroine kissing a black Jesus, which is obviously controversial on many levels. The video features heavy racial commentary in the form of a black man arrested for the actions of a white gang and the use of burning crosses. While Ms. Ciccone had attracted her share of attention in the past, this video broke new ground in attracting anger from many different groups.
Her transgression reached its peak with her next album, Erotica, timed to coincide with the release of her book, Sex. The book and the album's title video both featured gay sex, lesbianism, S&M, bondage, and group sex — indeed, the title song "Erotica" is sung from the point of view of a dominatrix. The video and book each explore various sexual images, not telling a story but depicting a spectrum of sexualities.
However, shock and provocation are not her sole ambition — she has always transgressed with purpose. As someone young enough to have grown up in the midst of the feminist movement, Madonna has always promoted female sexual liberation — the idea that women have the right to express themselves as sexual beings. Moreover, Madonna promotes the practice of alternate sexualities — her flirtations with lesbianism, her blatant appropration of gay male culture (and vice versa), and her frequent use of black leather and whips all speak to an ideal of sexual freedom.
A fascinating comment on her own transgressivism was her music video "Human Nature", which, naturally, was banned on the major video networks. The video shows Maddy in black cornrows, wearing leather. She's tied to a chair for much of the video, at the mercy of several captors (both male and female). She sings, "Oops, I didn't know I couldn't talk about sex," and humorously appropriates BDSM paraphernalia (including a comical pantomime of the use of a whip on a poodle). The video makes fun of the hypocrisy (and futility) of trying to end discussion of sex (as well as the effort to keep her quiet). It is clearly a commentary to the people who are angered by her work, claiming that what she does in her videos is 'human nature'.
During her entire career, some critics have declared her exploits to be simple attention-getters, and it can't be denied that Madonna has always sought the public's notice: in one oft-repeated quote from the very beginnings of her fame, she declares her intention to "rule the world". But the spotlight isn't her only motivator — she has used her fame to focus on social issues throughout her career. One example is her aforementioned "Like a Prayer" video, with its exploration of racism. Another example is her ballad, "Live to Tell", which was inspired by a friend who was dying of AIDS. This was on her album True Blue from 1986, before AIDS activism was fashionable.
Her statements back this interpretation of her work. She has long been outspoken about acceptance of gays and her hatred of racism. At times her liberality reaches a preachy extent, as in the music video for her cover of "American Pie", which depicts a huge spectrum of Americans of all races and ages, in every possible combination. The message is unmistakable.
Given her outspokenness and her provocative image, critics have paid a lot of attention to the seeming mellowness she's portrayed during the last few years: the new age spirituality of "Ray of Light" and the electronic dance-pop of "Music". Perhaps her video, "What It Feels Like For A Girl", which features a woman going on a killing spree, is a message to the public, warning us to keep watching her. But anyone can see that Mrs. Ritchie herself hasn't changed much — perhaps she is a little less driven to shock audiences, but she never claimed to be a sex kitten or a deviant in reality; her fascination with sex and her portrayal of it aren't reflections of her own life. Madge's newfound domesticity isn't incompatible with her feminism, nor has she ever been the sex goddess she portrays.
Madonna's impact on popular culture is undeniable, and her ability to manipulate the media is unsurpassed. The complexity of her image and herself, however, is something that popular culture has never quite understood, but as with any number of forces, she has turned that to her advantage, easily embracing fame for her own ends. Her role in defining modern celebrity, and her influence on modern feminism, are beyond easy comprehension.
They say you should node what you know . . .
My thanks go out to jpfed, ocelotbob, and Glowing Fish for their consultation. Kisses, everyone. | 
