The Madonna Doctrine
It’s Women’s History Month, and I want to talk about Madonna.
Typically when I’m at the gym I like to pick an artist, find a Spotify playlist of their entire discography, and work out to that for one uninterrupted hour. I’m a creature of habit so I usually rotate between a handful of artists, and many times one of them ends up being Madonna.
A Warning: If you know me or follow me on social media then you know that Madonna is like the fourth or fifth word out of my mouth at all times. I’ll admit, I love her at a Stan level and I’m not ashamed of it. I even went to her old Kabbalah center once on a family trip to NYC because our hotel was across the street and “Madonna was photographed outside” several times. I ended up getting yelled at by security, but whatever. It was worth it.
But nonetheless, I think it’s important that I finally put to words my feelings for the Queen of Pop and dissect the lessons that I’ve learned from her life and career; or as I like to call it, the “Madonna Doctrine.”
Forge it from the ground up.
Growing up, I wasn’t blind to Madonna’s influence. My mom and dad grew up in New York City in the 70s and 80s and were first-hand witnesses to some of the best music of the 20th century - including that of the young, scrappy upstart who often performed at Danceteria. But I didn’t really see Madonna until my freshman year of college when, shock, a boy I liked introduced me to her. I remember making some joke about her age, but that night we sat in his bed and watched video after video of her work.
“This was her first performance on MTV, rolling around the floor in a wedding dress.”
“Here she is at Coachella when people were climbing on tent roofs to see her.”
“Do you remember when she kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera on stage?”
By the end of the night I was utterly fascinated. I remember that for the next few weeks, all I did was watch videos of Madonna. I read articles about her online and tried to learn as much as I could about her. Above all, I had one singular question for the material girl: “what made her do this?”
This is the first great thing that Madge taught me, and that’s to take your dream - your greatest dream - and make it a reality. No. Matter. What.
As the legend goes, Madonna came to New York from Detroit in the late 70s with only $35 in her pocket. She wanted to be a dancer and studied under Alvin Ailey’s company while doing whatever she could to survive in a city that was foreign, dangerous, and unforgiving.
Eventually as time went on, the young star-to-be found herself in music, first as a drummer in a band, and then as the solo act of “MADONNA.” One word. Her first song “Everybody” was released in 1982 after she literally begged nightclubs to play it. Not long after that, the snowball became an avalanche and Madonna was the biggest thing to hit pop music since The Jackson 5.
Who could forget the iconic moment when Dick Clark asked the little girl from Michigan on national TV, “what are your dreams? What’s left?” And without a second of hesitation, that same girl batted a grin and cheekily replied, “to rule the world.”
Madonna’s confidence is borderline (yes… intentional) insane. She had no resources when she came to New York. No friends or family in the area, no job set up, and no money coming in, yet she managed to forge an entire empire from a dance floor. And she did it because she believed in herself and wouldn’t stop until she got to her goal.
The albums started dropping, the performances got grander, and before the world knew it, the complete Madonna package was woven into American pop culture.
That to me is the definition of an icon. Someone who starts with nothing, uses their story to create a brand that’s unique and incomparable, and goes on to become a household name.
2. Fight for what's right, and use your platform to change the world.
My favorite Madonna album of all time is Like a Prayer. Easily a desert island album where every song IMO is incredible, and most importantly, they tell stories. Released in 1989 and promoted by the Blond Ambition Tour, the album is a masterpiece that helped elevate her career to the next level. Madonna confronts her mother's death, her father’s grief, female empowerment, love and heartache, and the AIDS epidemic all in one body of work. And then there’s the tell-all documentary, Truth or Dare.
If you've never seen Truth or Dare, then beware of upcoming spoilers.
The documentary centers around Madonna, her tour, and notably, her dancers and backup singers. Many of them are unabashedly flamboyant, acting like we all do in our group of friends with all the theatre and comedy that comes from queer culture. And Madonna, the biggest star in the world with a cinematic magnifying glass up against her? Unquestionably proud of them.
She doesn't just support her gay dancers, she encourages them to be exactly who they are by playing dress up, daring them to French kiss during spin the bottle, and sharing tender moments in her bedroom with each of them. She talks about how growing up without a mother provoked a maternal instinct with the dancers, some of whom were cast out of their homes for being gay.
Keep in mind, this is during the Reagan/Bush 80s and 90s when the AIDS epidemic was completely ignored and gay people were treated like taboo, devil-worshiping sinners. So what was Madonna - the superstar - doing using her platform to promote this kind of indecent behavior? Just that.
Madonna famously talks about how her high school ballet teacher, both a gay man and the reason she pursued her dreams of moving to New York, was her introduction to the gay world. Through him, Madonna found love in a special community that supported her even though she was ‘different,’ and from that moment on the feeling would be mutual.
With the release of Like a Prayer, Madonna included a facts sheet on AIDS with every album sold. She frequently spoke out about the both the country’s and the Catholic Church’s condemnation of gay people. Her song Vogue was based on, and featured dancers from, Harlem Ball culture that was created by poor, queer people of color living in the city. And she did all of this because it was the right thing to do.
Any music producer would’ve strongly discouraged an artist using their brand to promote something as ‘divisive’ as gay liberation. They would’ve feared that such behavior could plummet record sales and end an artist’s career. And I’m sure Madonna got those kinds of concerns from the higher-ups around her, but nothing was going to stop her. She used her platform to support her friends and forced the world to talk about the things they were so brazenly avoiding.
Throughout her life, Madonna used her status to support the LGBTQ+ community, and in more recent years, she’s invested time, money, and energy into the African nation of Malawi. She funded a children’s hospital named after her adopted daughter and has been active in progressive politics, both in America and abroad.
For this reason, Madonna is a pioneer in my mind. She’s someone who didn’t bat an eye to supporting the oppressed/ignored when they needed it most, and when no one else wanted to admit it was there. When the world had their eyes glued to her, she used her platform to make them see something more important.
3. If it’s time for change, then embrace it. Reinvent yourself.
Throughout her career, Madonna has been known for her changing looks. She’s had over a dozen uniquely identifiable personas that accompanied her music eras, and each one came from a desire to change.
Whether it was based on a whim or a deeply personal struggle, Madonna never got stuck in the times. I remember one interview where she mentions her reinvention strategy as being nothing more than ‘keeping from boredom.’ And in other cases, the changes are the result of something meaningful, like when she embraced her spirituality in the Ray of Light era and experimented with divinity-like fashion.
And this too is something to take from the queen. Firstly, you don’t always have to take yourself so seriously. Life changes and aesthetic changes, don’t always need to be pondered for weeks. There is a power in spontaneity that Madonna’s highlighted throughout her career that I both envy and try to replicate when I find myself overthinking things.
On the flip side, when you truly feel moved by something it’s okay to let those influences motivate you for the better. Whether it’s belief, education, or art, inspiration is powerful and it shouldn’t be ignored or repressed. Ultimately, we go through so many changes in life and the ability to declare your changes, and own them, is a gift - one that Madonna exemplifies.
I could go on and on about what I’ve learned from Madge. How sexuality can be a vessel to be heard. How your real family and your chosen families can shape your worldview. How age and evolution can force you to reexamine your past and rethink your future.
But ultimately, Madonna’s greatest impact is summed up by a quote from her 2016 Billboard Woman of the Year speech:
“People say that I'm so controversial, but I think the most controversial thing I've ever done is stick around.”
In the face of blatant sexism, ageism, misogyny, bigotry, and condemnation, she pressed on. She did what she wanted and didn’t take anybody’s critiques into consideration when doing so. She helped lay the foundation for hundreds of female and LGBTQ+ artists to share their voices with the world and gave us the template for being an unapologetic, trailblazing badass.
For this, I can only say thank you to the artist of a generation.
The one. The only.
Madonna.
