From Madonna’s iconic conical bra to her Big D**k Energy, here’s why the pop icon still matters
Writer Kate Wills, 33, says Madge will always be her No.1, from her fashion choices to her unapologetic feminism
EVERY woman has her favourite Madonna. If you grew up in the ’80s it’s probably the ‘I’ve raided Tammy Girl’ lace and bangles Madonna.
If you’ve ever had to pull together a last-minute fancy-dress costume, it’ll likely be cone-bra Blond Ambition tour Madonna. But my most-loved Madge of all might just be the 2018 one.
OK, her face might be a bit frozen, like her 1998 hit. And, yes, she took a while to get to grips with social media (the less said about that Rebel Heart #jesuischarlie incident the better), but she’s still as fierce as ever.
Not so much pushing 60 as high-kicking it down the stairs, Madonna continues to break the boundaries – whether it’s wearing a crucifix on her fishnet-clad rear to the Met Gala, headlining Glastonbury (please let the rumours be true), or captivating a new generation of fans with her music.
With a combined Instagram and Twitter following of over 13million, Madge has proved she can still pull in the crowds.
In fact, when it was announced she’d be singing at the 2015 Brit Awards, booking site Viagogo saw a 174% spike in demand overnight for tickets.
And when it comes to the current social media topic du jour, Big Dick Energy (AKA exuding the quiet confidence of a man with a large, well, you know), she basically invented it. Since she burst on to the scene with her first album 35 years ago, she’s permeated every facet of pop as we know it.
No wonder the female artists dominating music today, from Taylor to Adele to Rihanna, cite Madge as their inspo.
"Madonna is still very relevant, not only to music but to popular culture and gender relations generally," says Dr Susan Hopkins, lecturer in pop culture at The University of Southern Queensland and author of Girl Heroes: The New Force In Popular Culture.
"Now that commercialised girl power is part of the mainstream, it is easy to forget that Madonna’s original brand of popular, hypersexual feminism was seen as challenging and revolutionary.
"She was not just a new form of female role model, but a new form of using the media. If you look at how female artists use digital platforms today you can see the legacy of this media-savvy self-invention."
Long before we all declared we were feminists on T-shirts, Madonna was blazing the trail for unapologetic women. As she famously declared in the ’80s: "I’m tough, ambitious and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, OK!"
In her 2016 acceptance speech for the Billboard Woman of the Year award, she acknowledged her ability to "continue my career for 34 years in the face of blatant misogyny, sexism, constant bullying and relentless abuse."
And now, because of her longevity and continued visibility, she faces her biggest challenge yet – ageing.
Because in our double-standards culture, no one tells The Rolling Stones to put it away, or says that Paul McCartney’s trying too hard to be young with that suspiciously brown hair of his.
Susan agrees: "The ultimate test of her legendary power, determination and transgressive potential will be to prove to a sexist culture that women can still be sexy, relevant, controversial and cool into their 60s and beyond."
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As the lady herself has put it: "People say I’m controversial, but the most controversial thing I’ve done is to stick around."
And let’s hope she sticks around a lot longer – because nonagenarian Madge might be the coolest one yet.
- Hair & make-up: Sara Bowden using Giorgio Armarni