{"id":2025237,"date":"2026-07-03T10:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2025237"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:46:00","slug":"madonna-is-still-the-bad-girl-of-feminism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2025237","title":{"rendered":"Madonna is still the bad girl of feminism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/8\/1448981.jpeg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"main-article standard \">\n<div class=\"article-main-content article-wrapper has-media-but-its-an-image\" data-status=\"loaded\" data-primary-article=\"true\" data-url=\"\/music\/article\/70588\/1\/madonna-still-bad-girl-of-feminism-confessions-ii-womens-liberation-controversy\" data-article-id=\"70588\">\n<header class=\"article-header has-landscape-image no-media\">\n<div class=\"wrapper dg-max-width\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<figure class=\"main-img has-figcaption\" data-img-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\" data-img-aspect-ratio=\"1.5\" data-template=\"Standard Article\"><span class=\"has-css-custom-props image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Photography Rafael Pavarotti\" class=\"img\" height=\"1054\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1400\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/8\/1448981.jpeg\" width=\"1581\"><\/span><\/span><figcaption class=\"img-caption\"><span class=\"inner\"><span class=\"credit\">Photography Rafael Pavarotti<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"meta\">\n<div class=\"inner\"><time datetime=\"2026-07-03T10:46:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"03 July 2026\"><span class=\"month\">July<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"3\">3,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"titles\">\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<div class=\"sections\"><a class=\"category vertical - music\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a><br \/>\n\/<br \/>\n<a class=\"series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"standard-tag-container\"><a class=\"standard-category\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\">Music<\/a> \/<br \/>\n<a class=\"standard-series\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/opinion\">Opinion<\/a><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"title\"><span>Madonna is still the bad girl <span class=\"nowrap\">of feminism<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"standfirst\">\n<h2>During her 43-year-long career, the queen of pop has been everything to popular feminism and its enemy, all at once \u2013 Halima Jibril looks back on her complex impact on <span class=\"nowrap\">women\u2019s liberation<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-07-03T10:46:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"03 July 2026\"><span class=\"month\">July<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"3\">3,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2026-07-03T10:46:00+00:00\" class=\"timestamp\" title=\"03 July 2026\"><span class=\"month\">July<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"day\" data-day=\"3\">3,<\/span>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span class=\"year\">2026<\/span><\/time><\/p>\n<div class=\"providers\">\n<div class=\"contributors\"><span class=\"contributor\" data-contributor-role=\"Text\"><span class=\"contributor-role\">Text<\/span><a class=\"contributor-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/HalimaJibril\"><br \/>\nHalima Jibril<br \/>\n<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body-container\">\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>How would you describe <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/madonna\"><span>Madonna<\/span><\/a><span>? In her illustrious 43-year career, she has established herself as the best-selling female artist of all time, the queen of pop, a queer icon and advocate, an agent provocateur, a mother, and more. But as we discussed her legacy and impact on popular culture at the Dazed office this week in preparation for the release of her 15th studio album, <\/span><em><span>Confessions II<\/span><\/em><span>, only one phrase came to my mind: feminist icon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Debates around what makes an individual a feminist or feminist icon are contentious and often silly. Nothing highlights the absurdity of this debate more than the infamous X post that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/madsruns\/status\/1757830349952782431?lang=en\"><span>reads<\/span><\/a><span> \u201cIs [insert random pop star] a feminist? Is Mastercard a queer ally? Is this TV show my friend?\u201d. It is also a debate that one can easily disregard when you understand that feminism is not just an identity label you put on your shirt, but a movement to fight for the freedom and justice of all marginalised people. But Madonna \u2013 with her hit songs about women\u2019s bodily autonomy (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G333Is7VPOg&amp;list=RDG333Is7VPOg&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Papa Don\u2019t Preach<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d), gender experimentation (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8&amp;list=RDGsVcUzP_O_8&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Express Yourself<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d), queer love (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7cyo7uodeyA\"><span>Forbidden Love<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d) and her unbridled commitment to sexuality and pleasure (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WyhdvRWEWRw&amp;list=RDWyhdvRWEWRw&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Erotica<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d and her accompanying controversial soft porn <\/span><em><span>Sex<\/span><\/em><span> book, condemned by the Pope) \u2013 has been embroiled in this debate since the beginning of her career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"Np_Y740aReI\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Np_Y740aReI\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>In 1990, feminist scholar Camille Paglia argued in the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/12\/14\/opinion\/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html\"><em><span>New York Times<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> that Madonna is the \u201cfuture of feminism\u201d, following the release of her controversial music video for \u201cJustify My Love,\u201d which featured Madonna seducing and initiating sex with her then-boyfriend, Tony Ward and a mysterious woman, as well as acts of sadomasochism and voyeurism. \u201cMadonna is the true feminist,\u201d Paglia writes. \u201cShe exposes the puritanism and suffocating ideology of American feminism, which is stuck in an adolescent whining mode\u2026 She shows girls how to be attractive, sensual, energetic, ambitious, aggressive and funny, all at the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Contrastingly, bell hooks in her 1993 article for <\/span><em><span>On The Issues<\/span><\/em><span> Magazine titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ontheissuesmagazine.com\/1993spring\/desperately-seeking-madonna-the-feminist\/\"><span>Desperately Seeking Madonna The Feminist<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d, writes that she has conflicting feelings towards the artist: \u201cI see her work projecting the worst aspects of white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal culture, [but] I am also fiercely affirming of her successful attempts to challenge sexist notions of womanhood, female sexuality, contributions to Aids activism and the like.\u201d hooks argues that Madonna often betrays her own radical questioning of women\u2019s sexist objectification, because she is desperate to appear like \u201cone of the boys\u201d or in today\u2019s words: a pick me. For hooks, nothing highlighted this desire more than her 1992 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.vanityfair.com\/article\/1992\/10\/madonna-in-wonderland\"><em><span>Vanity Fair<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>cover, where the 33-year-old is dressed akin to a \u201csexy baby\u201d \u2013 debasing herself in pigtails, a pink baby doll dress and hugging stuffed animals, with some images exposing her bum and breasts. Does this discourse sound <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/67012\/1\/in-defence-of-sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend-album-feminism-its-okay\"><span>familiar<\/span><\/a><span>?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"c6Xgbh2E0NM\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c6Xgbh2E0NM\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>With critiques from both feminists and anti-feminists, Madonna viewed both sides as having a limited understanding of women\u2019s power. In an interview with Norman Mailer in 1994, she explained: \u201cMy whole thing is you use all you have, all you have: your sexuality, your femininity \u2013 any testosterone you have inside you, your intellect, use whatever you have\u201d. As an individual so heavily debated within feminist discourse, it is only in the last 10 to 15 years that Madonna has come to fully accept her feminist labelling. In 2016, during her acceptance speech at the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c6Xgbh2E0NM\"><span>Billboard Women In Music<\/span><\/a><span> event, where she was honoured as Woman of the Year, she firmly proclaimed that she did not agree with the anti-sex or anti-porn feminists of her youth. She decided to be a different kind of feminist, \u201ca bad feminist\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Though Madonna meant this in a cringy, \u2018I don\u2019t follow the rules\u2019 kind of way, which avoids accountability for her past feminist faux <\/span><span>pas<\/span><span>, it is the perfect way to describe the pop star, who, as academic Douglas Kellner<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/00335639609384146\"><span>described<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cis a site of genuine contradiction.\u201d At her best, Madonna has shown young people, particularly young women, that their sexuality is their own, that their thirst for pleasure is not frivolous, that women can be toned and sexy, that you do not need to give a shit about what the world thinks of you, or your sexual orientation and that you can stand strong in your convictions. At her worst, she has appropriated Black culture, used marginalised people to uplift her own image (you can read more about this<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/230224285\/Madonna-plantation-Mistress-or-Soul-Sister\"><span>here<\/span><\/a><span>), reinforced the male gaze and patriarchal ideals of womanhood, and <\/span>succumbed to some of the same cosmetic pressures around \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/57506\/1\/who-gets-to-age-successfully\">successful<\/a>\u201d ageing that her career has otherwise challenged. <span>She has been everything to popular feminism and its enemy, all at once. In some ways, Madonna is the ultimate feminist polemic \u2013 an individual, as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lux-magazine.com\/article\/feminist-polemic-now\/\"><span>Grace Byron<\/span><\/a><span> writes for <\/span><em><span>Lux<\/span><\/em><span>, who has taken a hard stance on \u201ccontentious issues like pornography, rape, trans rights, or lesbian separatism,\u201d and forces us to think. \u201cBold proclamations,\u201d as Byron writes, \u201chave an important role in our culture.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"EHrt-gFgvXo\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EHrt-gFgvXo\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>My first memory of Madonna is particularly positive and striking. As she stretched in her pink leotard and purple high heels in the music video for the lead single from <\/span><em><span>Confessions I, <\/span><\/em><span>\u201cHung Up,\u201d I remember seeing a muscular, flexible woman and being astonished that she had a body and knew exactly what to do with it. To me, she was, and continues to be, one of the coolest people on the planet, despite her numerous flaws. And with the release of <\/span><em><span>Confessions II<\/span><\/em><span>, my admiration of her only grows. <\/span>For decades, Madonna has been subjected to the kind of tabloid cruelty and extreme ageism reserved for women who refuse to become smaller, quieter or less sexual with time. In her 2016 Billboard speech, she put it plainly: \u201cthe most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around.\u201d<span>At 67 years old, she has not yet left the dancefloor \u2013 continuing to challenge and provoke people who believe women should disappear after they turn 40 \u2013 <\/span>and hopefully she never will.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. 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card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/70574\/1\/london-dying-nightlife-is-killing-the-fashion-club-kid-nightclub-closures\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__img-wrapper card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Club Are Dani d\u2019Ingeo\" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/640\/3-986-2043-1362\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1370\/4\/1374809.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__content card-latest__content\"><span class=\"split-rail-card__ribbon card-latest__ribbon\">Fashion<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"split-rail-card__title card-latest__title\">London\u2019s dying nightlife is killing the fashion club kid<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><a class=\"split-rail-card card-latest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/55589\/1\/how-to-deal-with-eco-climate-anxiety-heatwave\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__img-wrapper card-latest__img-wrapper\"><span class=\"image-container\" data-aspect-ratio-type=\"landscape\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hereditary, 2018 (Film Still) \" src=\"https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/640\/258-0-1438-959\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/8\/1448179.jpg\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"split-rail-card__content card-latest__content\"><span class=\"split-rail-card__ribbon card-latest__ribbon\">Life &amp; Culture<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"split-rail-card__title card-latest__title\">4 tips for dealing with eco-anxiety<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline\" data-newsletter hidden>\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>How would you describe <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/madonna\"><span>Madonna<\/span><\/a><span>? In her illustrious 43-year career, she has established herself as the best-selling female artist of all time, the queen of pop, a queer icon and advocate, an agent provocateur, a mother, and more. But as we discussed her legacy and impact on popular culture at the Dazed office this week in preparation for the release of her 15th studio album, <\/span><em><span>Confessions II<\/span><\/em><span>, only one phrase came to my mind: feminist icon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Debates around what makes an individual a feminist or feminist icon are contentious and often silly. Nothing highlights the absurdity of this debate more than the infamous X post that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/madsruns\/status\/1757830349952782431?lang=en\"><span>reads<\/span><\/a><span> \u201cIs [insert random pop star] a feminist? Is Mastercard a queer ally? Is this TV show my friend?\u201d. It is also a debate that one can easily disregard when you understand that feminism is not just an identity label you put on your shirt, but a movement to fight for the freedom and justice of all marginalised people. But Madonna \u2013 with her hit songs about women\u2019s bodily autonomy (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G333Is7VPOg&amp;list=RDG333Is7VPOg&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Papa Don\u2019t Preach<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d), gender experimentation (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8&amp;list=RDGsVcUzP_O_8&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Express Yourself<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d), queer love (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7cyo7uodeyA\"><span>Forbidden Love<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d) and her unbridled commitment to sexuality and pleasure (\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WyhdvRWEWRw&amp;list=RDWyhdvRWEWRw&amp;start_radio=1\"><span>Erotica<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d and her accompanying controversial soft porn <\/span><em><span>Sex<\/span><\/em><span> book, condemned by the Pope) \u2013 has been embroiled in this debate since the beginning of her career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"Np_Y740aReI\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Np_Y740aReI\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>In 1990, feminist scholar Camille Paglia argued in the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1990\/12\/14\/opinion\/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html\"><em><span>New York Times<\/span><\/em><\/a><span> that Madonna is the \u201cfuture of feminism\u201d, following the release of her controversial music video for \u201cJustify My Love,\u201d which featured Madonna seducing and initiating sex with her then-boyfriend, Tony Ward and a mysterious woman, as well as acts of sadomasochism and voyeurism. \u201cMadonna is the true feminist,\u201d Paglia writes. \u201cShe exposes the puritanism and suffocating ideology of American feminism, which is stuck in an adolescent whining mode\u2026 She shows girls how to be attractive, sensual, energetic, ambitious, aggressive and funny, all at the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Contrastingly, bell hooks in her 1993 article for <\/span><em><span>On The Issues<\/span><\/em><span> Magazine titled \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ontheissuesmagazine.com\/1993spring\/desperately-seeking-madonna-the-feminist\/\"><span>Desperately Seeking Madonna The Feminist<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d, writes that she has conflicting feelings towards the artist: \u201cI see her work projecting the worst aspects of white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal culture, [but] I am also fiercely affirming of her successful attempts to challenge sexist notions of womanhood, female sexuality, contributions to Aids activism and the like.\u201d hooks argues that Madonna often betrays her own radical questioning of women\u2019s sexist objectification, because she is desperate to appear like \u201cone of the boys\u201d or in today\u2019s words: a pick me. For hooks, nothing highlighted this desire more than her 1992 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.vanityfair.com\/article\/1992\/10\/madonna-in-wonderland\"><em><span>Vanity Fair<\/span><\/em><\/a><span>cover, where the 33-year-old is dressed akin to a \u201csexy baby\u201d \u2013 debasing herself in pigtails, a pink baby doll dress and hugging stuffed animals, with some images exposing her bum and breasts. Does this discourse sound <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/67012\/1\/in-defence-of-sabrina-carpenter-mans-best-friend-album-feminism-its-okay\"><span>familiar<\/span><\/a><span>?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"c6Xgbh2E0NM\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c6Xgbh2E0NM\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>With critiques from both feminists and anti-feminists, Madonna viewed both sides as having a limited understanding of women\u2019s power. In an interview with Norman Mailer in 1994, she explained: \u201cMy whole thing is you use all you have, all you have: your sexuality, your femininity \u2013 any testosterone you have inside you, your intellect, use whatever you have\u201d. As an individual so heavily debated within feminist discourse, it is only in the last 10 to 15 years that Madonna has come to fully accept her feminist labelling. In 2016, during her acceptance speech at the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c6Xgbh2E0NM\"><span>Billboard Women In Music<\/span><\/a><span> event, where she was honoured as Woman of the Year, she firmly proclaimed that she did not agree with the anti-sex or anti-porn feminists of her youth. She decided to be a different kind of feminist, \u201ca bad feminist\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Though Madonna meant this in a cringy, \u2018I don\u2019t follow the rules\u2019 kind of way, which avoids accountability for her past feminist faux <\/span><span>pas<\/span><span>, it is the perfect way to describe the pop star, who, as academic Douglas Kellner<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/00335639609384146\"><span>described<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cis a site of genuine contradiction.\u201d At her best, Madonna has shown young people, particularly young women, that their sexuality is their own, that their thirst for pleasure is not frivolous, that women can be toned and sexy, that you do not need to give a shit about what the world thinks of you, or your sexual orientation and that you can stand strong in your convictions. At her worst, she has appropriated Black culture, used marginalised people to uplift her own image (you can read more about this<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/230224285\/Madonna-plantation-Mistress-or-Soul-Sister\"><span>here<\/span><\/a><span>), reinforced the male gaze and patriarchal ideals of womanhood, and <\/span>succumbed to some of the same cosmetic pressures around \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/beauty\/article\/57506\/1\/who-gets-to-age-successfully\">successful<\/a>\u201d ageing that her career has otherwise challenged. <span>She has been everything to popular feminism and its enemy, all at once. In some ways, Madonna is the ultimate feminist polemic \u2013 an individual, as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lux-magazine.com\/article\/feminist-polemic-now\/\"><span>Grace Byron<\/span><\/a><span> writes for <\/span><em><span>Lux<\/span><\/em><span>, who has taken a hard stance on \u201ccontentious issues like pornography, rape, trans rights, or lesbian separatism,\u201d and forces us to think. \u201cBold proclamations,\u201d as Byron writes, \u201chave an important role in our culture.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"src-youtube video-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-youtube\" data-id=\"EHrt-gFgvXo\"><span class=\"preserve-aspect-ratio\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen frameborder height=\"422\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EHrt-gFgvXo\" webkitallowfullscreen width=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<p><span>My first memory of Madonna is particularly positive and striking. As she stretched in her pink leotard and purple high heels in the music video for the lead single from <\/span><em><span>Confessions I, <\/span><\/em><span>\u201cHung Up,\u201d I remember seeing a muscular, flexible woman and being astonished that she had a body and knew exactly what to do with it. To me, she was, and continues to be, one of the coolest people on the planet, despite her numerous flaws. And with the release of <\/span><em><span>Confessions II<\/span><\/em><span>, my admiration of her only grows. <\/span>For decades, Madonna has been subjected to the kind of tabloid cruelty and extreme ageism reserved for women who refuse to become smaller, quieter or less sexual with time. In her 2016 Billboard speech, she put it plainly: \u201cthe most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around.\u201d<span>At 67 years old, she has not yet left the dancefloor \u2013 continuing to challenge and provoke people who believe women should disappear after they turn 40 \u2013 <\/span>and hopefully she never will.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"newsletter-inline-last\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-small\">\n<div class=\"inner\">\n<h1 class=\"newsletter-title\">Escape the algorithm! Get The Drop<\/h1>\n<div class=\"meta-row\">\n<p class=\"meta\">Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"confirmation\" aria-live=\"polite\">\n<p class=\"confirmation-title\">Thank you. You have been subscribed<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/privacy-policy\" class=\"meta-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\nPrivacy policy<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/70588\/1\/madonna-still-bad-girl-of-feminism-confessions-ii-womens-liberation-controversy&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images-prod.dazeddigital.com\/1200\/azure\/dazed-prod\/1440\/8\/1448981.jpeg&#8221;] Photography Rafael Pavarotti July\u00a0 3,\u00a0 2026 Music \/ Opinion Music \/ Opinion Madonna is still the bad girl of feminism During her 43-year-long career, the queen of pop has been everything to popular feminism and its enemy, all at once \u2013 Halima Jibril looks back on her complex impact on women\u2019s liberation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,76],"class_list":["post-2025237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2025237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2025237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2025237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2025237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}