Feminism of Madonna

Madonna at 2017 Women's March

Madonna is recognized by many as a feminist icon. In her career, Madonna has advocated for women's rights and equality. Her forays into issues of feminism and womanhood would attract the interest of many feminist scholars, academics and other authors during her whole career. Madonna has a notable feminist literature on her as documented various scholars, influenced also by her academic mini-discipline called Madonna studies, as many of her studiers worked in women's studies.

Labeled as an almost "sacred feminist icon" by professor Sut Jhally, some academics suggest that perhaps more than any other pop star, Madonna holds a "privileged place" in the studies of feminism. Madonna is however, interpreted under different definitions of feminism in different social and discursive formations, attracting both derogatory and celebratory cultural analysis. Professors such as Karlene Faith, Sarah Churchwell and Mary Cross have noticed it, but also explained that feminism itself is divided. French academic Georges-Claude Guilbert asserted that the amount of reproaches that Madonna gets is proportional to her status as a role model.

Some sociologists like David Gauntlett and Stephen J. Hunt recognized the importance of Madonna for feminism in music, as it was addressed that she ushered an actively feminist agenda in popular music, something that has now become synonymous with the performative nature of female pop music artists. In summary, feminists scholars like Camille Paglia attributed Madonna in changing the face of feminism promenintly initiated in the 1990s, and others credited her to popularize "feminist politics". For academic Marcel Danesi, "Madonna turned the tide in feminist theory, inspiring the movement known as post-feminism". Professor Gil Troy used the phrase "Madonna feminism" and Alisa Solomon "the age of Madonna".

Madonna has been included in various listicles and publications which discusses feminists or women's contributions and impact to society. In this aspect, Madonna's influence in women is addressed by many observers and for Strawberry Saroyan, her "impact on women's lives" has been a central part of her legacy. In Girl Heroes, academic Susan Hopkins declared that Madonna as feminine icon ushered in the contemporary girl culture the female popstar as a virtual teacher, mentor and role model. In Michael O'Mara's view, Madonna is "one of the most enigmatic and fascinating women of our time, [an] undisputed female icon of the modern age", while for others Madonna "corrupts the meaning of womanhood". As her career continued, she polarized some views about feminism in a aged woman.

Scope of interest

Madonna's one constant theme—her brand of sex-positive feminism—is what has catalyzed her influence and given her staying power, with a message that's just as relevant now as it ever was.

—Christina Broussard from Portland Mercury (2015)

The Madonna studies saw a great developments in the fields of women's studies; Joanne Garde-Hansen of University of Warwick confirmed that "much academic attention on Madonna has analysed her output in terms" like feminism. An author explained that gender play is central to Madonna's work, and this is a source why she has evoked a lot of commentary by feminist academics and journalists. Canadian commentator Mark Steyn observed that "she has her feminist significance pondered by college courses". In 'Rock On': Women, Ageing and Popular Music (2016), scholar Abigail Gardner from University of Gloucestershire wrote that perhaps more than any other pop star, Madonna holds a privileged place in the studies of feminism.

In Ageing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism (2014), scholars examined others figures, but with Madonna they determined she is easily the most overdetermined figure in the interest of feminist scholars working in the field of popular culture studies. Others made directly comparisons like with Oprah Winfrey, as Feminist Review Collective in Contesting Feminist Orthodoxies (1996), states that Madonna's life and cultural appeal have been minutely examined within a broad-ranging set of critical and feminist discourses unlike Winfrey, at the time of writing.

Authors in Future Texts (2015) explained that "Madonna remains a center of debate and contestation in the postfeminist era". British professor Stephen J. Hunt, wrote in New Religions and Spiritualities (2017): "Reams have been written about the meaning of Madonna for women and for feminism". Mary Cross, similarly stated: "Madonna has inspired reams of feminist commentary". Canadian professor, Michael Real from Royal Roads University said that "many feminists have written extensively of Madonna in her role as a text that poses a feminist question".

Madonna's advocacy and referential works

Madonna at 2017 Women's March.

Madonna addressed feminist themes in her speeches or works during most part of her career. J. Randy Taraborrelli, states that Madonna has such a strong responsibility to feminism, having been a beacon for it for most of her life. Camille Paglia explained that Madonna condoned the "degradation" and "humiliation" of women. Also that she exposes the puritanism and suffocating ideology of American feminism.

In 2016, after receiving the Billboard Women of the Year, Madonna touched sexism and misogyny, and the criticisms she faced, concluding: "'Oh, if you're a feminist, you don't have sexuality, you deny it', so I said 'fuck it. I'm a different kind of feminist. I'm a bad feminist'". Prior years, Charlotte Krause Prozan, quoted Madonna in The Technique of Feminist Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (1993) describing herself a feminist, saying: "I may be dressing like the traditional bimbo, whatever, but I'm in charge, and isn't that what feminism is all about". However, at some point of her career, Madonna defined herself: "I'm not a feminist, I'm a humanist".

In the A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum in 2017, Madonna took the stage wearing a shirt with "feminist" (all caps) emblazoned on the front and at one point in her conversation with Marilyn Minter, she vowed to "personally slap" any man in the room that did not identify as a feminist. During the 2017 International Women's Day, Madonna released a 12-minute short film called Her Story which dedicated "to all women that fight for freedom" and highlighting the fight for gender equality. The short clip ends with two figures carry a banner which reads "we should all be feminists".

The same year, 2017, Madonna was one of dozens of the celebrities who attended the Women's March in Washington D.C. singing "Express Yourself" and "Human Nature". She also gave a speech that drawn controversy after the singer saying the word "fuck you" three times. Also for declaring: "Yes I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything. We cannot fall into despair" as a critic to Trump administration (the reason of the march). Madonna's comments sparked outrage among Trump staffers. Madonna defended later of the criticisms, saying that she was speaking metaphorically, and shared two ways of looking at things: to be hopeful and feel anger and outrage. In 2018, Madonna proclaimed her solidarity with the Ele Não movement.

Feminism in music

Madonna expressing her support to Pussy Riot during The MDNA Tour in 2012.

Some feminists have praised Madonna for opening new doors for women in the entertainment business. British critic Stuart Maconie commented that some would say she "brought feminism to the forefront of pop". In Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Women, Voice, and Agency (2020), scholars Berrin Yanıkkaya and Angelique Nairn, concluded that "Madonna music has now become synonymous with the performative nature of female pop music artists and their link with popular feminism".

British sociologist David Gauntlett is from the idea that Madonna boosted feminism in music. In his explanation, said that feminist message were not often a key to success in the mainstream pop charts before Madonna, although there were exceptions (like Janis Joplin) but without a specific "feminist agenda" like her. He also concludes: "Madonna was the first person to remix her own populist version of feminism and make it part of a pop music success story".

British professor Stephen J. Hunt, citing Madonna's influence in approaching different representations of feminism in her work (such as irony, parody or sexuality), pointed out that "today this ambiguity is a common theme in feminist analyses of women's music". Madonna's feminism influenced other artists. Australian magazine The Music stated that "Madonna's corporeal feminism impacted on female rappers".

In addition, Madonna is deemed as a precursor to various feminist movements that influenced the music industry, despite are generalized to others. In Girl Heroes, academic Susan Hopkins described Madonna as the "Godmother of Girl Power" understood as single-minded enterprise, ambition and self-absorption. Gauntlett recognized the importance of the Spice Girls within the Girl power slogan, but in his words, Madonna was the "real pioneer". The same goes with the Destiny's Child about an independent woman, as the sociologist emphasis on how Madonna paved that way with her highly visible self-empowerment. In the same vein, critic Sally Banes suggested Madonna as a precursor of the Riot grrrl movement.

Feminist reception about her works

Sara Mills explained that most feminists have been highly appreciative of her work, but others of them write from a critical feminist criticism. Professor Carmela J. Garritano from Texas A&M University said that Madonna's feminism like her recording works, is for sale, and celebration of her feminist image entails celebration of commercial success that has enabled it. Conversely, American philosopher Susan Bordo explained that Madonna "has never advertised herself as disdainful of feminism or constructed feminists as man-haters". In a highly positive view, musicologist Susan McClary has gone so far as to claim that Madonna's music itself challenges the whole history of Western narrative music by "refusing to bolster a masculine identity based on suppressing anything that it perceives as other".

In 2015, Christina Broussard from Portland Mercury said that when Madonna emerged decades ago, it was about more than the look she personified. It was about the message: a message that empowered women to determine their own pleasure. Broussard explained that for a female pop star to have an overarching political statement was something of a rarity in the Reagan era, further explaining that from lyrics to her own persona, Madonna has never censored herself based on the traditional notions of femininity.

Categorizing Madonna

Further information: Madonna and sexuality

Feminists, given the diversity of our social, political, and personal identities and agendas, have mixed views in appraising Madonna's value or harm to women.

—Canadian professor Karlene Faith explaining feminist debate on Madonna.

Professor Sarah Churchwell said that "not everyone agrees that [Madonna] is feminist or empowering" but not least because not everyone agrees what it means to be feminist or empowering. Professor Mary Cross concurred that "feminism itself is divided, not only about Madonna but about what feminism represents".

The feminist Madonna-debate was prominent among American feminists of the 1990s. At that time, Lorraine Gamman, Margaret Marshment along with other cultural studies analysts, examined Madonna as the epitome of the contractions concerning femininity presented in the media. Academic Pamela Robertson in Guilty Pleasures (1996), describes this debate surrounded Madonna:

[...] in academia, feminists query whether Madonna represents parody or pastiche, a healthy break from essentialism or a rejection of traditional feminist concerns. A hall-of-mirrors effect occurs in the construction of Madonna's star text: media attention fuels academic discourse, which in turn fuels media discourse, and ultimately all becomes a part of "Madonna". Rather than ask "Can pop culture be critical of society?" or "What is the meaning of feminism today?" cultural critics ask "Is Madonna a glamorized fuckdoll or the queen of parodic critique? Pop incarnate or an artist/provocateur?"

French academic Georges-Claude Guilbert, cited the example of a conference at University of California, Santa Barbara, called "Madonna: Feminist Icon or Material" organized by Women's Center. Guilbert said that it shows that question of Madonna's feminism is not easy to decide, as some feminists left the conference declaring that they hadn't been able to make up their minds. In Other Germanies: Questioning Identity in Women's Literature and Art (1997), they noticed the Madonna-debate in the States, while Libuše Moníková wrote that the problem with her is "not so superfluous", denoting: "My question is, what does it say about American feminism if Madonna can be designated a post-feminist feminist?". In Transitions: New Australian feminisms (2020), Rosemary Pringle from Griffith University noticed bell hooks criticisms on Madonna, as hooks contends, Madonna's status as a feminist heroine makes sense only from a white woman's perspective which this lead her to conclude that the meaning of Madonna, in other words, depends on the cultural, racially marked context in which her image circulates, at least in the US.

In the areas of women's roles, Madonna critiques and challenges widespread beliefs while at the same time reinforcing some of them. In this aspect, Robert Sickels of Whitman College, wrote that "her portrayal of women is complex and often contradictory, embodying both traditional notions of femininity and more progressive ideas of feminism. Nowhere was this complexity more evident than in Madonna's depiction of female sexuality". In 2012, Spanish cultural critic Víctor Lenore convened a researchers panel discussion her as a feminist icon. One of the comments, included that "she democratized the idea of women as protagonists and as agents of their own action", while some ambiguous ones stated that she contributed to women's empowerment of a few Western women, straight and gay middle class, but that empowerment is not feminism, because it is individualistic.

Positive

Madonna was better received by Non-Lacanian feminists, a group that at some grade greatly value disruptions of unity and "therefore greatly value Madonna"· Editors of Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, viewed that in the wake of second-wave feminism, Madonna achieved great critical and commercial success by carving out a niche for the sexually empowered and entrepreneurial female popstar. Conversely, Elissa Strauss from The Forward describes that for second-wavers, Madonna is "all wrong" but for the third-wave "Madonna is a revolutionary pop star who taught us that we could be sexy and strong".

Overall, professor Robertson described that many feminists embrace Madonna for several things, including that the singer asserts her own power and independence, in the economic sphere and in terms of authorship. In 1990, academic Camille Paglia called Madonna a "true feminist" and labeled her as "the future of feminism". Retrospectively, in 2017 said that "it happened".

American feminist author Naomi Wolf analyzed Madonna in 2012, and wrote that "she is doing wonders for the collective female psyche". But also denotes criticisms or "hating Madonna" as "she must be punished, for the same reason that every woman who steps out of line must be punished", as she receives critics because "she does what every serious male artists does".

Mixed to negative responses

Cross confirmed that some "feminists have taken Madonna severely to task". Other feminists Robertson says, criticize Madonna's postmodernism for challenging feminism's unified concept of "woman". For some, Madonna corrupts the meaning of womanhood. In 2016, Melinda Tankard Reist charges Madonna and commented "she has turned her back on the cause of women".

According to Guilbert some Madonna "opponents", such as Rosemary Hennessy or Sheila Jeffreys, before being "enemies of Madonna", are enemies of the postmodern, which they see as "the cultural capital of the late patriarchy". Ruth Conniff, said that "surely, even in our 'post-feminist age', we can do better than this", and laments "we need a better role model than Madonna. We need a sense that we can do something more productive for society [...]". British writer John Farman called her a "ridiculous caricature of the modern woman".

In the academic compendium The Madonna Connection, editors compiled college students and newspapers surveys about Madonna and was determined that for many, Madonna represented "the lowest and/or most dangerous form of the feminine". Madonna was also described as "the antithesis of feminism". An editor asserted around 1985, that "Madonna's whole image, in fact, is like a finger-flip to feminists". At that time, a critic of Kurt Loder reads "Madonna's whole act [...] seems custom-designed to gag feminists of both sexes".

Neutrality and counter-suggestions

...there is and was, especially early in Madonna's career, a certain tendency in the popular press to construct a unified position for feminism against Madonna.

—The Madonna Connection (1993).

From the start of her career, it was reported that some feminists "have been outrageously negative about Madonna". In her debut, they supported Cyndi Lauper instead of Madonna. As criticisms continued in the rest of her career, Guilbert noted that the amount of reproaches that Madonna gets is proportional to her popularity, as she is a well-known role model.

Zoe Lewis, contributor from The Times called the "Madonna syndrome", and said that "women are often the worst enemies of feminism because of our genetic make-up". A vein of lesbian feminism was suggested as the responsible for the fact that Madonna "remains misunderstood in certain quarters". In Lonette Stonisch's view, feminist believes that the "traditional feminists persistently misread Madonna, either because they feel threatened by her victories, or because they wish she'd keep her clothes on, or because they want a more serious examination and resolution of feminine objectification". Authors of Feminist Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of a Feminist Counterculture (1999), also explained some generational problems of that time, as Madonna left most older feminists could illustrated a major problem of countercultural change. These feminists were depressed by Madonna in the same way that suffragists were depressed by the flappers of the Jazz Age.

Some feminists vigorously reviewed Madonna's texts, but they don't really choose sides. Is the case of Yvonne Tasker in Working Girls. Mary Joe Frug, is another example. But Frug was afraid that the work of Madonna might be misinterpreted. She herself believes in some Madonna's feminist declarations, but, she worries: "The are probably a number of people who won't. Anyone who looks as much as sex worker as she does couldn't possibly be in charge of herself, they are likely to say".

An aged Madonna

Madonna polarized also views as her career continued as an aged woman. In a famous citation, Piers Morgan blasted Madonna's version of feminism. Editors of Ageing Women in Literature and Visual Culture (2017) decries that as he proclaimed himself an "ardent feminist", while Morgan in his article adeptly uses Madonna's repudiation of cultural norms relating to aging to attack feminism itself. "It seems feminism is acceptable only at the expense of the exclusion of ageing women", they wrote. Niamh Middleton from Feminist Studies in Religion criticized Morgan, and his article entitled "Falling off the stage, Madonna, is God's way of telling you you’re too old to cavort like a hooker" as a result of her falling stage in the Brit Awards 2015.

Madonna's responses and reviews on them

Madonna at some point of her career declared: There is these days, a whole polemic among feminists, and some of them believe I have set the women's movement backward. Others, on the contrary, claim that I have helped its progress. I myself think that intelligent women don't see me as a threat. Forrest Sawyer asked for Madonna's reaction to feminist charges. Her response was: "But I chained myself! I'm in charge". In a 1994 interview with Sheryl Garratt from Los Angeles Times, Madonna addressed that "women have also been her most vocal critics", saying that "there's a whole generation of women [...] who cannot bring themselves to say anything positive about me even though I've opened the door for them [...] Some of Liz Phair's lyrics are blatantly sexual, and if I said those things, they would be viewed in quite a different way".

Lynne Layton of Harvard University, said that Madonna has many different versions of femininity and "seems comfortable with all of them". Professor Sarah Churchwell argued that "she remains the hero of her own story, rejecting the pieties of certain versions of feminism and insisting that no one else defines her". Similarly, in Alison Piepmeier and Rory Dicker's book Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century (2016), Madonna is defined as a woman that "has made it clear that being female is just beginning of the many things women are" and is "fully aware of the ways in which women are made 'other'".

Ann Brooks, pointed out in Postfeminisms: Feminism, Cultural Theory and Cultural Forms (2002) that Madonna's defence against some of the charges made by feminists about her work is to assert "authorial intentionality" and "unified identity".

Recognition

An acrylic paint representing Madonna's motherhood with her daughter Lourdes (2012)

Professor Sut Jhally has referred to Madonna as "an almost sacred feminist icon." Publisher Michael O'Mara told Reuters on Madonna: "One of the most enigmatic and fascinating women of our time, Madonna is the undisputed female icon of the modern age". In Introducing Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide (2014), authors Richard Appignanesi and Chris Garratt explained that for some, "Madonna is the cyber-model of the 'New Woman'". Indeed, poet Karen Finley has averred that "all women should be as Madonna as possible".

Critic lists and awards

She won the inaugural Women of the Year by Glamour in 1990. Madonna was recognized with the Women of the Year in the 2016 Billboard Women in Music, in which Anderson Cooper said about her ongoing influence: "As far as I'm concerned in terms of music and impact and culture, she's been the Woman of the Year every year since she released her first single 'Everybody' in 1982". In 2019, Time magazine placed Madonna in their rank "100 Women of the Year", representing the 1989. Diverse listicles and publishers have recognized Madonna's feminism and womanhood. Examples below:

Madonna on critics' lists during the 20th and 21st centuries

Year	Publication	List or Work	Ref.
1997	Adams Media	365 Women Who Made Difference
1998	Ladies' Home Journal	100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century
1998	Friedman/Fairfax Publishers	100 Remarkable Women of the 20th Century
1999	ABC-Clio	Notable Women in American History (500 of the most notable women in American history)
2007	Quercus	50 Women Who Changed the World
2010	Time	25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century
2011	The Guardian	Top 100 Women
2016	Esquire	The 75 Greatest Women of All Time
2017	ThoughtCo	Top 100 Women of History (Top Women on the Web)
2018	Good Housekeeping	120 Women Who Changed Our World
2019	Encyclopædia Britannica	100 Women
2019	Zest Books	Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World

Literary works and Madonna's role impact

Professor Santiago Fouz-Hernandez wrote in Madonna's Drowned Worlds (2004) that she "emerged as a role model for women in many different cultures, symbolizing professional and personal independence in a male-dominated society, as well as sexual liberation". French academic Georges-Claude Guilbert found that Madonna is perfectly aware that she is a feminist role model, and is rather pleased with the status. Rather than influencing other pop stars, Guilbert described "she'd rather inspire and empower people she doesn't know, young ordinary woman with ordinary jobs", and quote Madonna as saying: "I'd rather feel women out there in the world can draw strength from what I've accomplished in my life than have other pop stars acknowledge their debt". In 1994, BBC Worldwide lumped Madonna and Margaret Thatcher as "powerful role models for modern women, who are the first generation to take their careers for granted".

While Madonna's role perception could vary, academics Allyson Jule and Bettina Tate Pedersen in Being Feminist, Being Christian: Essays from Academia (2006) suggested that Madonna seemed "relevant" to millennial womanhood, as she embodied qualities that spoke to a more modern and feminist sensibility. Editor Erin Harde explained that she has never viewed Madonna as a role model, but rethink her as a possibly "feminist voice" after a discussion with scholar Roxanne Harde.

In Girl Heroes, academic Susan Hopkins documented that "Madonna's enduring success as a mediated feminine icon also ushered in another key theme of contemporary girl culture representation" of the female popstar as a virtual teacher, mentor and role model. Hopkins further describes that "undoubtedly, Madonna modelled self-commodification as the pathway to (post) feminist empowerment". Jana Wendt cited Camille Paglia as saying: "What she did was to change a whole generation of younger women, and that's what changed feminism". In the description of American author Strawberry Saroyan, along her ability to take her message beyond music, Madonna's "impact women's lives has been her legacy". Some books about Madonna and scholarly articles, were focused in-depth in her impact on woman. Below are some examples of the above:

Books (see, Bibliography of works on Madonna)

• I Dream of Madonna: Women's Dreams of the Goddess of Pop (1993) by Kay Turner (ISBN 0-5000-1595-3)
• Madonna and Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop (2012) by Laura Barcella and Jessica Valenti (ISBN 978-1593764296)

Scholarly articles (see, List of academic publishing works on Madonna)

• Madonna's postmodern feminism: Bringing the margins to the center (1992) by Cathy Schwichtenberg (OCLC 4804864726)
• Feminist assessment of emancipatory potential and Madonna's contradictory gender practices (1996) by D. Lynn O'Brien Hallstein (OCLC 4659170142)
• The Madonna Experience: A U.S. Icon Awakens a Puerto Rican Adolescent's Feminist Consciousness (2001) by Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo (OCLC 936906159)
• The Feminism of Madonna: A Postmodern Identity Dilemma (2008) by Çağlar Özbek (OCLC 8254476820) — In Turkish

Influence

In a 2003 article from Bust, Camille Paglia said "the ultimate person to thank is Madonna. She changed the face of feminism, exactly as I had prophesied" (referring to her 1990 article in The New York Times when labelled Madonna as "the future of feminism"). Jennifer Baumgardner in a review of book Madonna and Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop declared: "[...] our Madonna gave birth to femme-inism". Madonna is credited to popularize "feminist politics". Elissa Strauss in a 2012 article for The Forward discussed how Madonna defines third-wave feminism.

According to scholar Marcel Danesi, Madonna turned the tide in feminist theory, inspiring the movement known as post-feminism. Michael Sweeney, professor of philosophy at Xavier University wrote in Justice Through Diversity?: A Philosophical and Theological Debate (2016) that Madonna "personified a peculiar form of feminism emerged in the late 1980s". Commentator Gil Troy called it "Madonna feminism", further adding that in an era worshiping power, other pop stars represented a popular form of girl power or "Madonna feminism". Alisa Solomon used the phrase "the age of Madonna".

See also

• Cultural impact of Madonna

Book sources

See also: Bibliography of works on Madonna and List of academic publishing works on Madonna

• Adamson, Lynda (1999). Notable Women in American History: A Guide to Recommended Biographies and Autobiographies. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-29584-3.
• Appignanesi, Richard; Garratt, Chris (2014). Introducing Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide. Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84831-760-4.
• Banes, Sally (2007). Before, Between, and Beyond: Three Decades of Dance Writing. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299221539.
• Barcella, Laura (2019). Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World. Zest Books. ISBN 1541581830.
• Bordo, Susan (2004). Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. University of California Press. ISBN 0520930711.
• Brooks, Ann (2002). Postfeminisms: Feminism, Cultural Theory and Cultural Forms. Routledge. ISBN 1134822332.
• Callahan, Vicki; Kuhn, Virginia (2015). Future Texts: Subversive Performance and Feminist Bodies. Parlor Press, LLC. ISBN 1602357706.
• Cross, Mary (2007). Madonna: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33811-6.
• Danesi, Marcel (2012). Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1442217839.
• Dicker, Rory; Piepmeier, Alison (2016). Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1555538568.
• Edmonson, Catherine M. (1997). 365 Women Who Made a Difference. Adams Media. ISBN 1558506411.
• Faith, Karlene; Wasserlein, Frances (1997). Madonna, Bawdy & Soul. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-802-04208-2.
• Farman, John (2012). The Very Bloody History Of Britain, 2: The Last Bit!. Random House. ISBN 1448121078.
• Feminist Review Collective (1996). Contesting Feminist Orthodoxies. Psychology Press. ISBN 0415145635.
• Fouz-Hernández, Santiago; Jarman-Ivens, Freya (2004). Madonna's Drowned Worlds: New Approaches to her Cultural Transformations, 1983-2003. Routledge. ISBN 1351559540.
• Garde-Hansen, Joanne (2011). Media and Memory. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748647074.
• Gardner, Abigail (2016). Jennings, Ros (ed.). 'Rock On': Women, Ageing and Popular Music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1317189094.
• Garritano, Carmela J. (2001). The Making of a Gendered Nation in Postcolonial West African Video, Film, and Literatures. Michigan State University.
• Glamour (2021). Glamour: 30 Years of Women Who Have Reshaped the World. Abrams Books. ISBN 1647002893.
• Golden, Kristen (1998). Remarkable Women of the Twentieth Century: 100 Portraits of Achievement. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. ISBN 1567995993.
• Guilbert, Georges-Claude (2015). Madonna as Postmodern Myth. McFarland. ISBN 0-786-48071-8.
• Hanson, Richard H. (1996). Writing Successfully. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0205152775.
• Hunt, Stephen J. (2017). New Religions and Spiritualities. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1351914715.
• Hopkins, Susan (2002). Girl Heroes: The New Force in Popular Culture. Pluto Press. ISBN 1-864-03157-3.
• Horton, Ros; Simmons, Sally (2007). Women Who Changed the World. Quercus. ISBN 1847240267.
• Jankowsky, Karen; Love, Carla (1997). Other Germanies: Questioning Identity in Women's Literature and Art. SUNY Press. ISBN 0791434508.
• Jhally, Sut (2006). The Spectacle of Accumulation: Essays in Culture, Media, And Politics. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0-8204-7904-0.
• Jule, Allyson; Pedersen, Bettina Tate (2006). Being Feminist, Being Christian: Essays from Academia. Springer. ISBN 1403983100.
• Maconie, Stuart (2013). The People's Songs. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 140903318X.
• McGlynn, Cathy; O'Neill, Margaret; Schrage-Früh, Michaela (2017). Ageing Women in Literature and Visual Culture: Reflections, Refractions, Reimaginings. Springer Publishing. ISBN 331963609X.}
• Mills, Sara (1994). Gendering the Reader. Harvester Wheatsheaf. ISBN 0745011306.
• Pringle, Rosemary (2020). Transitions: New Australian feminisms. Routledge. ISBN 1000248240.
• Prozan, Charlotte Krause (1993). The Technique of Feminist Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. J. Aronson. ISBN 0876682689.
• Real, Michael R. (1996). Exploring media culture: A guide. SAGE Publishing. ISBN 0803958765.
• Robertson, Pamela (1996). Guilty pleasures: Feminist camp from Mae West to Madonna. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860640877.
• Rodnitzky, Jerome L.; Rodnitzky, Jerry; Rodnitzky, Morton (1999). Feminist Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of a Feminist Counterculture. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275965759.}
• Sexton, Adam (1993). Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search of The Meaning of the World's Most Famous Woman. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0385306881.
• Schwichtenberg, Cathy (1993). The Madonna Connection. Westview Press. ISBN 0813313961.
• Sickels, Robert C. (2013). 100 Entertainers Who Changed America: An Encyclopedia of Pop Culture Luminaries. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1598848311.
• Stange, Mary Zeiss; Oyster, Carol K.; Sloan, Jane E. (2011). Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World. Vol. 1. SAGE Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4129-7685-5.}
• Steyn, Mark (2014). Broadway Babies Say Goodnight. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1136685081.
• Sweeney, Michael J. (2016). Justice Through Diversity?: A Philosophical and Theological Debate. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1442271175.
• Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2018). Madonna: An Intimate Biography of an Icon at Sixty. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 1509842799.
• Thore, Whitney Way (2016). I Do It with the Lights On. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 0399594515.
• Troy, Gil (2013). Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980's. Princeton University Press. ISBN 1400849306.
• Wearing, Betsy (1998). Leisure and Feminist Theory. SAGE. ISBN 0857026003.
• Wendt, Jana (2008). A Matter of Principle: New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 0522855253.
• Whelehan, Imelda; Gwynne, Joel (2014). Ageing, Popular Culture and Contemporary Feminism. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-37653-4.
• Yanıkkaya, Berrin; Nairn, Angelique Margarita (2020). Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Women, Voice, and Agency. IGI Global. ISBN 1799848302.

Further reading

• 10 Quotes on Feminism From Madonna’s Pre-Inauguration Talk With Marilyn Minter — Artnet (January 20, 2017)