There aren’t a lot of musicians or pop stars who can say they’ve achieved No. 1 albums in every decade since 1980, but Madonna joined the ranks last week.

Her most recent album, ‘MDNA,’ now tops the Billboard Charts at No. 1. This marks Madonna’s eighth No. 1 album on the Billboard Top 200 chart. 

Soft Skull Press published a collection of essays less than a month ago called ‘Madonna and Me.’ It was written by female authors and edited by Laura Barcella. The essays explore the relevance of Madonna in relation to their feminist consciousness raising. The essays feature a range of topics, from early sexuality in young girls to religious influence, and even mentions the celebrity’s capitalist and materialist attitude embodied in her hit ‘Material Girl.’

While Madonna’s music and iconic significance has spanned multiple decades, my own understanding of her is limited to my few encounters related to Madonna in popular culture: her famous make-out session with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears onstage at the 2003 MTV Music Awards; tabloid pictures in front of New York City Kabbalah centers; and watching the varsity squad dress up as ‘Material Girls’ during summer cheerleading camps. And yes, I’m going to avoid the conversation about how I was a cheerleader in high school.

Our generation is less familiar with Madonna and more aware of similar conversations around feminism and Lady Gaga. Some women claim Gaga is a positive depiction of females in the music industry and emulates progressive ideals that promote feminist issues. Others aren’t so fond of Gaga, some of the same critics who don’t associate Madonna with feminism, say Gaga embraces traditional sex appeal and doesn’t challenge patriarchal notions in the mainstream.

Emily Nussbaum contributed to ‘Madonna and Me’ and also wrote an article for New York Magazine online about New York City’s Slutwalk in October. The article was called ‘The Rebirth of the Feminist Manifesto: Come for the Lady Gaga, stay for the empowerment.’ Nussbaum uses Gaga in her title in the same way she suggests Gaga is used in the contemporary feminist movement, a means of appealing to the general public and drawing individuals into more important conversations.

Gaga seems to be political in the same ways as Madonna, but she has a long way to go if she wants to catch up to the Queen of Pop’s influential status. Madonna’s record sales may not be what they once were – ‘MDNA’ debuted at No. 1, then plummeted down 88 percent, from 379,000 copies to 46,000 – but she’s done her fair share of shifting public discourse around sexuality, religion and gender constructions.

The jury’s still out on whether Madonna and her actions are considered feminist, but ‘Madonna and Me’ helps unpack the complexities that come along with a critical analysis of Madonna and forces readers to think twice before answering this question with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Jessica Valenti puts it best in the book’s foreword. She writes, ‘Maybe my ever-changing mind on Madonna and what she means for women and feminism is part of the point. … Whether you think Madonna is an appropriator or an inspiration, perhaps what makes her so outstanding is that one person can mean something so different to so many people.’

Krystie Yandoli is a senior women and gender studies and English and textual studies major. Her column appears every Wednesday. She can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter at @KrystieLYandoli.  

Published on April 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm