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Overview

[...] from the beginning of her career, Madonna has been primarily defined not by her music but by her ambition and her ability to present herself in visually interesting and ever-changing guises. There talking points have been repeated in pretty much every magazine profile ever written about her.

—American music critic Steven Hyden (2016)

The fixation on Madonna image has been present since her debut and has defined her career. In Musicologists, Sociologists and Madonna (1993), lecturer John Street from University of East Anglia reports that from both her critics and defenders, her reception "it is devoted almost exclusively to her image and appearance". Madonna's biography at Ohio State University, pinpointed her "image became the source of endless debate among feminists and cultural scholars".

Madonna was almost instantly deemed more a pop icon than a musician shortly after her debut. Her music was placed second by many, including Entertainment Weekly, whom staff described her by 1999 as not a musician per se. Martha Bayles described "it is in the extramusical realm that Madonna really made her name", and Annalee Newitz similarly claimed, she "is not a musician" and she has given to the culture, "not a collection of songs" but "a collection of images".

Various reviewers credited Madonna as the "first female" to have a "complete control" over every aspect of her image. Sonya Andermahr from the University of Northampton states she "exercises more power and control over the production, marketing and financial value of her image than any female icon before her". Within the perception, Madonna earned a reputation of being "in control", which was described by a scholar as "legendary". Caryn Ganz from The New York Times commented she "was a pioneer of welding her voice to her image".

Critical reception of her "image"

Madonna and her alter ego, Madame X in a 2019 interview with MTV International

The way Madonna deployed her image, visuals, fashion and other media representations were theorized and largely detailed by scholars and authors, defining her career. Scholar Sara Mills, in Gendering the Reader (1994) noted that "academic writing on Madonna has seen her as innovative largely in her use of images". In Girl Heroes (2002), academic Susan Hopkins described Madonna as the "quintessential image strategist". She also used alter egos; James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts, referred to her "ever-changing show-business alter ego" in Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor (2003).

Academics used the concept of "identity" that Madonna turned "into a concept" for her career, and became a hallmark noted by her earliest reviewers. Lynne Layton, a clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, for example, wrote she became "popular because she reflects our own uncertainties about identity", and Manchester Metropolitan University scholars Katie Milestone and Anneke Meyer explained: "She has been heralded as a 'unique female' figure because of the control that she exerts over her identity". According to gender theorist Judith Butler she embodied multiple identities at once. To the extend, in the 2010s, Wesley Morris from The New York Times heralded Madonna as the "first great identity artist", and critic Ty Burr emphasizes that she was "the first postmodern female celebrity in that she considered 'authenticity' to be just one more mask". According to British sociologist David Gauntlett, Madonna was "credited with popularizing the view that identity is not fixed and can be continuosly rearranged and revamped".

Reinvention

Madonna's reinvention have defined her career, with biographer Michelle Morgan saying is a word constantly attributed in her career. Swedish author, Maria Wikse, described that "most critics recognise" her reinvention and "how it influences the way in which we read her texts". Authors of Psychoanalyses / Feminisms (2000), defined it as "one of Madonna's cultural meanings". Ludovic Hunter-Tilney from Financial Times explained that "her image changes have launched countless fads and fuelled a boom in jargon-filled academic studies about her as a post-feminist chameleon".

Many reviewers have compared and noted influence from artists like David Bowie and art-world figures like Cindy Sherman and Picasso. Author K. Elan Jung, however, felt "she displayed an almost unique capacity for reinvention".

Criticism

According to Vince Aletti, Madonna "has been attacked by critics for being more about image than substance".

Some feminists were concerned about Madonna's reinvention.

On media

See also: Madonna on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1994

Madonna's image was defined by her representation on media, with scholars in Keeping the Promise: Essays on Leadership, Democracy, and Education (2007), describing "Madonna is a complex character in media culture", while describing her multiple representations. In sum, Madonna achieved that various academics "analyze[d] [her] media discourses and representations".

Madonna earned a reputation as a "media manipulator" during years. Music critic J. D. Considine, even heralded her "more media manipulator than musician" in a 1995 article for The Baltimore Sun. American journalist Josh Tyrangiel, said that she reached her peak with the advent of her album Like a Prayer. As this perception was deemed more as a positive thing, praises came from critics such as Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who says that "public and media manipulation become in one of her greatest achievements", and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame commented "no one in the pop realm has manipulated the media with such as savvy sense of self-promotion".

Lucy O'Brien writes the popular negative stereotype is that she is a publicity-hungry or a manipulative ballbreaker.

Personal life

Ashcombe House, Wiltshire, for a while property of then marriage Madonna-Guy Ritchie

According to Ohio State University, her lifestyle has been discussed more than her music. The Observer columnist Barbara Ellen similarly states "Madonna's life has always been much more vigorously reviewed that her art". Rolling Stone Press commented "her personal life is tracked, scrutinized and documented as a matter of course". Her life generated significant scholarly attention as well.

A "multitude" of reviewers from journalists to academics noted the likeness of her work with elements of her life. Music critic Richard Morrison explained that both Madonna and Michael Jackson offered what can be called an "egocentric" experience, incorporating their private lives, fusing public and private persona. While Morrison recognized is not central just to Madonna, but to our culture, he says "Madonna's whole life revolves around the presentation of her image". Professor Lynne Layton believes "Madonna makes sense of her life. By deliberately making her life a part of her work. Madonna presents us with both a public and a private persona".

Influence

Roger Blackwell explained Madonna set up trends in numerous areas, including expressions and lifestyle. British author George Pendle, says she defined a way of living in the 1980s and 1990s, and this led to consistently described her as a "cultural icon". Gail Walker of Belfast Telegraph, comments she was a "full package of a way of living".

Health and appearance

Madonna in a dance contest during the opening of her Hard Candy Fitness in Germany

In the likes of celebrities such as Jane Fonda, Madonna was associated for her workout regime and diet. Andis Robenznies from Vegetarian Times referred to her "devotion to physical fitness" in 1987. The perception remained in the following decades; author Elizabeth Currid-Halkett described: "Madonna is known for her draconian fitness regime and diet", and Ken McLeod similarly expressed her "attention to fitness and exercise is legendary". In 2018, British journalist Bidisha expressed "it is impossible to talk about Madonna without talking about power [...] she is an athlete", while Caryn Ganz from The New York Times commented "her fitness, flexibility and strength have always been tied to the kind of cultural power she wields".

She became one of the first public female stars devotee to pilates. In 2010, Madonna founded her own international chain of fitness centres called Hard Candy Fitness. She attended to various of its opening events, where she took the opportunity to assist some classes.

When it was revealed she was vegetarian, Vegetarian Times informed that fact "was mentioned in almost every article written about her"; Madonna graced their December 1987 cover. According to authors like Alexander Theroux she adopted a macrobiotic diet since early 1990s.

Criticism

Criticism at the height of her popularity, includes those whom claimed she promotes another of celebrities hard-to-reach physical ideal for women, while she had the benefit of working with top trainers among others advantages. Conversely, Richard Sine from medical website WebMD commented despite her advantages, "has been an inspiration for many women".

Lucy O'Brien noted that for a while, Madonna practiced an almost "maniac improbable fitness routines", with an individual commenting at some stage: "Madonna was in danger of burning out completely. She was doing five hours physical workout every day, more than most professional athletes". At some stage of her career, her muscular arms became a tabloid-fixture that garnered her critical headlines and commentaries; Madonna's critic Piers Morgan, described them as "grotesque".

Influence

Madonna has also been a huge inspiration to many when it comes to fitness and self-acceptance

—Gulf Today (2020)

Ashley Mateo from Self stated she "is a much a fitness icon as a musical legend". Mateo have mentioned that Madonna inspired some fitness trend over the years. Author Pete McCall in Ageless Intensity (2021), credits Madonna and Cher as one of the first female celebrities to use personal trainers which resulted in the "explosive growth" of women starting to exercise in order to achieve the "fit bodies of the stars". Sine explained that health experts have commented on Madonna's well-being and in his view, "without ever speaking a word on the subject, Madonna may have done more to spur the world's collective fitness than anyone else".

Madonna onstage in 1990. Her regime influenced others, and her musculature was commented

To Canadian author Ken McLeod, "Madonna's videos and live shows introduced a new physicality into female pop performance". Spanish music critic Patricia Godes, similarly states "Madonna was the first white Caucasian celebrity to have an athletic physique, with muscular legs [and] shoulders". Godes credits that it helped change a bit the idea of female physique. Another observer, asserted "she made the female body seem more like a machine with cravings and less like a Barbie doll".

James Robert Parish and Michael R. Pitts have delineated Madonna in creating "for a new generation the blonde bombshell image" in the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Jean Harlow. Although somewhat less culturally resonant than Monroe's own, editors of Icons of Beauty, explained that she introduced a concept of celebrity beauty that "was more fluid and mobile"; and her experimentation marked "the beginning of new era in celebrity beauty". In the early 1990s, scholar Camille Paglia suggested that her "most enduring cultural contribution may be that she has introduced ravishing visual beauty and a lush Mediterranean sensuality".

Despite the criticism she received from her muscular arms she didn't bowed of this scrutiny and became for many women an inspiration, both for building her arms or for refusing to bow the negativity she received, as well for her body positivity, self-confidence and fitness. In 2020, Gulf Today dedicated an article where many women personal trainers, fitness influencers or bodybuilders from different ages expressed Madonna's influence on them.

Persona

Lucy O'Brien (sic) "it has often been asked, who is the 'real' Madonna?", Many authors used the phrase "Who's That Girl"?.

Over her public timelight, Madonna's persona has been a subject of analysis and interpretations by scholars, authors and public. Lucy O'Brien defines that "it has often been asked, who is the 'real' Madonna?". In her view, as wrote in Madonna: Like an Icon (2007), "I have always found her work clear and autobiographical, but her personality complex and disarmingly changeable". Christian author Graham Cray, opined she skilfully developed a persona, but also he believes Madonna "is a complex person and phenomenon requiring detailed analysis".

Remarked aspects

American author Rene Denfeld says, Madonna is one of the first female public figures ever to present ambition, power and strength into one empowering package.

Ambition

Hailed as the "Blonde Ambition", she earned a reputation of being "ambitious" with German cultural critic Diedrich Diederichsen saying she herself cultivated this legend. Many remarked how she wanted to "rule the world" after declaring it in a 1983 Dick Clark interview, and when she cited, "I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay". Decades after, Madonna told Matthew Todd that her ambition was driven by feeling unloved after the death of her mother, and to Alexis Petridis that....

Her ambition was interpreted variously and have defined her image; for Vanessa Grigoriadis of The New York Times is something that "set her apart". Business theorist Roger Blackwell, explained that her "ambition" has been turned in a "common denominator" in her marketing analysis. American critic Susie Bright commented that "she is considered too ambitious, and therefore too much like a man".

For Madonna's critics like bell hooks, as pinpointed scholars from Nordic Association for American Studies, her ambition is not primarily a blond one, but rather a monetary and a global media ambition. In contrast, author Kay Turner said that "she made outrageous claims about her ambitions, but invited the world to join her in believing that dreams come true". In Madonnaland, Alina Simone wrote she "has never been anything but aggressively honest about her ambition". French academic Georges-Claude Guilbert, interprets her ambition is also to try her hand at every art form.

Impact on others

[Madonna...] had a considerable impact in shaping attitudes

—Publishers Weekly (2012)

More than an author have used the phrase "What would Madonna Do? (WWMD)". Author Andrew Morton documented its usage with two examples, including one used in India Knight's novel My Life on a Plate, when a girl asks this question after being pregnant. At the end, Morton interprets this "merely serves to accentuate the riddle of Madonna". Editor-in-chief of British magazine Elle, dedicated a piece in 2014, to musing "solve life's greatest dilemmas".

Ageism

See also: Radio 1 Madonna controversy

• Madonna’s refusal to ‘grow old gracefully’ continues to anger the media, and the public who comment on her social media posts in their thousands
• The ageist backlash against Madonna is predictable and tiresome
• It’s hard to be an older female artist. Look at the sexist snark thrown at Madonna, Nancy Jo Sales
• The ageism raining down on Madonna is dated, dull, and getting old; clickbaity misogynists; Madonna not ageing in the culturally prescribed manner.
• Why is Madonna ‘too old’ to tour when the likes of Elton John and Bruce Springsteen are lauded?
• Smash Hits magazine: calm down, grandma (1993) trolls,
• La Vanguardia

For Madonna critics, she was "too old" whe entered her thirties. In the image, Madonna at age of 32 during her Blond Ambition World Tour (1990)

The figure of Madonna has been defined by ageism across different decades. Reviewers are aware of older public figures beyond Madonna, and how ageism is generalized in the industry, but many of them noted both conversations and impact on Madonna have been substantial. Matthew Jacobs from HuffPost, says "age is an arbitrary clout metric, but it defines Madonna's image". By 2015, T. Cole Rachel from Pitchfork, asserts "as she gets older she becomes polarizing in new ways".

An aging Madonna coincided with the consolidation of social media; with past and newer detractors, Jacobs pinpointed in the internet culture, "Madonna naysayers had a bigger platform than ever". Spanish activist Roy Galán stated as she got older, some group of "people started systematically ridiculing Madonna", while "no stop" to criticize and questioning everything she does or says, using her age as a weapon.

Madonna's age was not always accompanied of negative tabloid image or critics. Media and cultural institutions celebrated her entrance into her fifties and sixties. At age of 50 in 2008, Australian newspaper The Age states that her birthday were "big news", and a downloaded virtual clock was launched to count down to the moment "Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie reaches her half century". The newspaper also summed up from "trashy gossip magazines to esteemed cultural institutions, the queen of pop's entrance into middle age is being chewed over, processed and then dissected again". At age of 60 in 2018, a member from AAR wrote an article for Campaign, where defines it "a major pop culture event". Various outlets dedicated articles to celebrate her sixties milestone; as an example The Guardian dedicated a "series" of articles written by musicians, columnists and many others.

Background and increase

Matt Cain said she has suffered of ageism "from the very start of her career". Some commentators traced agesim on her as early as 1990s, when she entered her thirties, thus T. Cole Rachel expressed "people have been asking her about 'aging gracefully' since she entered her thirties". At age of 35 in 1993, Smash Hits dedicated an article under the headline "Madonna calm down grandma". In 2008, Belfast Telegraph editor's Gail Walker held that at age of 40, by many "was supposed to be the end of her creativity and influence". By 2018, arts writer Fiona Sturges from The Guardian wrote that literally every of her move in the past 15 years has been accompanied by a "grim chorus of put it away, grandma".

Entering in her fifties and even, early sixties depending of the point of views, Madonna oscillates between "agelessness" and "ageing". In Gender, Age and Musical Creativity (2016), editors deemed her as "probably the best known and most talked about female musician in her fifties".

Commentaries

Around 2000, Rodrigo Fresán deemed an aging Madonna as a "mirror of our days" from an entire generation. Reviewing a Madonna at 57, Rachel said "media outlets talk[ing] about her as if she was 97".

In Purpose and a Paycheck (2019), Chris Farrell wrote "Madonna seems a favorite target of critics telling her to 'act her age'".

A group of commentators similarly agreed that she became a prisoner of her own constructed image. In Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud (2017), American author Anne Helen Petersen questioned if is Madonna battling ageism—or battling for her own particular body to remain forever young?. Similar to Petersen, Canadian author Ken McLeod commented about a middle-age Madonna, saying she appears to be "at pains to be able to maintain the same fitness and ideal body image". Back in 2005, Camille Paglia was critical summarizing "Madonna cannibalizes herself in a misguided attempt to appeal to today's youth".

In 2015, Michael Arceneaux agreed that some artists faced similar challenges, but he added in Madonna two disadvantages: her age and her gender, and that "unfortunately, with age comes a certain disconnect" of things.

Conversely, another group have praised Madonna from many things she has been criticized. At first, some like arts writer Fiona Sturges from The Guardian

Madonna's age was often compared to other fellows. Having mentioned some artists, Jacobs explained that many of them more or less accepted they are "nostalgia acts", and is a status "Madonna is hellbent on avoiding".

Madonna's responses

Madonna have responded in diverse opportunities about ageism. As early as in 1992, at age of 34, Madonna asked in an interview with Jonathan Ross: "Is there a rule? Are people just supposed to die when they're 40?".

An editor of The Independent cites, Madonna questioning critics on her age as are more aggressively that at her male contemporaries.

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Sturges, decries the entertainment industry is among the worst culprits when it comes to fading out women, compared the scores of male figures carrying on into their 60s and 70s without a piece of criticisms on their age. She argues, "we can take heart that, as with so many aspects of the female experience, Madonna is doing her damnedest to put it right". Jacobs defines: "That's the great tragedy of Madonna's late career. She wrote the playbook time and again, and she won't be alive to see the world acknowledge it".

• News Sky
• USA Today

Book sources

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

• Bayles, Martha (1996). Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226039595.
• Blackwell, Roger; Stephan, Tina (2004). Brands That Rock. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-48344-1.
• Bosch, Lindsay J.; Mancoff, Debra N. (2009). Icons of Beauty: Art, Culture, and the Image of Women. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0313081565.
• Burr, Ty (2012). Gods Like Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 0307907422.
• Carlson, Dennis; Gause, C. P. (2007). Keeping the Promise: Essays on Leadership, Democracy, and Education. Peter Lang. ISBN 0820481998.
• Cross, Mary (2007). Madonna: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33811-6.
• Denfeld, Rene (2009). The New Victorians: A Young Woman's Challenge to the Old Feminist Order. Hachette. ISBN 0446565237.
• Fouz-Hernández, Santiago; Jarman-Ivens, Freya (2004). Madonna's Drowned Worlds. Routledge. ISBN 1351559540.
• Gnojewski, Carol (2017). Madonna: Fighting for Self-Expression. Enslow Publishing. ISBN 0766092550.
• Gordon, Andrew M.; Rudnytsky, Peter L. (2000). Psychoanalyses / Feminisms. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-4378-7.
• Guilbert, Georges-Claude (2015). Madonna as Postmodern Myth. McFarland. ISBN 0-786-48071-8.
• Havranek, Carrie (2009). Women Icons of Popular Music. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-34085-7.
• Hopkins, Susan (2002). Girl Heroes: The New Force in Popular Culture. Pluto Press. ISBN 1-864-03157-3.
• Hyden, Steven (2016). Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life. Hachette. ISBN 0316259144.
• Jermyn, Deborah (2016). Female Celebrity and Ageing: Back in the Spotlight. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 1134924860.
• Jung, E. Elan (2010). Sexual Trauma: A Challenge Not Insanity. The Hudson Press. ISBN 978-0-9831448-0-9.
• Layton, Lynne (2013). Who's That Girl? Who's That Boy?: Clinical Practice Meets Postmodern Gender Theory. Routledge. ISBN 1135891435.
• Löfgren, Hans; Shima, Alan (1998). After Consensus: Critical Challenge and Social Change in America. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis. ISBN 9173463353.
• McLeod, Ken (2013). We are the Champions: The Politics of Sports and Popular Music. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 1409494500.
• Milestone, Katie; Meyer, Anneke (2013). Gender and Popular Culture. Wiley. ISBN 0745658652.
• Mills, Sara (1994). Gendering the Reader. Harvester Wheatsheaf. ISBN 0745011306.
• Morgan, Michelle (2015). Madonna. Hachette. ISBN 1472119436.
• O'Brien, Lucy (2007). Madonna: Like an Icon. Bantam Press. ISBN 978-0-593-05547-2.
• Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (2003). Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0415943337.
• Rolling Stone Press (1997). Madonna, the Rolling stone files. Hyperion. ISBN 0786881542.
• Schwichtenberg, Cathy (1993). The Madonna connection. Westview Press. ISBN 0813313961.
• Simone, Alina (2016). Madonnaland. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-75946-6.
• Theroux, Alexander (2007). Einstein's Beets. Fantagraphics. ISBN 1606999761.
• Todd, Matthew (2016). Straight Jacket. Random House. ISBN 1448111102.
• Wikse, Maria (2006). Materialisations of a Woman Writer: Investigating Janet Frame's Biographical Legend. Peter Lang. ISBN 3-03910-705-4.

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• Piers Morgan attacking Madonna age; Olivier Bouchara Vanity Fair France, "a figure as disturbing as she is sacred". + Layah Heilpern
• Piers Morgan faces backlash for “misogynistic” comments made about Madonna
• ‘Madonna generation’ in vogue at work
• The Madonna complex (we love to loathe her?, Her name and back catalogue have spawned a gazillion-and-counting mean girl headlines; grandma-donna. Desperately Seeking Stardom. Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies. Etc. Why does everybody hate her?
• Piers Morgan backlash, Grammy Awards + "feud" of years + Piers Morgan criticism on Madonna and Beyonce (2017)
• Billboard
• Many women have taken it upon themselves to cruelly critique not just how she looks, but to dictate how she should look and behave for a woman “of her age”. → Frankly, Madonna has done more for women’s confidence, sexuality and liberation than any of her naysayers, so I don’t see why they’re getting a say on how she should look or behave as she gets older.
• La Razon
• Excelsior
• The New York Times: Madonna and Mrs. Clinton: both trailblazers, both polarizing figures, and both attacked for actions, choices and behavior that are broadly accepted — even applauded — when done by their male peers.
• The New York Times: Madonna’s New Face Is a Brilliant Provocation
• Goodmorning America: Madonna sparks discussion about ageism
• The cruel comments about Madonna’s appearance are proof that ‘ageing gracefully’ is a sexist myth
• How Madonna’s Face Became the Battleground of Aging in the Public Eye
• Time magazine: Madonna's Face and the Myth of Aging Gracefully
• The New York Times: Deepfake
• Paulina Porizkova: is forcing the world to discuss aging. Specifically, women and aging
• Vogue, trolls; I say trolls, but this isn’t just keyboard warriors; we’re all at it. Twitter users photos of the singer juxtaposed with famous women “acceptable” for their age
• The Discourse Around Madonna’s “Unrecognisable” Face Is Sexist, Ageist And Depressingly Predictable
• Internet reaction;
• Susanna Reid defends Madonna after singer criticised over appearance
• Megyn Kelly hardly slams Madonna: 'Sick person who needs help' + Morgan
• Fox News
• Independent
• backlash
• Perspective: The tragedy of Madonna
• She shocked the world with her appearance onstage
• Niamh Walsh: 'May Madonna wear her sexy pants forever'; Madonna has always let us know that she intended to grow old disgracefully.
• cost her billions, her provocative career
• Shania Twain celebrates Madonna's "liberated spirit" after criticism of the singer's appearance
• Madonna once said: “I'm a role model for those who dare to be different.
• Internet trolls, haters, Madonna's responses, former fans
• Is Madonna Pushing Us All to the Borderline? — Ageist
• From Joe Biden to Madonna: ageism is everywhere (2023) - The Guardian
• Why Won’t We Let Madonna Age the Way She Wants To? - The Cut 2017
• Keira Knightley: Madonna row shows there is no “right” way for women to age
• MTV 1998: There's nothing this woman won't do to grab attention — But now she's a mom she really ought to show a little more reserve