Madonna And Sexual Liberation In Women's Pop Music

958 Words4 Pages
The music industry has always been an open forum for opinion and self-expression. As an artist the easiest and in some cases the most effective way to express yourself is through sex. I don’t think any other artist in history has transcended music through sex the way Madonna has. She is a pioneer in the sexual revolution that the music world has seen over the last 30 years or so. Since her debut album in 1982 her music has presented us with sexual undertones. Madonna was the first in a long line of pop artists who have used sex as a way to convey a message. She brought about change to the entire landscape of music paving the way for Britney, Christina, and Lady GaGa. There is no question that Madonna has played huge role in America’s fascination with sex, but this issue is deeper than her. Is this sexual revolution simply women wanting the same sexual freedom as men? Then I thought maybe these artists are just using sex to sell records? I’d like to look at that perspective, as well as the objectification of women in pop videos. America’s modern sexual revolution can be traced back to 1930’s, but the 1960’s is the period I’d like to focus on. The ‘60s was a time of societal change on many fronts, from the feminist movement, to gay and civil rights issues. Sex was also lumped somewhere in there, during that time premarital sex wasn’t accepted the way it is today. The arrival of the pill played a tremendous role in granting women sexual liberation. Now women could choose to have sex without being married. By freeing themselves of traditional social roles, women were told to unleash their inner felines and put their bodies on full display. This is evident with such icons as Marilyn Monroe, Julie Newmar, and Playboy magazine. Flaunting their figures has become synonymous with female empowerment. However there was a backlash to this revolution such as the increase of
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