Hail to the Queen...

So, I might as well make my virgin (pun intended) post about the ultimate icon, my favorite artist…my, dare I say it, pop culture idol… Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. Madonna has been an important and integral part of my life from a very young age. From the time I lip-synched Material Girl at age thirteen in front of my entire Jr. High class, decked out in full drag; blonde wig, pink dress and heels…I seriously did, no joke (Of course, my 13yr old gay, clever way of getting away with it was to dress my two best girlfriends up as men to be my back-up dancers), to the opening day of Truth or Dare, the day I saw two men kiss for the very first time…ever…up on the screen, thirty feet tall and with no apologies…I new this chick was for me! Madonna helped me to not only accept my sexuality but to celebrate it, to be proud of it. Madonna made it ok, cool even, to be gay; and for a young kid living in conservative Orange County, California she opened my eyes up to the endless possibilities that living an honest and open life could bring. Not to mention the fact that she constantly challenged herself and convention, which is an incredibly brave and difficult thing to do. What other pop star at the height of her success would release a book about sex for no other reason than for the mere fact that she was interested in exploring her sexuality and didn’t give a fuck whether you liked it or not. So, she pushed a few buttons along the way and got people talking…that was the point! Don’t think I didn’t drag my 18yr old friend, who was a senior at the time, to the bookstore the day the Sex book was released since I was too young to purchase it. Releasing that book, no matter what your personal opinion of it is, was an incredibly bold and ballsy move, one that no other “pop star" would even dare to do; I was aroused, scared, disturbed, intrigued…wow. That book, hidden under my bed for years, opened my eyes up to a world of art, photography and erotica that I didn’t even know existed. Some of those images have stuck with me to this day. But all this wouldn’t be possible without her music…the soundtrack to my life, literally. Every song of hers is directly related to some sense memory from my past. If not for just the mere fact that since I have listened to her music throughout my entire life the odds of an event or experience coinciding with a Madonna song playing in the background are pretty high up there. However, more than that I feel her music helped me to grow up and was perfectly timed with where I was in my own life. I tend, as with her Sex book, to always like her more non-successful or critically panned work more than her mainstream successes. Erotica is still my favorite album, an incredibly underrated and underappreciated work. So brilliant and ahead of its time; poor conservative America didn’t know how to respond…and the list goes on, and on and on. Her songs are part of the American culture whether you like it or not; universal and timeless…just like a prayer. Then there are her live performances. The first time I saw her perform live I can remember thinking, wow, this woman is the real thing. Her hunger, be it for fame, attention or acceptance manifests itself as a tornado on stage, one that you cannot run from so you just have to allow yourself to be swept up into it. The fact that she has managed to release that type of energy and force during every single live performance that I have seen her do since is a true show of genius…of some truly unique, goddess like creature…a star. Madonna was the conduit that opened my eyes to the world of art, photography, pop culture, fashion, erotica, NYC, clubs, DJs, dance music…and plain ‘ol fashion fierceness. Madonna reinvented fierceness, fierceness done with a naughty sense of humor and a mischievous wink. I would usually feel quite stupid making all of these incredibly obnoxious statements about some silly pop star, but I have absolutely not qualms or embarrassment gushing the way I am because to me Madonna has been so much more than a silly pop star. She has been a force in my life on a very personal level. I know she will never know how her mere presence and ability to put herself, her body and her views out there in such a bold and non-apologetic way; to exploit herself and to laugh at convention, have truly helped me to understand myself and to not be afraid of who I am or what the world thinks of me. Madonna taught me to say “Fuck Off!”; which is one of the most important phrases an impressionable young gay boy can learn. I’m warning you now, there will be many more posts about the Queen of Pop in the future, because if I’ve learned anything from this bitch over the years it’s that she will keep on keeping on…and on…and on. Hail to the Her Madgesty!!