Core Post #5 Madonna.

  I found Ann Cvetkovich's article interesting concerning the comparison between Madonna and the drag queens of Paris is Burning. As she puts it, it is is interesting to examine, "the structures of fantasy and desire that make a white, straight girl want to be a black, gay boy, and vice versa." (I find it especially intriguing after she also says she feels the need to be a mother to her backup dancers, whom she describes as "emotional cripples" at one point.) The article discusses Madonna's rampant appropriation of both black and gay culture as well as the privilege she wields. When Madonna does drag she does not adopt the dangers that the queens of Paris is Burning also adopt. She wears it as a costume, a stage act that is simply seen as an image of her artistic expression because of the position she occupies as a celebrity; it is fully acceptable for her to do that without any problems. When the drag queens of Paris is Burning do drag, they are taking so many more risks because they come from very different social and economic backgrounds, and it is also just seen as less socially acceptable for men to do drag. One thing that both groups do understand though is the "power of the image of the feminized woman." After all, that is essentially what drag is, men trying to be the most feminized version of a woman, and it contributes to this fantasy, that the article focuses on, and that is the power of being the object of the gaze as a woman. However, this illusion neglects to think about Madonna's privileges as a rich, white, celebrity, which becomes associated with her womanhood. When drag queens aspire to be like Madonna (or any celebrity for that matter) are the striving to be a woman like she is, or are they aspiring to be a rich, white, celebrity which they associate her womanhood with?