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From: mfs@mhuxr.UUCP (SIMON)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: My $0.02's worth on Madonna
Message-ID: <379@mhuxr.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 31-Jul-85 19:19:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: mhuxr.379
Posted: Wed Jul 31 19:19:19 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 2-Aug-85 05:12:27 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 38

First I should lay my prejudices on the line and say that I think Madonna's
music is pure trash that exists because of an aberration in the alignment
of the stars and that will disappear as soon as the cosmic repair beings
have had a chance to get their wings in to the problem......

On her image as a public figure. Maybe I'm confused, but I thought the entire
point was for women to be recognized and accepted on the basis of their merits,
*without* consideration of sexuality? On this net and elsewhere (yes Virginia,
there is a world of people who are not on the net) her fans comment on her
music with offhand, almost throwaway comments. One may like her social
presence, the fact that "she needs no one" (more on that later), but few,
if any, are willing to go on a limb and give praise to the intrinsic
qualities of her music. I surmise that this is because her music has
no intrinsic qualities.

So her image is the sum total of this woman's public being. I just don't
find that admirable. I am more inclined to admire women who *do*
something (there are lots of those, from Maggie Thatcher and jane Kirkpatrick
to Sally Ride and Mother Theresa) rather than women who *look* some
way or other.

Madonna fans have made much of her independence. Well, most of what I have read
(the TIME articles, mostly; I can't take PEOPLE and its ilk) about her
states or implies that the is just the visible part of a massive PR
campaign and that she has little to do with creating her songs and deciding
what they will sound like. That has been the case for many female
singers and bands (remember the Go-Gos?) and more than a few males,
but why suddenly trot these claims of independence?

I am not really interested in arguing the relative merits of Madonna's music
(see the prejusices listed above), but judging from previous articles,
I see little backing for the various claims of Madonna as a positive
influence. She is probably not a negative influence, but that's as far
as it goes.

Well enough rambling.

Marcel Simon