| A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. | | | | as a professional dancer. Upon her arrival, some of the |
| That's why they don't get what they want. - Madonna | | | | first people she befriended were drag queens and gay |
| Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the | | | | rentboys. |
| permission of another. Madonna | | | | After the launch of her music career and her entry into |
| Madonna isn't happy with the "boring" movie roles she's | | | | public consciousness, Madonna began to solidify her |
| lately been offered. Casting, she complains, sees her | | | | reputation as a gay icon. In the 1980s, Madonna was |
| as the mother of a "truculent teenage daughter." | | | | one of the first major celebrities to lend her support to |
| "Mom" (real life mother of two) sees herself as the | | | | AIDS causes. Many of her friends and inspirations, |
| truculent one. She's that and more - this always | | | | such as her ballet teacher Christopher Flynn, artist |
| cutting-edge artist is "frighteningly" good at being | | | | Keith Haring, and photographer Herb Ritts - as well as |
| anything she wants to be. | | | | her brother Christopher - are gay males, and some of |
| Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, | | | | them have died of AIDS. The song "In This Life" from |
| 1958), better known as Madonna, is an American pop | | | | her fith studio album, Erotica, is about the loss of |
| singer-songwriter, dancer, record, film producer, actress | | | | Madonna's (gay) friends to AIDS, containing the line, |
| and a fashion icon. She is a multiple Grammy and | | | | "Have you ever watched your best friend die?" |
| Golden Globe-award winner, known for her ambitious | | | | One of Madonna's biggest hits, 1990's "Vogue", is a |
| music videos, stage performances and use of political, | | | | song in tribute to the underground dance form known |
| sexual, and religious themes in her work. Madonna is | | | | as vogueing which first found popularity in gay bars |
| sometimes referred to as "the Material Girl" or "Queen | | | | and discos of New York City. "Deeper and Deeper," a |
| of Pop" in the media. | | | | 1992 hit about a young man's coming out, featured a |
| Since her debut in 1982, Madonna has released many | | | | small reprise of "Vogue". |
| chart-topping albums and singles, and has sold more | | | | In 2003 Madonna kissed Britney Spears and Christina |
| than 200 million albums worldwide. Billboard reported | | | | Aguilera onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards. |
| that her 2006 Confessions Tour holds the record for | | | | According to Out Madonna shrugs off the attention |
| the top-grossing concert tour by a female artist. | | | | the act garnered and her daughter Lourdes' reaction |
| According to both the 2007 Guinness Book of | | | | to it (Lourdes told her mother people call the pop star |
| Records, and Billboard, she is the top earning female | | | | gay and the girl has gained more consciousness of the |
| singer. Madonna is the richest female singer in the | | | | gay community). "I kind of assume everything I do is |
| world, and one of the richest self-made women in the | | | | going to appeal to the gay audience. I'm just a big |
| world, with an estimated net worth of over $850 million. | | | | queen... it just means I kissed Britney Spears. I am the |
| On September 27, 2007, she was nominated for | | | | mommy pop star and she is the baby pop star. And I |
| induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2001, | | | | am kissing her and passing my energy onto her. Like, |
| the Guinness Book of World Records listed Madonna | | | | kind of a mythological fairy tale", Madonna stated of |
| as the "Worlds Most-successful Female Musician". | | | | the incident. |
| Madonna was introduced to the gay community while | | | | Madonna has been named by The Advocate as the |
| still a teenager. It was her ballet teacher, Christopher | | | | biggest gay icon of all time over such icons as Judy |
| Flynn, a gay man, who first told Madonna that she was | | | | Garland and Cher. To this day, Madonna's gay |
| beautiful. He also introduced her to the local gay | | | | following is one of the most loyal segments of her |
| community of Detroit, Michigan, often taking her to local | | | | audience. While her popularity among certain other |
| gay bars. It is Flynn who encouraged Madonna to walk | | | | communities (like the African American and Hispanic |
| away from her full scholarship to the University of | | | | communities, for example) has fluctuated over the |
| Michigan and move to Manhattan to pursue a career | | | | years, her gay following seems to stay strongly intact. |