ABSTRACT
Academic studies of Madonna's relationship with gay (sub-)cultures have tended either to confine the word 'gay' to meaning 'gay men', as opposed to a definition inclusive of lesbians, or to annex lesbian (sub-)cultures to gay male culture. References to Madonna's interaction with lesbian (sub-)cultures tend merely to acknowledge the 'lesbian chic' which, perhaps, Madonna could not have avoided engaging with, such was its popular cultural appeal in the early 1990s. A typical observation is that Madonna 'flirted' with lesbianism in her work at that time: an alleged relationship with Sandra Bernhard; lesbian group sex in Sex; butch or androgynous women by her side on stage and video. The well-established link between lesbianism and feminism, through the sex wars, itself forms the first point at which Madonna's career intersects with lesbian discourses. It is clear that throughout her career Madonna has continually played with issues of sexuality, often generating significant controversy in the process.
