ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the tensions between Madonna's libertarian body politic in Vogue and the lived experience of voguing as a kind of "folk" dance that originated among black and Hispanic queens. It discusses the Madonna phenomenon from a gay cultural perspective in order to map out and assesses Madonna's contributions to the "politics of queer sex." The book analyzes the investments of numerous constituencies—the Parents' Music Resource Center, teenage consumer culture, the US media, neo-Marxist critics, women and feminist scholars, and Madonna herself—in a series of discourses that conflictually construct "Madonna." It explains the simple binary terms of truth and illusion that have characterized commentary on the film in the popular press. The book offers a relentless ideology critique of Madonna's postmodern penchant for constant transformation.
