We Are All Queens…
…Just Not of Pop
Madonna - Icon / Inspiration / Mother
Since my tween years, I have always wanted to see Madonna live, having loved her music for as long as I can remember. Some of my fondest memories of being young are dressing up, dancing and singing along to her soundtracks blasting from my boombox in my bedroom.
I’ve always loved dressing up- especially in Madge’s 80’s inspired era. (Me, age 40)
I now find myself a Queenager, (if you are 45+, you have to sign up to Eleanor Mills - Meet the Queenagers: A Noon Research Project - Noon) and still love Madonna, so of course I was overly excited as ever to hear she announced The Celebration Tour to mark her 4 decades as the “Queen of Pop”.
Knowing she would perform music from her entire career, I just had to go, so last week, Caroline and I went to the O2 to see her final performance in the UK and goodness she did not disappoint.
The show was incredible, she is incredible. The show brought back some of the best memories of my life. Did we dance? Hell yes, we danced like we were tweens in our bedrooms again.
We were in the seats with the gods, but it didn’t matter, we were there, with the Original Queen
I knew that the show would be suggestive (which always brings out the critics) but, to my surprise, it also provided many thought-provoking moments. For the first time, I really saw the multi-faceted layers of Madonna as a woman and not just the popstar.
This article by Glamour hopefully shuts-up some critics ……. Fans Telling Madonna To ‘Grow Up’ And ‘Act Her Age’ On Her Celebration Tour Is Not OK | Glamour UK (glamourmagazine.co.uk)
Her performance was intertwined with messages about mothers, gender inequality, power, survival, humanity, persistence, love, friendship and of course a tonne of sexuality- which the prudish me cringed at in the past but that night I found myself cheering her on, romping around on a bed with a girl and being touched all over by men a third her age – I mean, why not - you go girl!
Madonna challenge us on making an impact and on what would happen if women ruled the world.
No matter your opinions, it is a fact that Madge is not “just” a popstar, she is the definition of an affluent businesswoman, actress, producer, musician, writer, model, journalist, etc. the list goes on. She has even written 5 children’s books. Her influence is hard to deny, always ready to surprise, never lost for new (usually controversial) ideas. Madonna has been the influencer to many for over 40 years, before that term was even coined by today’s social media world.
This is Madonna’s debut message-driven picture book about not judging by appearances
As Caroline mentioned in her previous blog we have been looking at Breaker’s values and after that performance I couldn’t think of a more inspirational woman than Madonna, who truly embodies hard work, clear intentions, self-sacrifice and determination to be the star she promised to become.
By her own example she has proved that women can reach the top (I found out she is actually worth more than Paul McCartney). By realising her own potential, working hard, fighting against societies numerous bans and constraints, resisting against inequalities, gender roles and stereotypes she inspires other women to persist in their own endeavours.
Finally, prior to the show I never knew very much about her as a mother. I read the interview Being Madonna | Vanity Fair Italia she did where amongst other topics she talked about being a working mother, she said “It has been the most difficult, the hardest battle” and “Today, I am still struggling to understand how to be a mother and do my job”.
She also said she finds it “exhausting” balancing her career with parenting and “Whoever you are, having children and raising them is a work of art and no one gives you a manual. You have to learn from mistakes.”
I don’t know about you but that sounds just like some of the things every mother I have ever met says too! Obviously we are just like Madonna, queens, just without the incredible fame and wealth, but if Madge can then why can’t we?
BC- Breaker Celebrates Madonna, Celebration Tour 6/12/2023