Editing Madonna (section)

== Legacy ==
{{Main|Cultural impact of Madonna}}
{{Quote box|align=right|width=20%|quote=She's a major [[historical figure]] and when she passes, the retrospectives will loom larger and larger in history.|source=—Academic [[Camille Paglia]] on Madonna (2017).<ref name="Paglia2017">{{cite web|url=https://www.chatelaine.com/living/books/camille-paglia-free-women-free-men/|title=Camille Paglia cuts the 'malarkey': Women just need to toughen up|first=Sarah|last=Boesveld|work=[[Chatelaine (magazine)|Chatelaine]]|date=June 27, 2017|access-date=April 4, 2021|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525091538/https://www.chatelaine.com/living/books/camille-paglia-free-women-free-men/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Madonna has built a legacy that transcends music and has been studied by [[sociologist]]s, historians, and other scholars, contributing to the rise of [[Madonna studies]], a subfield of American [[cultural studies]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2943458/madonna-billboard-woman-of-the-year-2016/|title=Madonna Is the Queen of Pop (And Also 2016, According to Billboard)|date=October 14, 2016|access-date=March 29, 2021|last=Hughes|first=Hilary|publisher=[[MTV]]|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725194954/http://www.mtv.com/news/2943458/madonna-billboard-woman-of-the-year-2016/}}</ref><ref name="Orlando">{{cite web|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-01-06/news/9101030989_1_madonna-ciccone-madonna-videos-thesis|title=The Madonna Thesis Is Madonna Just A Well-toned Rock Star, Or Is She Affecting Your View of the World? Graduate Student Chip Wells Thinks His Master's Thesis Holds The Answer|date=January 6, 1991|access-date=February 10, 2015|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|first=Barbara|last=Stewart|pages=1–3|archive-date=January 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126062811/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-01-06/news/9101030989_1_madonna-ciccone-madonna-videos-thesis|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="hall2006">{{harvnb|Hall|2006|pages=445–446}}</ref> According to [[Rodrigo Fresán]], "saying that Madonna is just a pop star is as inappropriate as saying that [[Coca-Cola]] is just a [[Soft drink|soda]]. Madonna is one of the classic symbols of [[Made in USA]]."<ref name="Fresan88">{{harvnb|Aguilar Guzmán|2010|p=88}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]] Spain'' wrote, "She became the first master of [[Viral phenomenon|viral pop]] in history, years before the internet was massively used. Madonna was everywhere; in the almighty music television channels, 'radio formulas', magazine covers and even in bookstores. A pop dialectic, never seen since [[the Beatles]]'s reign, which allowed her to keep on the edge of trend and commerciality."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://rollingstone.es/specials/view/mujeres-que-cambiaron-las-reglas-del-rock|title=Mujeres que cambiaron las reglas del rock|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] Spain|access-date=April 14, 2013|date=April 14, 2012|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110210540/http://rollingstone.es/specials/view/mujeres-que-cambiaron-las-reglas-del-rock|archive-date=November 10, 2013}}</ref> William Langley from ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' felt that "Madonna has changed the world's [[social history]], has done more things as more different people than anyone else is ever likely to."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2530197/Madonna-mistress-of-metamorphosis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2530197/Madonna-mistress-of-metamorphosis.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Madonna, mistress of metamorphosis|first=William|last=Langley|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=August 9, 2008|access-date=April 6, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Professor Diane Pecknold noted that "nearly any poll of the biggest, greatest, or best in popular culture includes [Madonna's] name".<ref name="hall2006" /> In 2012, [[VH1]] ranked Madonna as the [[The Greatest (TV series)|greatest woman in music]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vh1.com/news/1238/the-100-greatest-women-in-music/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418005547/http://www.vh1.com/news/1238/the-100-greatest-women-in-music/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2015|title=VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music|first=Mark|last=Graham|publisher=[[VH1]]. [[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]]|date=February 13, 2012|access-date=February 14, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Madonna at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong (retouched).jpg|alt=A wax figure with a long ponytail and her large cone bra|thumb|upright|left|Wax figure of Madonna at [[Madame Tussauds Hong Kong|Madame Tussauds]] museum in Hong Kong]]
''Spin'' writer Bianca Gracie stated that "the '[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|Queen of Pop]]' isn't enough to describe Madonna—she is Pop. [She] formulated the [[blueprint]] of what a pop star should be."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2020/12/the-most-influential-artists-3-madonna/|title=The Most Influential Artists: #3 Madonna|first=Bianca|last=Gracie|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|date=December 4, 2020|access-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220140243/https://www.spin.com/2020/12/the-most-influential-artists-3-madonna/|archive-date=December 20, 2020}}</ref> Madonna became the first act to be crowned the [[Billboard's Greatest Pop Stars|Greatest Pop Star]] twice by ''Billboard'' (1985 and 1989).<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9351151/billbaord-greatest-pop-star-by-year-winners|title=20 Fun Facts About Billboard's 'Greatest Pop Star by Year' Selections|date=April 3, 2020|first=Paul|last=Grein|access-date=April 28, 2022|magazine=Billboard|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423103418/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9351151/billbaord-greatest-pop-star-by-year-winners}}</ref> According to Sclafani, "It's worth noting that before Madonna, most music mega-stars were guy rockers; after her, almost all would be female singers&nbsp;... When the Beatles hit America, they changed the paradigm of performer from solo act to band. Madonna changed it back—with an emphasis on the female."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26164523/ns/today-entertainment/t/has-madonna-surpassed-beatles|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722173117/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26164523/ns/today-entertainment/t/has-madonna-surpassed-beatles|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 22, 2011|title=At 50, has Madonna surpassed the Beatles?|publisher=[[MSNBC]]. [[NBCUniversal]]|first=Tony|last=Sclafani|date=August 12, 2008|access-date=April 29, 2012}}</ref> Howard Kramer, curatorial director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, asserted that "Madonna and the career she carved out for herself made possible virtually every other female pop singer to follow&nbsp;... She certainly raised the standards of all of them&nbsp;... She redefined what the parameters were for female performers."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/11/1/flamboyant_divas_can_thank_madonna.htm|title=Flamboyant Divas Can Thank Madonna|work=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]|date=November 1, 2012|first=Kellie B.|last=Gormly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110211325/http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/11/1/flamboyant_divas_can_thank_madonna.htm|archive-date=November 10, 2013|access-date=November 8, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Andy Bennett and Steve Waksman, authors of ''The SAGE Handbook of Popular Music'' (2014), noted that "almost all female pop stars of recent years—[[Britney Spears]], [[Beyoncé]], [[Rihanna]], [[Katy Perry]], [[Lady Gaga]], and others—acknowledge the important influence of Madonna on their own careers."<ref name="fouz4">{{harvnb|Bennett|Waksman|2014|p=568}}</ref> Madonna has also influenced male artists, inspiring rock frontmen [[Liam Gallagher]] of [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] and [[Chester Bennington]] of [[Linkin Park]] to become musicians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/madonna-inspired-liam-gallagher-to-become-a-musician-117090100160_1.html|title=Madonna inspired Liam Gallagher to become a musician|work=[[Business Standard]]|date=September 1, 2017|access-date=September 1, 2017|agency=Press Trust of India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://elvisduran.iheart.com/content/2017-07-20-remembering-our-time-with-chester-bennington/|title=Remembering Our Time with Chester Bennington|work=[[Elvis Duran and the Morning Show]]|date=February 21, 2017 |access-date=September 1, 2017}}</ref>

Madonna's [[Madonna and sexuality|use of sexual imagery]] has benefited her career and catalyzed public discourse on sexuality and [[Feminism of Madonna|feminism]].<ref name="fouz3">{{harvnb|Fouz-Hernández|Jarman-Ivens|2004|p=168}}</ref> ''The Times'' wrote that she had "started a revolution amongst women in music&nbsp;... Her attitudes and opinions on sex, nudity, style, and sexuality forced the public to sit up and take notice."<ref>{{harvnb|Fouz-Hernández|Jarman-Ivens|2004|p=162}}</ref> Professor [[John Fiske (media scholar)|John Fiske]] noted that the sense of empowerment that Madonna offers is inextricably connected with the pleasure of exerting some control over the meanings of self, of sexuality, and of one's social relations.<ref>{{harvnb|Fiske|1989|p=102}}</ref> In ''Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture'' (2009), the authors noted that Madonna, as a female celebrity, performer, and pop icon, can unsettle standing feminist reflections and debates.<ref name="van der Tuin">{{harvnb|Buikema|van der Tuin|2009|p=119}}</ref> According to lesbian feminist [[Sheila Jeffreys]], Madonna represents woman's occupancy of what [[Monique Wittig]] calls the category of sex, as powerful, and appears to gleefully embrace the performance of the sexual [[corvée]] allotted to women.<ref>{{harvnb|Jeffreys|2005|p=96}}</ref> Professor [[Sut Jhally]] has referred to her as "an almost sacred feminist icon".<ref name="Sut Jhally">{{harvnb|Jhally|2006|p=194}}</ref>

Writing for ''The Guardian'', [[Matt Cain (writer)|Matt Cain]] stated that Madonna has "broke[n] down social barriers" and brought [[marginalized groups]] to the forefront, by frequently featuring [[LGBT culture|LGBT]], [[Latin American culture|Latino]], and [[African-American culture|black culture]] in her works.<ref name="MattCain2">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/15/matt-cain-on-madonna-homophobic-interviewers-gay-culture|title=Matt Cain on Madonna: 'She opened up gay culture to the mainstream'|date=July 15, 2018|access-date=February 12, 2022|work=The Guardian|archive-date=July 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715090504/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/15/matt-cain-on-madonna-homophobic-interviewers-gay-culture|url-status=live|first=Matt|last=Cain|author-link=Matt Cain (writer)}}</ref> An author said that "by making culture generally available, Madonna becomes the culture of all social classes".<ref name="McMillanIndia">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=em4LAQAAMAAJ&q=Madonna |title=Madonna: The Politics of Sex |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4039-2988-4 |location=India |page=143 |url-access=limited |via=Google Books}}</ref> Canadian professor [[Karlene Faith]] gave her point of view saying that Madonna's peculiarity is that "she has cruised so freely through so many cultural terrains" and she "has been a '[[Cult following|cult figure]]' within self-propelling subcultures just as she became a major."<ref name="Faith">{{cite book|jstor=10.3138/j.ctt2tv4xw#|title=Madonna, Bawdy & Soul|url=https://archive.org/details/madonnabawdysoul0000fait|url-access=registration|last=Faith|first=Karlene|author-link=Karlene Faith|date=1997|publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]]|isbn=1-4426-7688-4}}</ref> [[GLAAD]] president [[Sarah Kate Ellis]] stated that Madonna "always has and always will be the LGBTQ community's greatest [[Straight ally|ally]]",<ref name="Ally">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/duty-honor-madonna-reflects-decades-lgbtq-activism-n1002166|title='A duty and an honor': Madonna reflects on decades of LGBTQ activism|date=May 5, 2019|access-date=March 29, 2021|publisher=[[NBC News]]|first=Brian|last=Latimer|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606050910/https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/duty-honor-madonna-reflects-decades-lgbtq-activism-n1002166|url-status=live}}</ref> while ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'' dubbed her as "[[Madonna as a gay icon|the greatest gay icon]]".<ref name="Advocate">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.advocate.com/print-issue/cover-stories/2012/02/02/madonna-truth-she-never-left-you|title=Madonna: The Truth Is She Never Left You|magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|date=February 2, 2012|access-date=February 3, 2012|first=Ari|last=Karpel|archive-date=February 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203171357/http://news.advocate.com/post/16914705360/madonna-the-truth-is-she-never-left-you|url-status=dead}}</ref> Madonna herself stated in 2024, "Aside from my birthday, [[NYC Pride March|New York Pride]] is the most important day of the year."<ref name=NYCPrideMostImportantDay>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/06/30/madonna-pride-new-york-ladyland-festival/74262346007/#:~:text=%22Thank%20you%20all%20for%20coming,you%2C%20I%20am%20nothing.%22|title=Madonna celebrates NYC Pride at queer music fest: 'Most important day of the year'|author=Brendan Morrow|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=June 30, 2024|access-date=July 7, 2024|quote="Thank you all for coming out," Madonna told the crowd, according to a video shared on social media. "Aside from my birthday, New York Pride is the most important day of the year." She concluded, "Thank you all, New York City. Without you, I am nothing."}}</ref>

Madonna has received acclaim as a role model for [[Madonna and business|businesswomen]], "achieving the kind of financial control that women had long fought for within the industry", and generating over $1.2&nbsp;billion in sales within the first decade of her career.<ref name="Routledge">{{harvnb|Kramarae|Spender|2000|p=459}}</ref> According to Gini Gorlinski in the book ''The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time'' (2010), Madonna's levels of power and control were "unprecedented" for a woman in the entertainment industry.<ref>{{harvnb|Gorlinski|2010|p=330}}</ref> [[London Business School]] academics called her a "dynamic entrepreneur" worth copying; they identified her vision of success, her understanding of the music industry, her ability to recognize her own performance limits (and thus bring in help), her willingness to work hard and her ability to adapt as the keys to her commercial success.<ref name=LBS>{{cite news|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article1293585.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110515015953/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article1293585.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 15, 2011|title=Case Study: Madonna|first1=Jamie|last1=Anderson|first2=Martin|last2=Kupp|newspaper=The Times|date=January 18, 2007|access-date=August 3, 2009}}</ref> Morton wrote that "Madonna is opportunistic, manipulative, and ruthless—somebody who won't stop until she gets what she wants—and that's something you can get at the expense of maybe losing your close ones. But that hardly mattered to her."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Morton|first=Andrew|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49701778|title=Madonna|publisher=St. Martin's Paperbacks|year=2002|isbn=978-0-312-98310-9|edition=|location=New York|pages=89|oclc=49701778}}</ref>