Madonna Against Conformity

Presenter: Mackenzie Cariglio

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor:

Department: Communication & Media Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1pLrZRtDdM57XyAHxa-MYlJw2oO3GCwgQ

Abstract:
To go about epressing the opinions people had formed of Madonna due to what she may have worn or acted like, I created poems. Since I also wanted to include pictures to show what Madonna wore and looked like, I pasted my poems on top of some pictures I thought went well with each one. Since poetry is an effective way for creating images and helping readers better understand emotions, I figured a poem was what I was going to create. After watching many YouTube videos on how to write effective poetry, I learned how to apply assonance and alliteration in my poetry. 

Taking a further look into my project, I focused on how people judged Madonna by the way she dressed and expressed her sexuality. I did this by incorporating a feminist and sociocultural theory. Madonna was a strong feminist and used men to essentially manipulate men, in order to create a platform for women. During the 1980s, women were seen as objects and just into materialistic things their husbands brought home to them. They were expected to wear clothes that weren't so revealing or tight. Madonna wanted females to have the same power a male could have. She sparked younger teenagers during this time to be more open about their sexuality, through the fashion trends she set. It's also interesting how Madonna used men as her back up dancers, in order to help gain this platform for women and all the power she had.