Font Size:     

What do Madonna and Martha Stewart have in common? Outward appearances indicate that they are antithetical paradigms of femininity. Madonna relies upon woman-as-sexual-object (or “whore”) stereotype to engender her success. Stewart dons the mantle of the Angel of the House to propagate a lifestyle founded on domestic fecundity. The similarity between the two lies therein. Both women “touch upon cultural hot buttons” (Lippert 28) through their appropriation (and apparent perpetuation) of feminine stereotypes in their quest for cultural popularity and capital gain.
That queer audiences identify with both these seemingly polar figures lends us an opportunity to compare how these (pretty much) mainstream women cultivate (or have been cultivated by) an audience - untapped market - that remains Othered by dominant media. The following analysis will evince how issues of appropriation complicate the gay communities’ acceptance of Madonna and Martha Stewart. For instance, throughout Madonna’s career, she has appropriated elements of queer culture in numerous projects, such as “Vogue” and “Justify My Love.” Consequently, two camps of queer theorists debate the “appropriateness” of Madonna’s appropriation. Some critics resist her images while others welcome the higher profile she creates for the gay community. Obviously, Martha Stewart’s relationship with the gay community is constructed differently: a queer audience has appropriated Stewart for its own ends. She represents an Other figure who reinvents institutions, such as the “family” and certain special occasions. Ultimately, however, in whatever ways the queer community chooses to identify with Madonna and Martha Stewart, it matters little to these popular culture icons. While the women defy easy categorization, they may be understood as superficially divergent cultural icons, pursuing a common goal: sovereign control over career, personal life and capital gain.