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Let’s revisit Madonna’s stardom & queer allyship through the decades
Madonna has lived at the peak of stardom for most of her life, but her heart remained grounded in the queer community.
Madonna has lived at the peak of stardom for most of her life, but her heart remained grounded in the queer community.
The first to achieve the title of “Queen of Pop,” Madonna reinvented herself with 14 studio albums and achieved nearly every imaginable feat in the music industry, including becoming the female artist with the most number 1 singles.
However, there’s no shortage of worthy gay bangers in her 40-year-spanning music catalog.
Through her music, LGBTQ+ folks have found tunes for shameless love, resilience, and wild child rebellion. So many pop stars today have their publicists working tirelessly to sell them as gay icons, but Madonna sang queer liberation when it could ruin your career.
Despite the different eras of Madonna’s discography, her passion for the queer community burgeoned with her artistic evolution.
The “Like a Prayer” singer comforted people diagnosed with HIV when the world ostracized them, including honoring her close celebrity friends who died at the hands of the virus. She advocated for gay rights while the United States government snoozed indefinitely on equality.
Her career has been intertwined with gayness since the world first learned her name in the 1980s; she got her start performing at gay clubs, where her worth was immediately noticed.
Let’s roll back the camera on some of the pop legend’s most significant moments throughout the decades.
The first of her kind
Madonna 80s Archive 
(@madonna80sarchive)The popstress started making history early in her career when she became the first person to win the MTV Vanguard award in 1986.
Madonna opened her heart to all
Madonna’s famous for her art, but the gays celebrate her heart. When her dance teacher Christopher Flynn divulged he was HIV+ in 1989, a time having the virus made you a social pariah, the two appeared together at a Dance-a-Thon to support #AIDSProjectLA.
An ally for the ages
Nothing puts Madonna’s queer activism and career longevity into perspective like her friendships with late gay pop culture legends. For example, Keith Haring passed away from AIDS in 1990.
The literal Queen of Pop
Madonna reached the pinnacle of queer genius when she performed her number 1 hit “Vogue” at the 1990 MTV Music Awards. Bridgerton could never!
Madonna always gets her moment
Nope, not Marilyn Monroe, just Madonna singing the Oscar-nominated song “‘Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” at the 63rd Academy Awards.
Dripping in gold
Most of today’s celebrities were twiddling their thumbs in 1999, but Madonna was opening for the 44th Grammy Awards and won Best Dance Recording, Best Pop Album, and Best Short Form Music Video.
Her music makes the people come together
The year 2000 saw Madonna’s 12th Billboard number 1 hit with “Music.” It might’ve been her last one, but that doesn’t mean she stopped making bangers.
Breaking binary boundaries
If you thought male celebrities in skirts are groundbreaking, the pop legend has been donning gender-breaking fashion throughout her career, including this Vanity Fair cover in 2002.
That unforgettable moment between Madonna, Britney, and Xtina
The lesbian pop star threeway kiss that was seen around the world in 2003.
Followed by another iconic kiss
Watching Madonna kiss an unsuspecting Drake during their Coachella performance in 2006 was, well, cringy. But also a part of gay history.
Fighting for LGBTQ+ rights around the world
In 2010, Madonna condemned the decision by a Malawi court to sentence gay couple Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga to 14 years in prison for having an engagement ceremony.
Always expressing herself
Ok, we can’t help but stay tuned with celebrity drama. Madonna’s most notorious feud was with another gay icon, starting in 2011 when she insinuated Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” was reductive of her “Express Yourself.”
The reason we all tuned into Super Bowl XLVI
Madonna crowning herself empress while performing at the 2012 Super Bowl, one of the most celebrated feats in the music industry. She brought all the gay with her.
The way she pulls on us is so hypnotic
That same year, she released the music video for “Girls Gone Wild,” which made all the gay boys do the same.
It’s called fashion…look it up!
Groundbreaking fashion has certainly been no stranger to Madonna, but we’d be remiss not to remember her cone bra era in the 90s. Clearly, she agrees.
Bit, bit, bit, bit, bit, bit, bit, bit, bi-bi-bi-bi-b-b-b-b
What kind of star power can get the likes of Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and a medley of other celebrities to make a cameo in a 2015 music video? Bitch, it’s Madonna.
Daters gonna date
Tupac’s rap legacy might feel like Folklore to younger generations, but to Madonna, he was just a friend.
Born to be a superstar
We stan a legend that pays tribute to herself at the 2018 Met Gala.
Getting the gays into the groove at NYC Pride
Madonna performing at 2019 Pride in New York City, and you know the gays lost their shit.
We’re so GLAAD she exists
Also in 2019, LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD honored Madonna with their Advocate for Change Award.
Call her mother
Madonna celebrating 2021 Thanksgiving with her children.
Madonna DGAF…she’s Madonna!
The queen only gets badder with time, and dare we say, her legacy gayer.
The only person for the job
If you thought Sam Smith and Kim Petras were going to make trans history at the 2023 Grammys without Madonna introducing them, think again.
A ray of light for the queer community
And that brings us to Madonna today, still doing what Angela Basset would describe, as “the damn thing!” But make it gay.
Sam and Madonna…!
While the full song isn’t out until June 9, 2023, we’re also highly anticipating and living for the paring between Madonna and Sam Smith for their new song “Vulgar.”
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