Madonna and Cultural Appropriation

I just read a post on the Bitch Blogs that reminded me of the fabulous performance by the Les Blues cru whose beautiful documentary-style multimedia performances critiqued Madonna's white supremacy. Their performance and this article . resonated something I have remained ignorant about for far too long - this being how Madonna cultural appropriation is reminder of her white privilege. "In a sense, that whole "ultimate sex object" thing that she's been playing on from the first moment she dressed up like Marilyn Monroe, is very much a function of her whiteness, and her ability to uphold the mainstream white beauty standard. And it's when Madonna starts assuming that she has the right to pick and choose images from other cultures, including cultures that are not privileged and not predominately white, that she moves from being subversive to just flat-out asserting her privilege." - quoted from Bitch Blogs http://bitchmagazine.org/post/madonna-is-your-dorm-room-poster-and-further-thoughts-on-cultural-appropriation


"Bitter Sweet" is a poem read by pop idol Madonna and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra. The poem itself was written in the 13th century by Persian poet Rumi, who is now one of the most widely read poets in the world.