There
aren’t
many
50-year-olds
who
can
get
away
with
lyrics
like
that,
but
fortunately
for
her
legions
of
gay
fans,
Madonna
is
one
of
them.
Those
words
are
featured
prominently
in
“Candy
Shop,”
the
lead
track
off
her
latest
album,
“Hard
Candy.”
As
the
pop
culture
icon
hits
her
50th
birthday
on
Aug.
16,
the
words
could
be
a
rallying
cry
that
Madonna
isn’t
backing
off
the
mantra
that
has
made
her
career
from
the
beginning:
“Sex
sells.”
And
sell
it
does.
On
the
strength
of
“4
Minutes,”
a
solid
single
featuring
Justin
Timberlake,
“Hard
Candy”
debuted
earlier
this
year
at
number
one
in
the
U.S.
It’s
Madonna’s
seventh
career
No.
1
album,
putting
her
just
one
behind
only
Barbra
Streisand
for
a
female
artist.
MADONNA
HAS
THE
KIND
OF
career
longevity
most
entertainers
dream
of,
maintaining
a
steady
flow
of
hits
and
revamped
public
personas
since
her
debut
in
1982.
Factoring
into
that
success
in
no
small
way
are
the
Queen
of
Pop’s
gay
fans.
They
played
an
important
role
as
early
as
Madonna’s
first
single,
“Everybody,”
which
gathered
steam
in
New
York’s
club
scene.
And
as
recently
as
October
2005,
Madonna
acknowledged
the
role
New
York’s
gay
club
Roxy
played
in
getting
her
career
started.
“You
know
I
have
a
long
history
with
the
Roxy,
so
I
only
thought
it
appropriate
that
I
come
here
to
share
my
album
with
you
and
dance,”
Madge
said
during
a
performance
to
promote
her
“Confessions
on
a
Dance
Floor”
album.
“It
all
started
here
with
12
inches.
Some
girls
have
all
the
luck.”
Atlanta’s
Brian
Harper,
who’s
been
a
Madonna
fan
since
he
first
heard
“Everybody”
in
1982,
says
it
was
at
least
partially
a
matter
of
good
timing
that
Madonna
hit
the
stride
she
did
with
gay
fans.
“HIV/AIDS
was
really
starting
to
spread
and
be
addressed,
and
at
the
time,
there
was
such
a
dark
cloud
over
the
gay
community,”
Harper
says.
“I
think
gay
people
needed
an
escape
from
all
the
death
and
darkness,
and
to
still
feel
that
it
was
OK
to
be
sexual.
Madonna
was
so
outwardly
sexual,
and
her
songs
were
fun
and
upbeat,
and
it
didn’t
matter
who
you
were.
You
were
invited
along.”
Since
then,
Madonna’s
career
has
been
a
patchwork
of
reinvented
images,
personalities,
sounds
and
styles.
Only
a
few
constants
remained,
including
her
embrace
of
queer
culture.
“She’s
my
generation’s
original
fag
hag,”
says
Gigi
Monroe,
a
drag
performer
in
Atlanta
known
for
her
Madonna
illusion.
“In
her
early
years,
she
had
swarms
of
gay
dancers,
SMers,
and
all-purpose
freaks
around
her
in
every
photograph
and
on
every
stage,”
Monroe
remembers.
“Everyone
could
plainly
see
that
she
was
not
only
very
sexually
open-minded
herself,
but
thought
the
rest
of
the
world
would
follow
suit.”
At
multiple
points
in
her
career,
Madonna
openly
flirted
with
lesbianism
herself,
including
a
friendship
(and
rumored
relationship)
with
bisexual
comedian
Sandra
Bernhard,
the
“Sex”
book
featuring
the
singer
in
compromising
situations
with
other
women,
the
much-publicized
Britney
Spears
kiss
at
the
2003
MTV
Video
Music
Awards,
and
another
onstage
kiss
with
a
female
backup
dancer
in
Paris
in
May
of
this
year.
“I
think
it’s
just
a
marketing
stunt,”
says
Anna
Ragghianti,
owner
of
Bellissima,
a
women’s
lounge
in
Atlanta
set
to
celebrate
Madonna’s
birthday
with
Madonnarama,
which
features
an
all-Madonna
music
set
and
a
look-alike
contest.
“But
it’s
sexy.”
MADONNA
CONTINUES
TO
acknowledge
her
gay
fans
as
her
career
progresses,
including
dedicating
an
entire
album
to
them.
“Do
you
like
my
new
album?”
Madonna
asked
a
roaring
crowd
at
London’s
G-A-Y
nightclub
during
a
performance
for
“Confessions”
in
November
2005.
“I
made
this
record
for
you
fuckers!”
Madonna’s
brother,
Christopher
Ciccone,
writes
in
his
new
book,
“Life
with
My
Sister
Madonna,”
that
husband
Guy
Ritchie’s
alleged
homophobia
was
driven
by
the
coterie
of
gay
friends
and
associates
from
her
life,
but
fans
remain
loyal.
“Guy’s
feelings
towards
gays
has
nothing
to
do
with
Madonna
and
has
nothing
to
do
with
the
amazing
body
of
work
she’s
put
out
over
the
past
26
years,”
Harper
says.
As
for
Madge’s
future,
many
have
called
into
question
her
ability
to
maintain
a
career
built
on
sex
into
her
50s
and
beyond,
but
Harper
remains
hopeful.
“If
you
look
at
Michael
Jackson
and
Prince
and
even
Janet
Jackson,
they
are
all
putting
out
music
and
have
huge
fan
bases,”
he
says.
“I
think
as
any
artist
ages,
the
key
is
staying
relevant
in
their
genre
of
music.
“Madonna
is
a
different
woman
than
she
was
10
years
ago,”
he
adds.
“Will
I
want
to
hear
an
album
by
Madonna
when
she’s
70?
Honestly,
probably
not.
But
do
I
think
she
will
still
be
an
icon
and
relevant
in
pop
culture
at
70?
Absolutely.”
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
ATLguy65 on 8/16/0810:48 AM:
Happy birthday, Madonna! I remember all too clearly your
"looks." If one wanted to celebrate her birthday in style,
which style would they choose? As In, "I want to celebrate in
'Dick Tracy' Style, but I have nothing to wear!"
