How do bad girls get away with it? How did Madonna, subject of public outcry for her controversial performances and her book Sex, become a superstar of pop culture and a role model for teenage girls? Why now, as star of Evita and a new mother, is she becoming a mainstream hero?

Karlene Faith says that Madonna signifies the times we live in. We are, in a sense, all responsible for who Madonna is. As fans, moral critics, media journalists, or university scholars, we mediate what she means to our society. And Madonna, as a shrewd career woman, has known how to exploit our attentions with her multiple talents. Her representation of sexual practices and values has not taken place in a political or social vacuum. She has counted on our readiness to witness the smashing of cultural taboos. Feminist reactions to Madonna have been divided. In her early career Madonna was a teenage role model, applauded as a liberated sex crusader. Later, she raised eyebrows by portraying cynical sex with multiple partners across identity boundaries and by capitalizing on sadomasochistic imagery.

Madonna, Bawdy & Soul is a celebration and critical analysis of Madonna from a feminist perspective. It will, like Madonna, provoke controversy among fans, critics, and scholars. The book includes a comprehensive listing of songs, videos, tours, films, stage roles, and Internet sites.

I thought this book would have been much better if the author had approached it as a sort of long, personal essay about Madonna's effect on her life. I would have been able to accept that. But an in-depth study of Madonna...she simply isn't qualified.

On a more complimentary note, the title and cover art are wonderful.


What kind of fan are you?   July 11, 2000
12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Ok, i bought this book because it was the only title available at the bookstore. I find that this book is for one certain type of fan. If you want to look at Madonna on a global, cultural scale, this book is for you. It's purpose, in my opinion, is to situate Madonna, explain her and compare her to others. But it seems like there is soooo much talk about other people, there's no Madonna. The author throws in her name here and there, but, if you're like me, it won't be enough. If you're the kind of fan that wants to read about Madonna, and no one else, you just want info on her, this book isn't for you. Let's be honest- all we want to know about is Madonna. I don't care about other actors or singers or 1950's radio. Get to Madonna!


fh non   January 24, 2000
anas alfarra (germany)
3 out of 22 found this review helpful

Iam civil engineer I live in germany and continue my postgradute studie


A New Interesting Book of Madonna Studies   June 22, 1998
11 out of 13 found this review helpful

As a Madonna fan with a feminist identity (I'm a member of an organization of Women's Studies), I have read so many books and articles about her. What has confused me is that most of the authors have "objectified" the artist. But Karlene Faith does not. I'm curious about what Faith thinks of Madonna's "Ray of Light" era, and of her own recent explanation about her works in the early 1990s. Anyway, BAWDY & SOUL is an interesting, recommendable book. Even if you are not a scholar of so-called "Madonna Studies", I think you can enjoy it. When it is translated into my mother tongue, I think I would tell my friends to read it.