You have to admit, Madonna doesn't even have a black best friend. And she has never dated a black man. Food for thought. hmmm.

Fuck Bell Hooks Madonna ain't took nothing.Michael Jackson Grew up in the Hood in Gary Indiana&they had to pay dues before they blew up.Joe Jackson is Straight up Black Period.Madonna is Cool Ass People only Haters gonna talk Stupid Shit about Madonna.Bell Hooks is Just a Hater&She wants to Be Madonna So Bad.I'll Defend Madonna before I speak for that Trashy Piece by Bell Hooks.

mistermaxxx said:

For the benefit of anyone who may not be familiar with ms. hooks:

bell hooks is Distinguished Professor of English at City College in New York. Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in 1952, hooks, received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1973, her M.A. in 1976 from the University of Wisconsin and her Ph.D. in 1983 from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Although hooks is mainly known as a feminist thinker, her writings cover a broad range of topics on gender, race, teaching and the significance of media for contemporary culture.

She strongly believes that these topics cannot be dealt with as separately, but must be understood as being interconnectedness. As an example, she refers to the idea of a "White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy" and its interconnectedness, rather than to its more traditionally separated and component parts.

A passionate scholar, hooks is among the leading public intellectuals of her generation.

NikkiDarling said:

I Know about Her&Her work&she is Wack on this One about Madonna Pure&Simple.I hope the Madonna Police Rips the Haters Ass up for allowing this Shit up in here.it's tacky&Classless on Bell Hooks part IMHO.

With all of the people out there appropriating other's cultures, I just wonder why Madonna is the obvious target for Ms. Hooks' essay. Chistina Aguilera has definately appropriated way more of the culture than Madonna; the girl may be part Latino, but she's from suburbia. Britney Spears has appropriated black culture as well.

Back in the '70s, Bowie went from image to image. I didn't hear the gay community protesting when Bowie started proclaming himself to be gay. Was the black community up in arms over the Young AMericans LP?

Maybe Madonna is an appropriator, but damn if she's not the only one. I just question why Madonna is the target of so much ire from these authors. Perhaps it's not jealousy, but there has to be some reason for the immense dislike that she encounters. Personally, I think that this debate and this rage more than justify Madonna's career. Remember "I"m not the greatest singer, dancer, etc... I just want to push buttons"? Well Madonna, you have!

I think Madonna got singled out unfairly IMHO.the problem with a Piece like that is you see that Title

Fuck Bell Hooks Madonna ain't took nothing.Michael Jackson Grew up in the Hood in Gary Indiana&they had to pay dues before they blew up.Joe Jackson is Straight up Black Period.Madonna is Cool Ass People only Haters gonna talk Stupid Shit about Madonna.Bell Hooks is Just a Hater&She wants to Be Madonna So Bad.I'll Defend Madonna before I speak for that Trashy Piece by Bell Hooks.

She is Madd because nobody wants to view Her like Madonna.

Madonna Ain't Fronting on Black Art like Pat Boone&Tom Jones alright? I got Madonna's back on this one.

as far as I'm Concearned anyone who stands up for Bell Hooks in Her Lame Argument is a Hater of Madonna Period.this is way off base&Bell Hooks Should tell Madonna She is Sorry for spreading lies like this.

MeShall'Nedeocello is a Very Independent Minded Sister&She hasn't come out&said any of these Lies about Madonna.

With all of the people out there appropriating other's cultures, I just wonder why Madonna is the obvious target for Ms. Hooks' essay. Chistina Aguilera has definately appropriated way more of the culture than Madonna; the girl may be part Latino, but she's from suburbia. Britney Spears has appropriated black culture as well.

mistermaxxx said:

With all of the people out there appropriating other's cultures, I just wonder why Madonna is the obvious target for Ms. Hooks' essay. Chistina Aguilera has definately appropriated way more of the culture than Madonna; the girl may be part Latino, but she's from suburbia. Britney Spears has appropriated black culture as well.

CalhounSq said:

Meshell's on Maverick Records. Madonna's label.


BUT, Meshell HAS had some complaints about the label beyond just musical politics.

Supernova said:

Yea, Meshell definitely has reasons not to speak critically about Madonna publicly. I'm trying to understand how pointing the finger at Meshell = supposed lies told by bell hooks, that's where Maxxx lost me...

CalhounSq said:

I think he's saying that if Meshell, being someone who is outspoken about racial issues, doesn't have any suspicions about Madonna being a racist then why should anyone else, basically...or maybe he's saying she wouldn't stick with her label if she thought she was racist...or...

...nevermind.

Supernova said:

Yea, I kinda know what he's saying ... just b/c Meshell is an outspoken, politically aware Black woman doesn't mean this situation should be measured by her actions or inactions. Hell, I've seen Meshell leave a show hand in hand, hugged up, kissing a White woman :O and yes she'd just sung about/against seeking & admiring White beauty, and that says WHAT? I think it says nothing is absolute...

Fuck Bell Hooks Madonna ain't took nothing.Michael Jackson Grew up in the Hood in Gary Indiana&they had to pay dues before they blew up.Joe Jackson is Straight up Black Period.Madonna is Cool Ass People only Haters gonna talk Stupid Shit about Madonna.Bell Hooks is Just a Hater&She wants to Be Madonna So Bad.I'll Defend Madonna before I speak for that Trashy Piece by Bell Hooks.

See, but here's where I disagree - just because Madonna's white, she will take shit for doing "black" music. If Madonna ever put a rap in one of her singles, she would be "appropriating" it because she's white. Alright, Madonna is not from the ghetto, she was a middle class girl from the suburbs.


However, someone like Michael Jackson, just because he's black, can use rap in his music and not take shit for it. Yes, Mike didn't have as easy of a childhood as Madonna did, but he wasn't from the projects where rap was coming from either. By the time rap was mainstream, Mike was living the high life. Why shouldn't he get knocked for using Biggie on his albums?

Remember when Prince started using Rap on his records? I honestly don't think that he even cared for rap music (if "Dead on It" is any indication). He was only trying to win back his R&B crowd that he'd lost with his mid-80's music. Did anyone accuse Prince of stealing black culture? Obviously not, but here's that "aesthetic" that P wasn't "indigenous" to either.

If Bell Hooks is going to completely segregate music, then I don't think ANYONE, regardless of race, should do any sort of music that their "ancestors" didn't help to create. Beethoven was German (right), so anyone using his style of music is appropriating German culture for their benefit.

I just disagree with the portrait Bell Hooks paints of Madonna. She makes it seem like Madonna never had to work to get where she is today; she's "white", so all she had to do was exploit black culture to get to the top. Madonna moved to NYC with no money in her pocket, and made a name for herself in the underground clubs there. Why isn't she allowed to have an affinity for the underground scene then? She's no Britney Spears, who had no obsticles to overcome. Hell, Janet didn't have to face poverty and starvation to be where she is today.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but this segregational mentality has always really bothered me. It's music, whether black, white, yellow, etc... Why should your race dictate what you can and cannot listen to, perform, appreciate, etc...?