Madonna… You Wanna?

Adult men fighting for an odd-shaped ball, dressed in heavy padding and running back and forth along a wide, painted field doesn’t excite me as it does the rest of this country.

On Super Bowl Sunday you can usually find me watching part of the game and a few commercials — because of peer pressure — but busying myself with anything else for the rest of the night. Usually.

The first time I heard Madonna’s name linked with the biggest football game of the year, my interest sparked and this time the Super Bowl stayed on at my house. Honestly, I was expecting a provocatively-dressed woman singing and dancing with dozens of half-naked men twirling around her; a slightly off-key Madge trying to cover up her weaknesses with loud music and awkward back up singers. Boy, was I surprised. But not in the usual way.

“7 minutes ’til Madonna!” The announcer made me rethink my intention of a bathroom break — I was not missing the Material Girl, even though she decided not to sing that trademark song. As the first half of the Super Bowl was being analyzed and predictions were being made for the next half, my eyes were glued to the background where Madonna’s team was visible setting up the performance. The stage lit up in different sections with bright, vibrant colors. The reporters wrapped up the football info and the cameras swerved to capture Madonna’s “most nerve-wracking” performance.

I was looking forward to her classic songs: “Open Your Heart”, “Vogue”, “Material Girl”, “Holiday”, “Borderline”, “Like A Prayer”, “Express Yourself”… not “Gimme All Your Love”, the new, annoying, 21st century pop try-hard song.

Hundreds of strong men marched into the field, bringing about a feeling of intimidation, like a Queen was about to make a grand entrance. Not to fail, as a Queen is exactly how Madonna presented herself. More specifically as Cleopatra, dazzled in a gold gown with a horned crown adorned upon her head. She revealed herself behind a ripple of huge leaf-like flags, demanding everyone to “strike a pose” as she fantasized about being Queen.

She cleverly moved from “Vogue” to “Music” by transforming the sound and blending the end of the former to the beginning of the latter. However, I couldn’t help but quizzically stare at her when she broke into “Music.” Mainly because I watched one of her interviews where she was asked what a worse world would be: a world without sex, or a world without music. She said sex. Maybe “Music” was originally called “Sex” but her producers made her change it… “Sex makes the people come together…” It fits!

Anyone would be nervous for the Super Bowl: lights beating down on you, thousands of cameras constantly clicking, millions of viewers at home… So much pressure to perfect the performance. But Madonna is a legend, a pop icon of her time, and still rallying popularity today. Her impact on the music industry is ever present, even if she’s reaching age 54 this year and her musical era is slowly slipping away. Her nerves shouldn’t have taken over and convinced her that she isn’t good or famous enough to put on a spectacular show by herself; that she needed to bring in new, immature artists to gain fame again.

The first spotted guest in her show: LMFAO. Really, I think the name says it all. This group is childish and is always seen taking clothes off, and singing about sex. Ah, now I see why Madonna chose them. Speaking of taking clothes off, as one of the LMFAO members went to rip part of Madonna’s skirt off — as planned — the camera caught her looking down in shock and saying “What?!” when it didn’t immediately come off all the way. Wardrobe malfunction? Come on, don’t pull a Janet.

After Madonna twisted around and reminded everyone that she knew that she is sexy, cheerleaders invaded the stadium and began chanting the words “L-U-V Madonna! Y-O-U you wanna!” The song was naïve and — forgive me, Madge — a little bit stupid. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. were featured here, and Minaj creepily bugged her eyes out and smiled way too hard, making the performance uncomfortable. Not that it wasn’t uncomfortable anyways: cheesy lyrics, fumbled dancing (ha — fumbled!), pom poms, and M.I.A. showing us the middle finger. She claims she didn’t mean to, of course! Hmm…

The song ended — thank God — and Madonna belted “Open your heart, I’ll make you love me” over a marching drum beat. Cee Lo dropped in (surprise!) and eased the transition from the schoolgirl peppiness into a “real” Madonna song. I was delighted that she was finally singing what I wanted to hear, but not for long. “Open Your Heart” quickly morphed into “Express Yourself” (now only somewhat excited) which took on the role of “Like A Prayer”. Happy, but disappointed. The Queen entered her final piece as the stage ate the entire football field in one bite and a church choir surrounded Cee Lo and herself. Her dress was half embellished with black glitter and was slit down the middle. Not your typical church dress, but hey, how often does the Sex Goddess go to church?

“Like A Prayer” was ending, as was Madonna’s show. She stepped up onto a square platform that was just perfect for her size and it was obvious what was happening next. Nonetheless, I watched with interest as blue smoke shot out from underneath her and the stage ate her as well. “WORLD PEACE” glittered as the cameras started zooming out, and again I doubted the truth behind the message. Sure, it’s a great idea and one day someone may witness it, but does Madonna believe that?

Contrary to most of this post, I did find parts of the show impressive. Her set in the beginning as Cleopatra was stunning, and her transition from one song to the next was flawless. For her age she was the Dancing Queen of the night, she was constantly strutting her style and moving like she was 19. I felt offended that Madonna was lip syncing — cheating the audience out of an authentic performance. But I do understand that it was hard to focus on song lyrics with so many other things swirling in her head.

Unfortunately for Madonna, Twitter users created #madonnalipsync and several other negative Madonna-related hashtags. Lady Gaga’s name appeared in several Tweets — some saying “Gaga, that is how it’s done!” others saying “It should have been Gaga!” Despite all the mistakes and synthetic-ness, Madonna put on a good show that will be remembered for her royal presence and wild dance moves — and we still all L-U-V Madonna… Right?

 

Gay.

That one word can ruin, disappoint, humiliate, and degrade a life.

Gay. It’s powerful. Uneducated people throw it around like it’s a baseball trying to reach homebase. But many gays do not have a “homebase” where they are safe from the scary hell they might be stuck in. Some parents can’t grasp that they are holding their child back from who they want — and need — to be. They want them to conform to what society has laid out, and stick to what is usual. In parents’ eyes, its more dangerous for a gay child to express themselves than to let their feelings build up inside. It’s selfish to think in that way; a parent should want what is in the best interest of their kid if they truly loved them. You can’t say, “I love you!” as you lock their closet’s door.

If parent’s are out of the question, what about siblings? Or friends? The two go hand in hand. Many people — whether they admit it, or not — find their best friends in their siblings. Brothers and sisters understand each other more than anyone else. Growing up together, playing Barbie’s, or Lego’s, or falling off of the monkey bars — siblings do everything together, and are always there for each other. They support you when the monkey bars won’t. They catch you, bring you back up, and swing with you to the other side. They’ll teach you that you aren’t doing anything wrong. It’s not a crime to be gay; is it my fault whether I love a man or a woman?

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “love” as: “a strong affection for another” and “affection and tenderness felt by lovers.” Nowhere in this definition does it say love is strictly between a man and a woman. The definition of “lover” from Dictionary.com doesn’t specify gender either.

However, “marriage” shows varied results:
1.

a.

the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.

b.

a similar institution involving partners of the same gender: gay marriage.

You know that society is evolving when the dictionary is split. Is it saying that heterosexual and homosexual marriages are both okay? I don’t see why a reliable source would provide information if it didn’t reflect real views.

This is proof that there are books in the world that are pro-gay. No one deserves to live life as a secret. Or feel ashamed walking down the street. Or afraid for the school dance because they will be judged for escorting a person of the same sex, or arriving without anyone at all.

Schools are awful places to try to be yourself. You’re surrounded by strangers who don’t understand you, and don’t accept your beliefs. You think you can hide with your friends, but they’re not always going to support you, and when they back down, you’re all alone. It’s up to you to take on the world with your head held high. It’s up to you to stand up to the bullies and the closed-minded judgers. It’s up to you to make a change in this difficult world.

You may be alone from all the people you once trusted, but you stand side-by-side with all the people who are helping the gays get to a better place. ItGetsBetter.org, and TheTrevorProject.org, are two of the many organizations constantly working to improve lives for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Transgendered) youth. Lady Gaga is actively running rallies, marches, speeches, and meetings to gain rights for gays in America and around the world. On the title song of her latest album, Born This Way, she sings, “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive.” It’s okay to be gay. Be proud of who you are. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t good enough, that you aren’t normal, that God hates you, that who you are is wrong, that you will go to Hell, that you’ll never make it anywhere, that you’re ruining your life, that you’ll die alone, that you’re sick, that you’re a fag, or that you shouldn’t be gay. Stand up to them; show them that you are proud of who you are, and you can do anything. You are amazing. It Gets Better. You will always find help if you seek it.

The word “gay” doesn’t only cause life to go downhill. When I think of “gay” words that come to mind are: proud, brave, courageous, independent, deserving, loving, devoted, passionate, real. You are whoever is inside of you. Don’t change yourself — change the world around you.