Numbers don’t lie (Madonna is one of the bestselling pop stars of all time), but they don’t often tell the whole story. Without question, I view Madonna as someone who pushed the boundaries of overtly and unabashedly sexual performances in popular culture. But Black artists often get excised from predominating narratives about U.S. popular culture. But Black artists often get excised from predominating narratives about U.S. popular culture. The risks were much higher for the Black women and the Black and Latinx queer people across genders who chose to be sexually provocative entertainers.

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