How Madonna Has Put LGBTQIA+ People First for Decades

With the recent release of her new album, Confessions II, Madonna reenters the music game 7 years after her last full project. While the release itself has garnered high remarks from music critics, the strategy behind the release has been even more compelling. The Grammy award winning artist put LGBTQIA+ first, both in her release events and in her promotion of the album. This is not a new desire for the Queen of Pop either, we put together a timeline of some of the most prolific times that Madonna showed up for LGBTQIA+ people. 

The Truth of Dare Dare Documentary

Released in 1991, the Truth or Dare Documentary is the blueprint for tour film projects. The documentary captured Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour and centered the camera on the artist’s queer dancers and tour staff. The film told the story of a tour but it also told the story of queer joy in a way we hadn’t seen before. 

Erotica and Early Advocacy Around AIDS 

In 1992, Madonna released her fifth studio album, Erotica. The album included a track titled “In This Life,” which was a direct address to the friends the artist had lost to AIDS. 

Drag at the VMAS

As part of her performance at the 1999 VMAs, Madonna brought on stage a bunch of Madonna’s. The artist worked drag queens into her set that were impersonating some of her most infamous looks. 

The Boy Scouts and Madonna’s Advocacy

At the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards, Madonna appeared on stage dressed as a Cub Scout. The outfit was intended to advocate for the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ young people in Boy Scouts of America. Later that year, the Boy Scouts made the move to make their programs more inclusive of all kids.

Confessions II and HIV Prevention

Madonna launched her new album not on a big stage or at a awards show, but at a gay bar. The night was dubbed “Club Confessions” and was hosted at The Abbey, an iconic gay bar in West Hollywood. This is exactly the sort of reputation that Madonna has built over a generation. Making sure that her LGBTQIA+ fans felt the closest to the music. 

Club Confessions was produced in close partnership with Mistr, a telehealth company that provides PrEP and other sexual health tools to hundreds of thousands of users across the county. 

“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV & AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a post shared on Instagram. 

About Mistr

Mistr is a gay-owned and operated online platform that brings together doctors, pharmacists, and industry minds to provide resources and PrEP to folks in need. Instead of relying on insurance providers to approve the purchase of PrEP, Mistr cuts out the middleman to help people get their prescriptions covered.

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