THE MAKING OF MATRIARCHY - A COMPARISON OF MADONNA AND THATCHER,MARGARET

The article reviews a selection of the plethora of academic literature available on Madonna and the limited amount on Thatcher, highlighting recurring themes. It attempts to identify the discourses from which t hese commentaries emerge, and apply the theoretical frameworks used in Madonna's deconstruction to that of Thatcher (and vice versa). These issues are examined in relation to the written language of Madonna and Thatcher: how their individually and power are reiterated linguistica lly, the ways in which masculinity and femininity are employed in thei r vocabularies, and their utilisation of feminist and anti-feminist di scourses. It also discusses the role of the image in the identities of Madonna and Thatcher, identifying how the themes mentioned above are manifested visually in their respective hooks, The Girlie Show and The Downing Street Years.