American singer-songwriter Madonna has been considered a sexual icon. Many have considered Madonna's sexuality as one of the focal points of her career. The Oxford Dictionary of English (2010) even credited her image as a sex symbol as a source of her international stardom. Her sexual displays have drawn numerous analyses by scholars, sexologists, feminists, and other authors. Due to her constant usage of explicit sexual content, she faced censorship for her videos, stage performances and other projects.
The criticism of Madonna's overt sexuality would become a constant through her career. She decried a double-standard in some opportunities, for which commentators such as Lilly J. Goren, Alina Simone and David Gauntlett have supported some of her statements. She further polarized views about overt sexuality in an aged woman in media. During the AIDS crisis, Madonna had also promoted safe sex as a means of inhibiting the spread of the virus, and she has advocated for women's sexuality.
