Maya Abdul Research Paper

Although women in the workforce promoted feminine confidence, the music industry of this decade further advocated positivity in pop culture. Powerful women including Madonna, Paula Abdul, Tina Turner, and Whitney Houston influenced their fans to acquire inner beauty and strength through the messages in their music.
One influential music artist from the eighties was Madonna, and because of her empowering videos and songs, she became a powerful icon for females to look to as a role model. Madonna became successful because of her music videos and was considered a symbol of female empowerment by her fans. (“Pop-Music” 1, 2; “Music” 1). Her videos for “Borderline” and “Lucky Star” inspired many teenage girls to copy the iconic style of clothing

In 1980, she received a job as a Laker Girl, the professional cheerleading team for the L.A. Lakers, and performed for six years, where she choreographed the routines (“Paula” 1). Then, she became a private dance instructor for Janet Jackson, increasing her popularity as a choreographer so she quit the Laker Girls, and began instructing groups like ZZ Top and Duran Duran. Abdul’s album, Forever Your Girl, gave her a path to singing stardom. She won many awards for her talent, including a Soul Train Award and an Emmy Award for choreography in 1988 (“Paula” 1, 2). Paula Abdul’s hard work and uplifting music inspired people to achieve their dreams. Women looked to her as a role model because of her determination to be a successful choreographer and singer. Abdul’s talent in the music industry gave women someone to look to as a source of feminine

Tina Turner, an artist who was already distinguished in the world of music, was married in 1958 to Ike Turner and adopted the stage name Tina Turner. In 1984, Turner released her album Private Dancer, skyrocketing her career, featuring the hit song, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (“Tina” 1, 6). Another great artist, Whitney Houston, began her career as a model, but quit to study music because modeling degraded her values. When she was nineteen, she received many record label offers, accepting from the Arista label, where she released her first album, Whitney Houston. Whitney received a Grammy for best pop vocal performance and won another in 1988 for “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (“Whitney” 1, 3). These women left an impact on the music industry. Whitney Houston showed that her race did not affect her talent, promoting equality. Tina Turner sang frequently for charities, demonstrating compassion towards others. Both Tina Turner and Whitney Houston used their fame to support women’s