Woman Power.

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll noted in 1992 that "As more women plug in electric guitars and bash away at drum kits, they are empowered, articulating a voice that before had gone unheard. And what they have to say might just make a difference— and make it to Number One." While Madonna's notoriety may have waned by the end of the 1990s, by then her fifteen-year career as "pop music chameleon" and sometime movie star had made her a household word. Madonna managed to stay on top by beating the system at its own game. In 1990 she beat MTV by turning its rejection of a Madonna video into big bucks for herself. In 1992 her book Sex, which showed her in various states of undress with members of both sexes, grossed more than $25 million the first week it was...