Cyndi Girls and Madonna Girls

When I was a kid in the 80s, I thought there were two types of girls: Cyndi girls and Madonna girls. You had to be one or the other. Those were the rules. And since I was solidly in the Cyndi camp, I'd pretty much written off Madonna.



A lot of girls who came of age in the 80s and 90s looked to Madonna as a source of inspiration -- of proud, enterprising womanhood. Not to get all Camille Paglia here, but when one lists iconic female artists, Madonna pretty much nabs the top spot every time. Cyndi was, as another "Cyndi girl" told me, the domain of the freaky, weird art girls who eventually graduated to punk. (Cyndi was actually pretty punk rock in her early days before she made videos starring pro wrestlers.) Since I'm already making sweeping generalizations here, I'd have to agree. But is this not another way to pit girls -- women -- against each other? The weirdo vs the popular one? The art freak vs the sexy cheerleader? Granted, both artists transcend whatever pigeonhole they'd been given at the start of their careers, but aside from the ongoing Beatles/Stones debate, you don't see this happening too often with male artists.

Needless to say, I listen to both of them now, but I still feel an alliance to Cyndi. Unfortunately, it's another Ginger/Mary Ann or Marylin/Jackie sort of thing -- just with a better soundtrack.