Michelle Gibson and Deborah Townsend Meem , authors of '' Femme/Butch '' , commended the video for showing a shift in power between the sexes , declaring that " Madonna assertively claimed all possible gender space like Marlene Dietrich . " Professor Carol Vernallis noted in her book , '' Experiencing Music Video '' that the diffused light around Madonna in the video was adopted to mimic the diffusion of sound and make the borders around Madonna appear soft , and her body spread outwards . In the book '' The 1980s '' , authors Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart called " Express Yourself " as one of Madonna 's most challenging videos . They noted the video for its " exploitation " of the male body and sexualizing them as an object of desire . The authors also added that the video " was a colorful homage to the term gaze , but Madonna is the bearer of it — not men . " Batchelor explained that the scenes of Madonna performing alone in her room and atop the stairs suggested that she was the object of the gaze , however it seemed to them that she was mocking the movement of the men below . " She controls the mind of the men below , with a form of siren 's song of female empowerment , signalling that the men do move in unison to her song " , Stoddart concluded . Elizabeth Edwards , one of the authors of '' Visual Sense : A Cultural Reader '' , explained that the shot of Madonna crawling on the floor , while another image of hers watches from a nearby sofa , illustrated the mutation that Madonna 's image was undergoing . According to her , Madonna was acting out self-consciousness by " watching herself " . She concluded by saying , " ' Express Yourself ' gives its viewers a whole new series of image references to traditional American gendered and sexual icons — male and female — and a whole new level of irony . " Shari Benstock and Suzanne Ferriss , authors of '' On Fashion '' , deconstructed the video for its display of the artificiality of images of gender . Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine reviewed the video in 2003 , and commented that the video " is the embodiment of ' queer chic ' , a bombastic masterpiece that heralds Madonna 's uncanny ability to use her consumer-driven image to code her feminist politics . " In her book '' Culture and Power '' , María José Coperiás Aguilar pointed out the video for its '' chaotic '' texture through the rapid editing of the multiple shots that constituted it . The sudden and continuous changes of camera angles , scenes and the distance and mood seemed to produce an " apparently incoherent combination of images that offered no stable anchor to provide the whole with a definitive interpretation " , she added . Since chaos has traditionally been associated with the female ontogenetic principle as opposed to male principle of order , the video in turn came to be associated with duality between order/chaos , male/female , good/evil , light/dark etc . Aguilar also drew parallel between '' Metropolis '' and the music video . Madonna borrowed different phallic symbolism from the film , including the smoke-billowing chimneys , the tall skyscrapers and the oppressive environment of industrial work . However , unlike '' Metropolis '' which portrayed repression of a rebellious proletariat , the chaotic nature of " Express Yourself " video showed freedom instead . Caryn James from '' The New York Times '' added that " asked about the video , Madonna made a distinction that any honest feminist would respect , however politically incorrect it may seem . ' I have chained myself ' , she said . ' There was n't a man that put that chain on me . ' You do n't have to buy Madonna 's next loopy bit of symbolism — ' I was chained to my desires ' — to believe the feminist subtext she finds in the video . ' I do everything by my own volition . I 'm in charge , O.K. ' Madonna in chains , though , is far removed from those unfortunate women who do n't know that they have options . " Madonna also complained about the feminist criticisms of her " crotch-grabbing " , saying that " if male singers like Michael Jackson can get away with it , why ca n't women ? " Theorist Douglas Kellner further asserted that the video was a feminist critique of male fighting and brutality , with images of the male workers engaged in a boxing match at the end . According to him , Madonna deliberately appropriated traditional feminine images in the beginning of the video , but contrasted them with her " crotch-hugging " male poses near the end , and discordant images of women assuming the male position . As feminist author Susan Bordo pointed out , " it is the postmodern nature of the video that has most entranced academic critics , and its various ways of constituting identities that refuse stability , that remain fluid , that resist definition . " At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards , " Express Yourself " was nominated in the categories of Best Female Video , Best Editing , Best Cinematography , Best Direction and Best Art Direction , winning the last three categories . '' Billboard '' also honored the video as the Best Music Video of the year , at their Music Video Awards for 1989 . The music video of " Express Yourself " is ranked at number one on Slant Magazine 's " 100 Greatest Music Videos " . It is also placed at number ten on both '' Rolling Stone '' 's " The 100 Top Music Videos " and MTV 's " 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made " , as well as number three on MuchMusic 's list of " Top 100 Videos of The Century " . David Dale from '' The Sydney Morning Herald '' listed it as one of the Most Influential Videos of All Time , at number 18 . '' Time '' magazine listed it at number eight on their countdown of The 30-All Time Best Music Videos
1989 MTV Video Music Awards
1989 MTV Video Music Awards
Express Yourself (Madonna song)