With her name referencing the mother of Christ and her Catholic family background, Madonna was certain to have become an important figure to the Catholic Church – though certainly not in the way they would have wanted. Madonna scored several hit singles from her first album in 1983, and wanted to continue in that same style, but make something stronger. To that end, her second album, titled Like A Virgin would make the provocative connection between herself, the Catholic Madonna and the virgin birth. Madonna was on the cover in a tight-fitting dress, with tousled hair and pouting lips, all suggesting less virginity and more fetish.

On this day, December 22, in 1984, Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” the title track of the her second album, hit #1 on the Billboard charts. The Church condemned her despoiling of their sacred doctrines (and this was before the even more controversial music video came out), but the people loved it all the same.

Madonna maintained her song was completely misinterpreted: “I was singing about how something made me feel a certain way – brand-new and fresh,” the meaning intended to remain “ambiguous.” Her performances belied that statement: that same year at the MTV Music Awards, performing Like a Virgin she rolled around and made humping motions on the stage. In 1990, during a worldwide tour she wore the famous conical bra – braving threats from Toronto police of arrest for indecency. The real message, which resonated particularly with her female fans – was that of a liberated, self-possessed woman.