Being Unique in a Postmodern Culture

In "'Material Girl': The Effacements of Postmodern Culture", Bordo states that "the very advertisements whose copy speaks of choice and self-determination visually legistlate the effacement of individual and cultural difference and circumscribe our choices" (1101).

Americans claim that being "unique" is a goal; a privilege that each person should take seriously.  But shirts like the one pictured above seem to question this idea of "uniqueness".  How can I wear a "unique" shirt when a company is producing it in mass quantities?

Even Madonna was originally seen as a figure that overthrew the gender expectations dictated by social norms, but she later made herself look "normal", as Bordo points out.  "She has gone on a strenuous reducing and exercise program, runs several miles a day, lifts weights and now has developed, in obedience to dominant contemporary norms, a tight, slender, muscular body" (1111).  What does this message send to her fans that praised her anti-Barbie look and seemingly unique, expressive nature?  This sudden change in outward appearance suggests that we can only be as unique as society allows us to be, which is not that unique at all.

Bordo, Susan. "'Material Girl': The Effacements of Postmodern Culture." Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Malden: Blackwell, 1998. 1099-115. Print.