This comparison reminded me of another celebrity who has recently been playing the gender bending game: James Franco. For those of you who don't know, James Franco (click here for his IMDb page) recently dressed in drag for the cover of Candy magazine.
It could be that pop culture is shifting away from gender norms, if only just for the "shock value" it provides. Whatever the case, this could potentially be a huge step in breaking down gender barriers... Now it's just a matter of time to see how long this gender ambiguity will stay in vogue.
This is a very interesting topic. I think that having such popular figures in media personify gender ambiguity is a huge step towards educating the general public about gender norms. The fact that gender and sexuality is being discussed on such a large scale is also very inspiring and brings me hope for change in the future. Figures like Lady Gaga bring inspiration for self-expression to people with little self-confidence. But on the other hand, it could also create disparity between people. For example, Lady Gaga has been a foundation for a lot of bigotry because of her ambiguous "appearance," she seems at times to be fuel for the "nativist-like" heterosexuals. I think that it will be very interesting to see how the overall effect of having gender bending images in popular media plays out.
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This is also interesting because it demonstrates just how much influence the media and people with "star power" have on the rest of us. That celebrities could be the beginning of a breakdown of gender stereotypes could certainly be true, but let's not forget that these same celebrities have also been arguably the most successful enforcers of gender stereotypes in the last decade.
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