Lady Gaga Does Drag at VMAs

I would be remiss if I didn't write at least something about Lady Gaga's -- I mean Jo Calderone's -- performance at the VMA's Sunday. Granted, I am not MTV's target audience, and haven't been in some time, but I did catch Gaga qua Jo Calderone opening the show, and since I fairly recently wrote a post about drag kings, it was inevitable that'd I'd, at least, mention Lady Gaga's performance. 

First off, let me say that I love that she plays it "ugly," Most of the time, female drag, especially done by pop stars, means sexy woman in a suit. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, but it isn't particularly subversive either. I mean, part of pop stars job description is to be sexy. Gaga's vaguely brutish, slouching, scratching, spitting male alter-go, Jo, is downright unattractive, grotesque even. Original? Er, no. Nuanced? Not really. In fact, relying on a working-class, greaser trope was pretty grating (and frankly, this was a little weird ), but I have to hand it to her for messing with gender roles on prime time TV.

Related:
Gaga Queers Up MTV VMAs with Drag Performance Art (Autostraddle)
Joe Calderone: VMA's Savior Or A Tired Old Trope? (Queerty)
Did Lady Gaga Jump The Shark? (Gawker)