All the hype about his performance seem to be completely overdone. Is a performance like Adam's really that controversial?
In an interview, Adam Lambert said that female performers have given performances like this for a while now, and that the reaction over his act shows double standards. I must say I completely agree. I don't see people going on and on about Lady Gaga's buldging nether regions. Yes, there was some confusion over whether she was a man in drag, but it received much less attention than Adam's performance. That a woman would stuff something down her pants just to gain some attention is just as shocking as Adam's raunchy act. Madonna and Britney's kiss was just as shocking as Adam's kiss with his keyboardist, but that too didn't appear to shock the world as much as Adam. In fact, given the things female performers have been doing for so long, we should be immune to such performances from our entertainers, man or woman.
In Adam's case though, much more is at stake than just his reputation. On an MSN survey conducted by MSN Singapore, one option stood out more than the others. That options drew attention to the fact that Adam is gay, and used him to furthur stereotypes of the entire gay community. What surprised me more than anything was that a significant proportion of people had selected that option. While I hope this is just a Singapore-wide phemonenon, I have a sinking feeling that it is not the case. I am sure that, were the survey to be conducted in any other country, that option would be selected by a significant proportion of people there too. Adam has become a representative of the gay community and he should bear that in mind. But is it right to force him to deny his personality just so that gays everywhere can gain a reputation for being un-flamboyant, "normal" (whatever that means!) people? Absolutely not. We would be doing a great injustice to a very talented entertainer.
