How far do you agree that the representation Lady Gaga fits into Gauntlett and McRobbies view

of female representation? Is Gaga subject to the Madonna/Whore complex?

Lady Gaga is known for her controversial sense of the arts, and her advert for her perfume Fame, connotes this and the many ideologies about how women are portrayed and symbolised in the media. We see a mixture of many connotations within the Fame advert which all help her fit into both David Gauntlett and Angela McRobbies theories. Gauntletts theory states that gender identity has become less constricted, allowing people to more openly express themselves and define their individuality; the Fame advert clearly connotes the fact that Gaga is not afraid of anything and has a real grip of her individuality because of the way she is positioned, her body language is bold and goddess-like, she is most definitely comfortable in her own skin, especially as the men climb and swing across the most intimate bits of her body, also signifying that possibly this is the whore part of Gaga (Madonna/Whore Complex), especially as the dark accented tones symbolise the evilness in Gaga, as a possible dominatrix, perhaps, as the men are also dressed as if theyre her submissives; its all rather sexual, suggesting elements of a BDSM relationship between her and the multiple men that are obviously purposely re-sized to such a microscopic extent compared to Gaga to most definitely suggests that they are inferior to her and are far more vulnerable to her power than anything else, she is the Goddess-like being, who is basically being worshipped by them, so perhaps this could be seen as part of the madonna half of the Madonna-Whore complex. McRobbies theory focuses on gender roles in the media, and basically states how the media have influenced into having certain ideologies towards women and men, and what we should do and what we shouldnt, she basically implies that the people are merely the puppet, and the media are the ones pulling all the strings. In connection with the Fame advert, McRobbies theory is a complete contradiction to how Gaga has portrayed herself; this is why McRobbies theory causes such controversy because there are quite a few media texts that do contradict the theory greatly. Gaga has again used rather masculine body language and positioning in this advert, however, previously I did say that she may be seen as a dominant partner in a BDSM relationship with them men that are all over her, although a contrary connotation may be in fact that she, just like the average McRobbie female, is maybe in fact vulnerable and is getting taken advantage of by the men, due to what they are doing to her and where exactly they are positioned. So ultimately this advert may actually be seen as a bit of a paradox, there are two polar opposite sides to each connotation and symbol we may recognise with in the advert, Gaga and her advert successfully fits into Gauntletts theory, and parts of her and the advert may in fact also be understood in such a way to fit McRobbies theory. And as for the Madonna-Whore complex, Gaga definitely is subject to this; she has a mask over her face, which protect the windows to her soul: her eyes, which see everything (this obviously being a part the Madonna side of things, near-justifying an innocence that seems to be there which is deeply complimented by the fact that there is a white heavenly light shining upon her making her look like a some sort of a saint) of but obviously mak her her do/say nothing, as she is probably so used to taking advantage of the submissives all over her/ or possibly enjoys being submissed by them; whichever way it is connoted, both of these clarify that she does fit into the whore side of things as well; but even though this is the case, it is perfectly

clear that this is a part of who she is, it is part of her individuality and expression of a being that thinks that love has no limits, which perfectly proves Gauntletts theory to be correct in this case