Gaga shows the VMAs her teeth

This past week, Lady Gaga swept the VMAs, winning eight awards total--five of them during the telecast--for both her "Telephone" and "Bad Romance" videos. She accepted her final award of the night for Video of the Year for "Bad Romance" wearing a dress completely fashioned out of meat--an outfit about which PETA had more than a few things to gripe. In a move that shows MTV had known Gaga would be the winner, Cher was asked to present Video of the Year, and she wore the same outfit worn in her infamous "If I Could Turn Back Time" music video. Much like Gaga's appearance with Madonna on SNL, this appearance with Cher seemed to be a passing of the fashion and music torch from one timeless gay classic to another.

Besides from her ensemble, Lady Gaga's entourage turned more than a few heads, as well. While most bring only a "plus one" to an award show, Lady Gaga brought with her a group of former soldiers who were discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." With DADT all over the news lately, the inclusion of these soldiers in her entourage echoes her sentiments at the National Equality March. A year ago, in Washington, D.C., she proclaimed that she would "not stand for homophobia in the music industry." Rather than many speakers for the gay community, who respond to flurries of controversy, Gaga brings the controversy into the public arena by highlighting issues at a music awards show. Gone are the days when you can tune into the VMAs without thinking! Following Gaga demands a social agenda, as well.

Lady Gaga exited on a good last note--literally. She sang a few bars from the song she called "the anthem of our generation" in a blog post earlier this year. Gaga, usually emotionless, was overwhelmed with gratitude and gave her fans what she had promised--the title of her upcoming album, Born This Way. The few bars she sang sounded like an impassioned answer to a nature/ nurture debate. Whether or not her outbursts and commandeering of the award show conversation seem natural, we should definitely nurture her behavior and hope more celebrities follow suit.

-Mathew Rodriguez is a New York-based writer and advocate