The XX Factor: What women really think.

The Queer and the Missionary Hold Hands on "American Idol"

It turns out Adam Lambert was too weird to win American Idol. Possibly gay, possibly Jewish (here's a video of him singing in Hebrew!), definitely wearing nail polish, Lambert was too much of a challenge, as they say politely, to American notions of masculinity. There was no way... (To read the rest of this post... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)

Adam Lambert, Too Weird for Prime Time?

I'm not really sure why I keep watching American Idol contestant Adam Lambert's take on the creepy Tears for Fears song, "Mad World," which he sang again last night. He doesn't have any of the authenticity of unadorned British wonder Susan Boyle or even of the other finalist from last night: sweet, baby-faced Kris Allen. They call him "Glambert" because... (To read the rest of this post, visit our new website DoubleX.com!)

Spoiling Susan Boyle

"I won't let Simon Cowell take her to his dentist and I certainly won't let her near his hairdresser," judge Amanda Holden tells the U.K. Mirror.

The frumpy 48-year-old "needs to stay exactly as she is because that's the reason we love her," Holden insists. "She just looks like anybody who could live on your street."

"The minute we turn her into a glamour-puss is when it's spoiled," she says.

A makeover "can perhaps come later when she has signed the album deal and conquered America," Holden adds. "For now we'll keep her exactly as she is because that's why we've all fallen in love with her. I think it's the underdog thing."  

Pretty Amanda Holden won't "let" Susan Boyle near Simon's makeup crew, lest she be "spoiled." In other words, the singer's frumped-up appearance is the most important thing about her; remove it, and we cease to care.

I don't know that turning Ms. Boyle into some kind of statement about physical beauty is any more respectful of her autonomy than forcing her into a makeover. She hasn't volunteered to be a feminist icon or morality personified or anything else we want to force upon her squinty visage. She is a person, not a placard, and her life is changing. Now that her audience consists of more than just Pebbles, she might well want to glam it up a little. There is nothing particularly authentic about preserving her appearance in amber while everything around her transforms dramatically. 

Revenge of the Dowdy

I love this video of 47-year-old Susan Boyle in her audition for the new season of Britain's Got Talent, the U.K. version of America's Got Talent. Boyle, an unemployed village lady from West Lothian, was saucy but awkward in her short pre-audition interview with the panelists, and came off as a provincial, drab, stylishly frumpy, biddy with an unrealistic fantasy to be a professional singer on the scale of "Elaine Paige." As with the U.S. version, reality impresario judge Simon Cowell typically says insulting things to untalented contestants. Susan, seemingly selected for her comic value, was a sure target for Cowell's opprobrium until the decidedly unglam ma'am brought the mic to her mouth and rocked the room to standing ovations. Boyle had apparently never performed outside of her church choir before the televised audition, but her interpretation of "I Dream the Dream" from Les Misérable impressed the unanimous panel to put her in the season's competition. Unfortunately, the panel members couldn't help insulting Boyle a little bit, anyway. After the wild applause, Piers Morgan told her "everyone was laughing at you" before, and Amanda Holden delivered the heartfelt bulletin, "everybody was against you."