I enjoyed Adrian Mack’s entertaining comparison of Lady Gaga with Mae West [“Why Lady Gaga is not the new Material Girl”, August 19-26]. West set the bar high for all future sex stars, and while many have tried to emulate her all-conquering, sexually voracious queen bee, none have achieved her keen intellect and self-mocking wit.

Madonna’s book Sex featured whips, bondage, and cross-dressing but was devoid of a sense of humour or sexual liberation. When Madonna announced recently that she would have her adopted Malawian son circumcised, she confirmed herself as a sexual dullard.

Enter Lady Gaga with crazy rumours that she might have a penis. A critic started a similar rumour about Mae West many years ago by likening her sexual persona to that of a drag queen and suggesting that she was actually male. West was reportedly unconcerned. All she cared about was, “Well, was he for me or against me?”

> James Loewen / Vancouver