Newsweek tries to explain my Adam Lambert obsession

A Newsweek blog on pop culture tries to explain why women of a certain age "love Adam, truly, madly, deeply, in a kind of weirdly Mrs. Robinson sexual way". (Warning: includes incorrect use of "begs the question".) The author consults a professor of psychiatry and presents these hypotheses:

1. Women are biologically attracted to masculine features in men for a fling, but feminine features when looking for a mate, and Adam has both.
   
2. Adam's onstage exhibitionism is a powerful aphrodisiac because it caters to our inner voyeur.
   
3. It all goes back to childhood when we wanted to have everything and anything whenever we wanted. We think Adam has it all and we want to be like him.
   
4. Adam taps into the rebel that we once were but have now repressed (and, by the way, we covet his wardrobe).
   

Adam talked about the masculine/feminine distinction in the Rolling Stone article, telling a tale of a limo driver who, thinking he was all open-minded and tolerant, said something to Adam about not having a problem with Adam because Adam isn't "girly". Adam finds that sentiment "ignorant" and asks "Why can't some men have strong feminine sides? Does that make them less of a man? I don't know why our society has such an emphasis on masculinity and femininity - it's really gross. I don't think you're truly sexy until you don't care about that."

One could cite oodles of examples of how Adam exhibits a blend of masculine/feminine. Most obviously, there's the eyeliner and nail polish on the one (feminine) hand, and chains and heavy leather boots on the other (masculine) hand. But one of my favorites is more subtle. There's a video of Adam greeting an actor backstage after seeing Hair on Broadway when he was in NYC a couple weeks ago. Adam said to the guy, "F--k, you made me cry." Crying at a Broadway musical and admitting it: feminine (stereotypically). But the use of the expletive: masculine (stereotypically).

I might add some other things to the list of reasons Adam is appealing to women:

1. Watching someone do something they're spectacular at is a beautiful thing. Competence is sexy.
   
2. His onstage exhibitionism requires bravery and we're biologically wired to respond to displays of courage. Ditto for his vocal risk-taking. Ditto for his forthrightness (or lack of filter) when he speaks.
   
3. Because he's so open about things the rest of us tend to keep to ourselves, we suspect he'd be unfazed by our deepest darkest secrets. He'd be the ultimate confessor (one who hears confessions) since he is the ultimate confessor (one who confesses). The other contestants identified Adam as the "camp counsellor" of the group, the one they go to with personal problems.
   
4. The color in his voice, particularly on the high notes, reminds those of us in our 40's and 50's of rock stars who were popular when we were teenagers so he transports us back to teenager-hood and teenager-hood was all about BOYS!!!
   

The Newsweek story concludes that our fandom is healthy. (The author might reconsider if she looked at my Safari history.)