In the beginning, there was Elvis. Elvis begat Elton John. Elton John begat Queen, and Queen begat David Bowie. David Bowie begat Madonna, and Madonna begat Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi Lauper begat TLC. TLC begat the Spice Girls, who begat Destiny’s Child, who begat Beyonce. But the Lord saw Madonna’s path before she existed, and so the Lord said, “Let there be Michael Jackson.” And Michael Jackson was so. Michael Jackson begat Donna Summer, who begat Debbie Harry, who begat the Talking Heads. The Talking Heads begat The Cure, who begat Marilyn Manson.And the Lord saw what he had done and was a little pissed because that’s not really where he was headed with all this. And he was like, “Oh, Michael. Where did we go wrong?”And the Lord said, “Let there be Gaga.” And there was Gaga, and the Lord saw her and knew that she was good.    Maybe that’s not exactly how it happened. But Lady Gaga is undeniably a conglomerate of the most interesting, fantastic parts of so many pop history icons sent to girls like me and flamboyantly gay men from God himself. A different, pantsless, haute couture outfit every day? Wigs, updos, crowns and hair jewelry? Videos rife with subtext and feminist commentary? Performance art concerts? Yes! Yes! Oh, God, yes.Her music is tertiary. Gaga is an artist first, a performer second and a musician third. Lady Gaga’s product is not made to be simply listened to on an album. It’s meant to be viewed — in videos at the very least, but preferably in live performance — because the sheer spectacle, emotion and level of artistry involved in a Lady Gaga production are rivaled only by Olympic opening ceremonies. Her music is fine and easily bests rival pop princesses in substance, talent and production, but it’s not really potent until you see her doing it.Gaga is perfectly crafted as a character. She transcends approachable pop humanity to become an icon only — there is no Stefani Germanotta left. The woman is the character, 100 percent. Nothing remains but sexuality, ego and high art — the very definition of what “pop” should be. Lady Gaga is to artist as nirvana is to Buddhist.The horror of Gaga is often glossed over, but it’s one of her most intriguing facets. Her performances and videos integrate couture with images of domestic violence, murder, suicide, charred skeletons and crippled women. Lady Gaga is not afraid to show the grotesqueries of pop culture — the fame that begets monsters, the price of infamy, the stylistic appeal of violence.Perhaps most threateningly, Lady Gaga is a strong female character. She is in control of her sexuality, her business and her image. She is wildly successful at everything she does in an industry still overwhelmingly controlled by men. And she does it all looking like the girliest girly-girl this side of RuPaul. No cropped haircuts, pantsuits or minimal makeup will be found on Lady Gaga.Much has been made about Gaga’s sexual orientation and organs, but the simple truth is she is indeed a lady, doing lady things in a lady way. I can understand distaste for Gaga, but hatred for and persecution of Gaga or her fans is simply a misogynist, sexually repressed, childlike response to a perceived threat to the status quo. The only threat Lady Gaga poses is getting one of her songs stuck in your head.And if — God forbid — that happens, just dance! It’ll be OK. Sara Boyd is a 23-year-old general studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow her on Twitter@TDR_sboyd.—-Contact Sara Boyd at [email protected]