Five interpretations of Lady Gaga's meat dress

Pop star Lady Gaga has made the headlines again for wearing a dress made of slabs of meat to the MTV Video Music Awards in LA. So what is she trying to say with her latest creation?

It could be art, it could be fashion, it might even be just an attention-grabbing stunt.

When pop star Lady Gaga turned up to the MTV Music Video Awards ceremony wearing a dress apparently made of meat - with matching bag, fascinator and shoes - millions were left baffled and intrigued in equal measure.

The dress has invoked the fury of animal rights group Peta, as well as accusations that it could not surely have been made of real meat (Gaga insists it was).

But the garment has also provoked a flurry of head-scratching from pundits attempting to work out what it means. Is it a defiant feminist gesture? An artistic statement? A commentary on the fashion world? All of these, or none of them?

Speaking after the awards, Gaga said the dress was open to "many interpretations" - including, she said, a statement about the US military's attitude to homosexuals. Here, a range of experts offer their thoughts.

"It's anti-fashion," says Andrew Groves, course director of the BA in fashion design at the University of Westminster.

"What she's doing is quite subversive - it's a commentary on the fashion and the music industries and I think it's very clever. It's like when Bjork turned up to the Oscars in a swan dress designed by Marjan Pejoski. What Lady Gaga is really saying is: 'I'm above all this, but I'll accept your award.'"

She is also subverting the whole idea of wearing a red dress on a red carpet to get noticed, he says.

"Lady Gaga takes fashion very seriously, she has her own stylist and she understands that she has to keep evolving and updating her image.

"I think it's also a commentary on the music industry - no-one buys music anymore, everyone downloads these days, so the only thing about her that has any value is her appearance and what she's wearing.

"She's very, very smart. She understands that it's possible to be popular but not populist. Lots of people really, really, dislike her, but lots love her as well - the dress taps into that because she'll get lots of flak for it, but plenty of praise too."

And of course, it's about getting noticed, which is massively important for any pop star.

"It's Lady Gaga's dress we're talking about, not anyone else's," says Mr Grove.

O'Donnell's Tempest in a Tea Party Pot

There are primaries in seven states and Washington, D.C. today. But the one that everyone is watching is in Delaware because who wins there could very well determine whether Republicans have a shot at taking control of the Senate.

It was a $250,000 pledge from the Tea Party Express, that vaulted Republican Christine O'Donnell from dark horse to contender in the Delaware Senate primary, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

"There's a tidal wave coming in Delaware and we're riding it and my opponent is drowning in it," she said.

Everyone thought her opponent would be a shoo-in; Mike Castle is a popular nine-term Congressman and former Delaware governor. But the newest polls show them neck-and-neck.

"I think she's too extreme for Delaware," Castle said. 

A former marketing consultant, O'Donnell has never held public office, although she has run for Senate twice before (and ran a write-in campaign after losing a primary).

She has crusaded for abstinence and against porn in an article that her opponents claim paints her as a fringe character.

In a November 1998 article for Cultural Dissident called "The Case for Chastity," O'Donnell wrote, "When a married person uses pornography, or is unfaithful, it compromises not just his (or her) purity, but also compromises the spouse's purity."

She has also faced media firestorms over her statements that she fears for her personal safety from political enemies hiding in the bushes, and a financial disclosure form which reveals she declared her earned income between March 2009 and June 2010 was a mere $5,800.

Freedom Works, a conservative group which backed a number of Tea Party candidates, has not given O'Donnell its support, saying that they see her as a weak candidate whom they don’t believe can win in a general election.

"If Christine O'Donnell wins the primary election, she's going to have a very difficult time winning in what is still a very blue, very Democratic state," said Reid Wilson, editor in chief of The Hotline.

The stakes are so high in Delaware because Republicans must win this special election for Vice President Biden's former seat if they want a real chance to reclaim the Senate (They need to win 10 Senate seats to do that). What's more, because of the special election rules, the winner in the general election will be sworn in immediately, rather than in January, so his or her vote will matter in the post-election lame duck session.

So Republican leaders are putting all their muscle behind Castle.

The state GOP's website (which refers to O'Donnell as a "perennial candidate") called on her to address an FEC complaint that O'Donnell, her campaign and the Tea Party Express broken campaign fundraising laws, and reposted an article from the Weekly Standard about a $6.9 million gender bias suit O'Donnell brought against her former employer, a conservative non-profit.

FEC Complaint Against Tea Party Express, O'Donnell, Friends of Christine O'Donnell

Ads have been run detailing O'Donnell's past financial problems: Didn't pay thousands in income taxes . . . had to be sued by a university for thousands in unpaid bills.

But some polls show the race between the two candidates to b4e extremely close. Politco reported one poll that has O'Donnell up by three percentage points.

Appearing this morning on CBS' "The Early Show," O'Donnell said, "You know, people didn't think that we would get this far in the primary, either. And I think that that's a lazy way out to say that we can't win.

"We have a winning message that after the primary we're going to take into the general election, a message that resonates with independents and Democrats, because the people who are struggling economically, it doesn't go by party lines.

"Our message is that we need real economic growth based on the private sector. We need to create jobs by getting the government out of the way of the small business owner and the entrepreneur. We can't afford more of these big spending bills that my Republican and Democratic opponents support. Common sense men and women here in Delaware know that that's not sustainable."

O'Donnell is hoping for help with a late endorsement from Sarah Palin, who's also recording robo-calls for her.

O'Donnell also described the attacks on her record as "fortunate."

"My opponent can't stand on his record, so he's resorted to character assassination, and it's backfired," she toldanchor Eric Hill. "It's really exciting that the voters are seeing right through that. They're tired of politics-as-usual, and they're rallying behind me, because they trust me to represent them in Washington, a much-needed real change in Washington." 

TV Reporter Says She's Not Too Sexy for Jets

"Everyone started to make jokes about me," said curvy TV reporter, Ines Sainz--a sports correspondent for Mexico's Azteca Television--as she recounted her embarrassing moments inside the New York Jets locker room this past Saturday, while waiting to interview star quarterback, Mark Sanchez. Sainz, who was wearing form-fitting jeans, told PIX 11 News "I read a lot of media say it's my fault. It's very common to dress like this for sports reporting."

Sainz' experience inside the locker room--which followed some antics with footballs thrown her way on the field--has spawned an NFL inquiry and forced the Jets to address workplace behavior with head coach, Rex Ryan, and his players.

Greg Aiello--Vice President of Communications for the NFL--told PIX 11 tonight outside the new Meadowlands Stadium, "Owner Woody Johnson and the Jets are doing a good job of addressing the situation and making sure players understand. The issue is conduct in the workplace--and respect for people in the workplace,."

Sainz--a former Miss Spain--sent a Twitter message out on Saturday that she was dying of embarassment, during the session at the Jets practice field in Florham Park, New Jersey. Defensive backs coach, Dennis Thurman, was said to have tossed footballs her way and some players blocked her as she walked. "I tried to minimize it," Sainz told PIX 11 tonight before the Jets- Ravens game. "What I try to do is not provocate.". She told PIX she thought the ball throwing was just a joke and not sexually motivated. But she got defensive about criticism turning up on blogs, that she was wearing jeans that are one size too small. "The jeans are my size," Sainz said. "My type of body, there could be a little more stretch on my jeans, but that's not my fault!".

Sainz has received support from other female sports reporters, including Terry Thompson, sports editor for the New York Daily News, who said this about the focus on Sainz' attire: "I don't think that's a valid excuse for not being able to do your job....I think women in sports face lots of harassment in locker rooms and on the field."