This issue is addressed in Michael Kimmel’s book The Gendered Society. Kimmel addresses that people are so concerned with the gender differences between men and women that they often forget to acknowledge the differences among women and among men.
If gender varies accross cultures, over historical time, among men and women within any one culture, and over the life course, can we really speak of masculinity or femininity as though they were constant, universal essences, common to all women and to all men? -Michael Kimmel
Just as gender differences between men and women lead to hierarchies and men being perceived as the more dominant sex, multiples femininities lead to hierarchies among females as well. When comparing one woman to the other, it is easier to see their differences rather than their similarities.
That is what makes Beyonce performing in a sexy black leotard or dancing on a stripper pole in dim lighting more acceptable than Miley Cyrus preforming in a leotard with a face on it or sitting naked on a wrecking ball in florescent lighting. Beyonce’s presentation of herself seems more tasteful, even though there is very little difference in what they are doing.
Beyonce and Miley: Classy vs. Trashy 