Before this singer’s pop career, she was a member of CAP21 at NYU’s Tisch School. She also made an appearance on MTV’s Boiling Points.
She is also an anti-feminist…
For many of you, this is a great start! Not….But hear me out. Today, I am going to dispel the myth that Lady Gaga is bad for feminism.
Gaga was recently quoted, “I’m not a feminist – I, I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars and muscle cars.” This comment was made after her attempt to point out double standards in the music industry:
You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting here with a cigarette in my hand, grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music ’cause I love fast cars and fucking girls, you’d call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I’m a female, because I make pop music, you’re judgmental, and you say that it is distracting. I’m just a rock star.
Before we get to these quotes, I am going to throw this out there. Anyone who knows me in person should know that the idea of Lady Gaga repulsed me when she first came into mainstream music. Her ridiculous outfits (or lack thereof) and her stupid party songs really pissed me off…not to mention the fact that in my mind, she always got lumped in with the likes of Ke$ha.
However, I was in a Richmond for a wedding last summer and one night, there was absolutely nothing on TV. I know, great story, right? But you have to understand. You know those times where watching the channel that tells you what’s on is preferable to what’s actually on? It was one of those days.
But, I was feeling snarky so I turned on Lady Gaga’s Madison Sq. Garden show on HBO. It started out fine. I had fun making fun at her plastic see-through dress that looked like raincoat material. I had a hell of a time making fun of her devil outfit that was channeling Madonna and Queen of the Night at the same time…haha..get it? hell/devil? My point is, it was all going fine until she started…talking.
I got lost in it. I’m not going to say she was saying the most original things. But, it’s hard to keep talking shit about someone when they’re using their 15 minutes for LGBT equality. It kind of makes you feel shitty….
So, to alleviate my feelings of dissonance, I started to do some research. I wanted to know if this was a “usual” Lady Gaga concert or if the comments were made because it was widely televised and at MSG. To my surprise, I found out a few things. Apparently I missed the boat on LG being an LGBT activist the whole time. But, it wasn’t until I started listening to her songs that I finally became a good little “monster.”
I’m not the first or the last one to say it. Some of her music is utter trash. It’s garbage. disco stick? ugh. I am embarrassed for that song…Bridget Jones level embarrassed. What about “Born this Way”? It’s certainly not the most clever song in the world and what the hell is with that music video? But, that song and many others on that album are making a strong (and loud) case for equality. That, I can appreciate.
So, let’s revisit those quotes. Is it possible to consider LG a feminist even though she seems to be opposed to the term? I think so. If you define feminism as the advocacy for political, sexual, economic, social, etc. equality, then yes, I think so. I think her issue with being labeled a feminist stems from her aversion to labels in general. I also think she’s getting caught in some common stereotypes about feminism. She should see some of our other Mythbustin’ Mondays, right?
But, what about the other looming question? Is LG even a feminist? I think that’s also answered above. Yes. We all know she wears provocative (and weird) clothes. Yes, she conforms to and reproduces gender norms (which is, at the least, confusing). And yes. She says the word “disco stick,” which, I guess is actually two words. But, she also created a nonprofit that seeks to eliminate bullying. She developed a cosmetic line to educate people about HIV and AIDs. She also gives the proceeds to HIV/AIDS prevention and education. She participated in the National Equality March where she gave a speech along with many other prominent activists. And, the “meat dress” we all know about was actually in response to DADT.
What does all this mean for us? Well, I realized in my effort to battle patriarchy in pop music, I almost overlooked a huge (and mostly positive) influence on the music community. What do you think?
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
This is a very interesting topic because Lady Gaga is in our face, but how often do we actually analyze the things she says/does (particularly on stage). At first when I was reading this, I got a little angry that she immediately dispelled the term feminist, which I feel doesn’t do much for the movement when people who claim to be seeking equality cannot seem to associate with the word. However, after reading the statement about her hating labels it makes a little more sense that she may be against the title.Still, while I appreciate Lady Gaga’s efforts for the LGBT community, I think she needs to be a little more conscious of her own sex and help her fellow women in their struggle to achieve equality and empowerment outside of the gender constructs society has established.
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I agree with you. When I first read that she says she is an anti-feminist, it was off-putting for a minute. I kept thinking, should I even write this post? Can you elaborate more on what you mean when you say that she needs to be more conscious of her sex and how it will help women. Thanks for commenting!
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I think that you don’t have to label yourself as feminist to be seen as performing or giving out feminist works. Toni Morrison said that her books are not meant to be feminist but they have many feminist aspects to them. I don’t think that being labeled really matters. It just depends on what you do to help those who suffer from discrimination or really just anyone who needs help. So I don’t really care that she does not identify as feminist. I’m just happy that she works to help the LGBT community.
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