Not only is Lady Gaga an iconic singer and actress, but she is a symbol of female strength for body appreciation, rape victims, and basic human rights for the last several years.
Lady Gaga grew up in an upper middle class family. She had everything she ever wanted, however she still rebelled. She ran away from home, did drugs, and discovered herself and her music. Not much about her rebellious behavior has changed today.
Lady Gaga may do extremely insane things, but everything she does has a motivation behind it. She has worn insane outfits, such as the infamous meat dress. She wore that meat dress because of servicemen and women who had been dismissed from their jobs for being homosexual, although the ‘official’ reason on paper was deigned something else entirely. Gaga stated she wore the meat dress to stand up for what she believed in.“If we don't stand up for what we believe in, if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as many rights as the meat on our bones.”
There has even been a term coined for Gaga's behavior called "Gaga Feminism." This is the idea of contemporary feminism that extends activism to women being objectified for the way they dress, the way they speak, and even the company they keep. Gaga’s purposefully insane actions of wearing ridiculous meat-plastered outfits, declaring her bisexuality, and her different presentation of beauty has paved the way for young girls to finally believe that they don’t have to conform to unattainable beauty standards of society. Her dramatic statements have helped young women gain confidence to speak for what they believe in without fear.
Gaga uses her fashion to defend those who deserve justice in the world. She easily gains the attention of the media with her outrageous outfits and this spreads awareness of changes that need to be made in society. She uses her fashion and body objectification by the media in a positive way to call people out for unacceptable behavior, such as homophobia and inequality among women.
Gaga also stands up for body shaming. Gaga has been body-shamed her entire career but says she loves her body even if her critics do not. She encourages girls to understand that they are the ones who have the right over their own bodies and therefore, they are the only ones who can have an opinion on it. She encourages young women to love the bodies they are in and not wish upon changing all the time. She empowers women by wearing sexually revealing clothing sometimes to show she loves her body and crazy, non-revealing, meat outfits other times to make a statement and draw attention away from her body.
She also puts messages within her music about the sad reality of sexual assault as well. Gaga cowrote the song "Until it Happens to You," for the documentary called The Hunting Grounds about sexual assault on college campuses. It talks about how people do not take victims seriously and believe they can pull themselves together and be fine. However, non-victims do not understand the mental trauma of rape on someone and victims cannot just return to reality as if it never occurred. She helps women know that there are people who understand how it feels and know how long it takes to rebuild yourself. She knows how long it takes to find your identity again, to trust others, and to feel happy. It is inspiring to see someone as powerful as her overcome rape and still create a successful life for themselves. She speaks in the perspective of a true survivor with real experience and not just an outsider.
Overall, Lady Gaga is an icon of feminism. Her messages of positivity towards all sexualities, body types, survivors, and human beings in general is inspiring because of her true experience with trauma and her ability to overcome it so successfully.
Comments