Recommendation: Lady Gaga’s Genderforking Style
psuedony recommends…
Lady Gaga’s Genderforking Style
phenomenon
phenomenon
Gender controversy seems to follow this lady, and I guess I’m so queer I don’t get it. But I love what she has to say about it:
“This is really who I am, and it took a long time to be okay with that… Maybe in high school you, Ellen, you feel discriminated against. Like you don’t fit in and you want to be like everyone else, but not really, and in the inside you want to be like Boy George – well, I did anyway. So I want my fans to know that it’s okay. Sometimes in life you don’t always feel like a winner, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a winner, you want to be like yourself. I want my fans to know it’s okay.”
Posted by Zory on December 12th, 2009 at 08:00 am
Category: music, people, recommendations 15 comments »
December 12th, 2009 at 8:06 am |
Wow. That’s actually really awesome. I honestly can’t stand her music. But now I think I like her a little more for this statement.
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December 12th, 2009 at 11:53 am |
I love Lady Gaga. <3
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December 12th, 2009 at 3:21 pm |
“you want to be like Boy George” Damn. Now /that’s/ gender! I love it!
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December 12th, 2009 at 5:14 pm |
I’ve seen some misquotes from her, so I just looked this up to make sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFgTP47R4Ic
Yep.
She’s wonderful.
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December 12th, 2009 at 5:57 pm |
If you want to see what Lady Gaga looked like when she was still trying to fit in, check out this video of her performing in a college talent show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM51qOpwcIM
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December 12th, 2009 at 9:04 pm |
She has grown on me considerably. Comments like these help : D
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December 12th, 2009 at 9:30 pm |
I agree with this so hard.
I mean I get that she’s a pop phenomenon, etc., etc., but the reason I love Lady Gaga SO MUCH is because the way I see it she pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a person. And that’s really important to me, how she’s like “I can be this thing that I feel I am, something the likes of which the world has never before seen, and all of you can join me in this, and it will be revolutionary.” Dunno if that made sense, and dunno if that’s really her goal, but I find her really inspirational in that respect.
Also she’s actually a talented musician, which like, wow.
<3
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December 13th, 2009 at 12:54 am |
“I guess I’m so queer I don’t get it.”
Me too. XD A lot of people think she’s trans, but she never struck me as looking transgender at all. Of course, they’re just trying to be insulting.
And yeah, I don’t like her music, but she is a pretty cool person. They’re also saying she’s bisexual now, but when I read the interview about it, it sounded more like she doesn’t label her sexuality. Still cool, though.
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December 17th, 2009 at 4:46 pm |
I am not so ready to jump to supporting Lady Gaga as “someone who pushes boundaries.” This is the argument I see in a lot of spaces (feminsting is one mainstream place I can think of), but I think it’s important to note that Lady Gaga is still white. She still has the privilege to do what she does.
For a developed notion of what I’m getting at, see this blog post:
http://isabelthespy.tumblr.com/post/285497672/yeah-so-this-got-too-long-for-a-quote-post
This is not to say that Lady Gaga is awful, I think she is fascinating and has said some things I think are cool.
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December 17th, 2009 at 5:54 pm |
@Laura
I read the link you’ve provided, and I’m interested in discussing it with you.
The impression I’m getting from this argument, and yours, is that Lady Gaga’s push against the mainstream is invalidated by the fact that she’s causasian. As a biracial androgen, I’m rather bothered with this view.
She can’t help that she’s white anymore than anyone can help their skin tone. I can’t help that I’m a mix, and likewise, that no one seems to know how to peg my race. It doesn’t seem fair that, by this argument, Lady Gaga’s not a fighter for the non-binary.
Maybe she has an unfair advantage. I think, perhaps, that’s a better way of putting it. But any fight is a good fight… Would it really be better if the caucasians just stopped trying?
That being said, I’ve seen plenty of genderqueers of colour, and I personally (although biased, as biracial) never noticed their skin tone, or recognise a privilege or disadvantage.
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December 17th, 2009 at 6:26 pm |
@ Marxism,
What I am seeing, and trying to express, is the exact opposite of what you have heard. It is because she is white that she is validated. And it’s important to recognize her privilege in this scenario because people with other identities might not be able to “push these boundaries” in the ways she is. So what boundaries are we really pushing here?
To quote the article, “i guess i am saying that there’s a limit to how actually subversive a blonde skinny white pop star can be. that isn’t a reflection on gaga (or any other blonde skinny white pop star) herself at all – it’s a reflection on a culture that marks some bodies as acceptable and some bodies as inescapably transgressive.”
I made no statement about GaGa “fighting” for the non-binary or not. I’m not sure where this came from. Similarly, the part about genderqueer people of color. The point I’m trying to make isn’t necessarily specific to Lady Gaga.
I don’t really know how to respond to not noticing skin tone, or privilege or disadvantage. I think many people of color would disagree with you on this and even argue that it negates their realities. I’m not sure it is a good idea to use your limited reality to generalize to all people, even all people of color.
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December 17th, 2009 at 9:05 pm |
Hey, racial minorities who want to push boundaries, nobody’s stopping you trying. Well, any more than for whites.
It sounds like you/ the article is invalidating her for her whiteness. I think the important thing is to be yourself and to fight for your right to be yourself, however hard that fight may be. And be grateful for what is already there – ANYBODY willing to push boundaries.
I think Gaga’s boundary-pushing goes beyond the average publicity-seeking, slightly-outrageous thing. I saw her playing a thirty-foot high piano in a weird costume that most ‘rebellious attention seekers’ wouldn’t even touch.
Just saying. And yay for Gaga. I loved the comment that ‘she’s pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a person’. Like its not just gender boundaries, but even more than that.
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December 18th, 2009 at 12:20 pm |
Lilybean,
The problem with what you’ve said is that it’s not true. “Racial minorities” or any members of any oppressed group, have more trouble “pushing boundaries” because they have trouble getting people to listen to them. Why do they have trouble getting people to listen to them? Because people ARE trying to stop marginalized people from doing things. That’s why they are marginalized in the first place!
The racist ways she utilizes people of color in her music videos is not pushing a boundary, in my opinion. The ableist ways in which she depicts disabilities as “a step toward death” is not pushing a boundary, in my opinion.
So, once again, what kind of people is Lady Gaga pushing for people to be?
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December 18th, 2009 at 1:47 pm |
*waving white flag*
Hey guys, this is a totally legitimate conversation to be having, but its outside the scope of this site. Our highest priority at Genderfork is to be friendly and welcoming. Discussions like these are critical to the health of our broader community, but I don’t believe they serve us well when they take place on the welcome mat.
We are, however, having a lot of discussions about what we can do to create spaces to support deeper conversations. If you’d like be part of the advising process for this initiative, please email me: sarah@genderfork dot com.
And if you’d like to continue this particular discussion, I would invite you to start it in a new space (your blog, a livejournal, etc) and post the link to it here.
Thanks for understanding,
Sarah
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December 21st, 2009 at 4:42 pm |
My love for this woman only grows. I admire anyone who has the guts to march to the beat of their own drummer in this oppressive culture of ours. She realises that sharing this very private part of herself might help make things easier for others, and that’s really awesome.
And her what-were-you-thinking costumes make me feel less resentful for having missed the whole Ziggy stardust thing. (NOT that I am comparing Gaga’s music to Bowie’s. I’m not insane.)
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