Months ago, I posted about Lady Gaga’s reluctance to claim the word “feminism,” even as she denounced double standards and other injustices in the music industry. I hadn’t given Gaga much thought since then, until Ann Powers of the L.A. Times interviewed me about how I think the 23-year-old star fits into the narrative of young feminism.
She ended up using but a fraction of our 45-minute, free association convo, but the interview left me with a storm of thoughts, especially after Powers informed me that Gaga has since (tentatively) claimed a feminist identity. She also said, in the same interview, “When I say to you, there is nobody like me, and there never was, that is a statement I want every woman to feel and make about themselves.” Is Lady Gaga forming some sort of feminist consciousness?
I don’t want to get into too much detail, because I might write a longer piece on this soon, but I wanted to get the wheels churning. Gaga’s previous reactions to feminism (that Norwegian interview and this one, too) bring to light lots of questions about what the word “feminism” even means to young women who haven’t been exposed to it in a deliberate way. To me, Lady Gaga represents a hesitance of young women in general to equate feminism with a criticism of restrictive gender roles and sexual double standards. Young women who don’t know much about feminism don’t necessarily get that feminists are combating the same maddening gender expectations and too-narrow boxes that piss them off every day (which is why I’ve argued that regardless of whether you claim the label, using feminism can still connect these “personal” frustrations with a larger societal problem).
But a more interesting question is whether Gaga takes these positions because she wants to be distinctive, because she’s separating herself from those other lame-ass pop stars. It’s that Courtney Love/Madonna, I’m-not-just another-ho, feminism-for-one phenomenon. Even though she wants “every woman” to make these declarations of independence, her actions seem to mimic the mistrust of other women the way some preteens learn to have in middle school. Meanwhile, she claims an individual male privilege through “hailing men” and “loving the gays.”
Is Lady Gaga’s irreverence framed as a collective “fuck you” to sexism, or is it just a way to be one of the guys?
Believe me, I’d much rather have my future daughter hear stuff like, “It’s great to be a beautiful and sexy woman” than some of the alternately sanctimonious and inane things that come out of pop stars’ mouths. I just wonder if Gaga is truly working towards genuinely changing the culture, rather than being bold and outrageous enough to bypass the status quo.
Thoughts?
7 responses so far ↓
1 Daphne // Dec 12, 2009 at 4:00 pm
One of the ways I think Gaga has positively influenced contemporary music right now is that she is not afraid to be…”ugly.” As Ann talks about in the LA Times piece, her movements, singing style, and costumes aren’t just about the sexy and traditionally feminine, they’re often grotesque or queer.
Is this a Madonna style appropriation of queer subculture? I don’t think it’s possible to make that analogy because Gaga is in so many ways a consequence of Madonna, by which I mean not just Madonna’s music/life/style but also the feminist response to Madonna, and because the idea of an underground is so much flatter now than it was in ye olde analog days.
I think she’s wonderfully ambitious and strange, learning every day and incorporating her learning into her public self. And she’s one of the few young female stars I’ve seen whose public persona is becoming more interesting, deep, and progressive the longer she’s on the scene. Yes, with Gaga I am always “pleasantly surprised” rather than “increasingly concerned.”
Now what do you think about Ke$ha?
2 Chuckjones // Dec 12, 2009 at 4:06 pm
She’s changing. She’s talked about how she imagines her art will be very different down the road than it is now (bringing up the young vs older Warhol as an inspiration). I’m glad she’s feeling more comfortable with the term “feminist”. (I think Ann Powers did a great job in the interview.) I gave Lady Gaga the benefit of the doubt in the previous interview. Maybe she’s learning more about what feminism means – that it’s not anti-male. In the previous interview, she made a point of how much she loves men and that feminism had a stigma about being man-hating. Well, it seems she’s taking a deeper view. She often talks about her love for her fans and that she wants to inspire young people to express and be themselves. That’s all good. You might enjoy today’s piece by Becki Jones at the Vancouver Sun site. She sees Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert as pop pioneers for a new freedom in sexual expression.
3 Nona // Dec 13, 2009 at 9:50 am
Daphne–you’re right about most of that Madonna analogy–I didn’t mean it as an appropriation of queer subculture so much as the statement she seems to be making–”I’m rebellious and iconoclastic, and I’m not trying to ‘fit in.’ There is only *one* of me, so fuck you.” But I agree that I’m not “increasingly concerned”; on the contrary, I think Gaga is fascinating.
As for Ke$ha, gotta give that one some thought!
Chuck–Thanks for the Jones piece recommendation…an interesting piece! Gaga is definitely good for sexual freedom–it was just the denunciations of feminism that got me initially discouraged. But you’re right, she is becoming increasingly self-aware.
4 WTF // Dec 15, 2009 at 7:31 am
I can’t believe people are actually writing intelligent babble about this pop “star” – her music sucks. Period. Her image is unoriginal. Wow. So many real issues going on in the world, and what do you think is important to write about? Lady Gaga? Even the name makes me throw up a little inside my mouth.
5 Nona // Dec 15, 2009 at 10:08 am
WTF, I could go on all day, but I’ll just say this: young female pop stars, whether you like it or not, have a staggering influence on the way young women think and see themselves. Regardless of how good their music is, their every word is taken to heart by their peers.
So when one young woman, who has a tremendous power to make an impact on other young women, offers her thoughts in a national newspaper about feminism and gender roles, you bet your ass I’m gonna write about it on Girldrive.
6 kirby olson // Dec 21, 2009 at 7:43 am
What about Lisa Lampanelli? I can’t believe how well she gets everyone to laugh.
That’s an area that feminism struggles in: comedy.
Feminism tends to trade in self-righteousness. Lampanelli has another stock in trade: self-wrongeousness, or whatever, and I think Lady Gaga is also trading on that.
Buy low, sell high.
Both have sensed a golden market niche, and are working it, like gold diggers, and meanwhile changing the face of women.
I think Lisa Lampanelli is having a bigger and broader effect. Neither one is exactly family friendly.
7 Sarah Jeffries // Sep 7, 2010 at 7:01 am
When I see Lady Gaga preform feminism comes to my mind along with performance art. People in general should be able to express themselves freely as long as it doesn’t cause harm to others. I’m fascinated by her work it makes me feel like there are no limits to ones self expression and as women we should be strong and confident in our efforts. I think that those who don’t like her could possibly feel slightly affraid of her different approach. I quite think that performance is taken too seriously sometimes and when it is there seems to be no accounting for drama for dramas sake.
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