In defence of Gaga

I know this is a fairly academic blog but I couldn’t let a queer feminist blog let that I write for let this pass without comment...

I heard Lady Gaga had posed for Q magazine topless, then I read this article on the Guardian website about it, and then I got angry.

I think it’s preachy, self-righteous, and smacks of double standards. Women have been subjugated for thousands of years, and our actions are criticised and scrutinised. For me, the reason I’m a feminist is because I’m stubborn (I think it’s a good thing) and want to be able to do what I want (within reason) without being endlessly criticised – and I want other women to have autonomy over their lives too. If I want to wear a leotard, I damn well will. If I want to wear a beard and a suit, I will.

In the article, Goby says ‘In true lads’ mag style, the image is of a topless blonde, in black leather-like trousers, one gloved hand coyly positioned over her boobs, the other not so coyly rammed against her crotch. Jutted hip, parted lips and vacuous expression tick the remaining boxes that constitute the mainstream image of sexy.’ Fair enough, you might think, but Goby misses out a key point- and the part of the photo shoot that has caused the most controversy: as a commenter helpfully points out, ‘Gaga may be topless and even shows a bit of nipple, but she also has a dildo down her trousers!’ Someone else comments, 'Since when has a woman with a ten-inch love truncheon shoved down her drawers been mainstream sexy?'

Gaga is not a perfect feminist. She’s a human being, insecure and prone to succumbing to the pressure of the overriding heteronormative, sexist culture. She’s under tremendous pressure from many sides – one of the drawbacks of being so damn successful.

But Gaga is doing something different. Despite the huge mainstream appeal of her music, which is pure, commercial pop, she refuses to fit into the restrictive mould record company bosses tried to put her in. She refuses to define her sexuality as anything other than liking ‘people’, she ‘fought for hours and cried in meetings’ to get her record company to give her creative licence over her own image. She dealt in a very good-humoured way with the rumours that she was packing something down in those leotards. She thanked ‘God and the gays’ at the VMA awards.

She’s playing around, having fun, doing her own thing, and I think she deserves huge props for having the courage to do so in such a sexist, heteronormative and paranoid industry.

You go, Gaga. It’s a Saturday night, and I’m feeling right. So I’m going to don my favourite strap-on and best faux-leather trousers and Just Dance.