Alright, this post is a little more angry than the last one, only because I think Gaga has really gone above and beyond the call of duty this time (read that last part with as much sarcasm as you can muster, plz).
Whether or not you like the controversial pop/shock artist, you have to admit the girl's got some serious pop culture clout, which up until this point she seems to have used for good, championing causes such as dying school arts programs and GLBT equality. But I think with the release of her new song "Born This Way," she has crossed the line from ally to... I dunno. Something patronizing and irritating. The song is all about loving yourself the way you are, because you were... wait for it... born this way. Some of the lyrical highlights include: "It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M;" "A different lover is not a sin;" and the bridge, "Don't be a drag, just be a queen." Groan. Clearly this is meant to be the new anthem of the gay community, something for all of us poor queers to rally around, to forget our cares and our legal woes for just a moment, because Lady Gaga, in her infinite grace and wonder, deigns to tell us it's ok to be gay. Gee Gaga, thanks for your approval. I was gonna kill myself until you said it was ok to be me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for celebrity support of the GLBT cause and for encouraging people, especially gay people, to be who they are, but I don't think that that is what "Born This Way" is about. I think Gaga has gone from being an ally to believing she is the One True Savior of the Gays. "Born This Way" is so patronizing, so blatantly pandering to the gay community, it's offensive. It's like a white person writing an anthem telling non-white people it's ok to not be white, and then expecting those non-white people to worship her. It seems to me that this song is nothing more than Gaga's attempt to turn her massive gay fan base into a full-on hoard of glittery, shrieking sycophants. I feel like a charity case. Like I should feel so lucky that Gaga stepped down from her hetero-normative throne to write this song as an extra-special gift to me and my people. Let us all bow down before capital H-E-R. Ugh. Now there are those of you who would contradict my arguments here by pointing out that Gaga claims to be interested in both men and women and is therefore part of the GLBT community and should be exempt from my derision. It's true, she does claim this, and I am definitely not hating on bisexuals here. But to my knowledge, Gaga has never appeared in public with a significant other of either gender, and generally proceeds through her life with all of the rights and privileges of a straight person, therefore I feel that she cannot really identify with our "struggle" as much as she acts like she can. I know it's not exactly fair to ask her to "prove" her sexuality, but I feel like if you put out a song with the lyrics "I was born this way" but you can't/don't really back that up with your public persona, as a celebrity you then open yourself up to criticisms like mine. Honestly, I think Gaga is nothing more than a pandering pop princess... a glbt wannabe (yes, we are so cool that we have wannabes, haha)... or a narcissistic, high-fashion fag hag with a major Messiah Complex . Feel free to tell me I'm wrong, this is just my opinion, but you'd better be able to give me some damn good proof, cause I am pretty thoroughly disgusted right now.
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