I just watched this and I thought it was great, but I'd be interested to know Terra's comments on it with regard to feminism... What do you think about females in the music indistry?
Omg, that's so weird! This song has been in my head all day, and I watched the video for it earlier!
I think Lady Gaga is very interesting regarding feminism. I watched an interview with her recently in which she expressed a lot of feminist concerns (and pro-gay ones too!), but when asked if she was a feminist she sounded really shocked and said 'NO!'. Her reason? That she liked some aspects of American 'man-culture'.
This, I thought, was a stupid answer because liking the aspects of 'man-culture' that she mentioned were not exactly anti-feminist (though I don't exactly approve of the whole beer-belly lifestyle she was talking about!), and was thus not a reason to not be a feminist! Fail!
So on that front she's misrepresented feminism to everyone - though she's obviously had it misrepresented to her... Which isn't good.
As far as the video / all her videos are concerned, she does tend to REALLY oversexualise them, which in some aspects is good because I'm all for promoting a strong sense of sexuality in women, but showing women dancing in scantily glad latex outfits to be 'sold' to men? Not such a great idea... But I do think that Lady Gaga does it more for the hype/controversy she generates: there is a sense of twisted artistry in all her videos which I like.
And her videos do show Gaga in a strong female role (she dominates the hetero-relationships in both 'Bad Romance' and 'Paparazzi'), which is definitely a good thing - although I'm not so sure about female power = man killer...
I think that oversexualising music is a trap that many female artists fall into; just trying to be sexy because they know sex appeal sells rather than because 'they want to', if you know what I mean. I think many women in the music industry feel that they have to promote a 'sexy' image, which often gets in the way of the actual music (Girls Aloud, much?). It's like women can't be appreciated as musicians but must be pretty performance artists.
Everyone should just turn riot grrrl, then I'd be happy! Haha... :D
Phew, sorry for such a long response! I hope that answered your question OK... :D
Yes it did, sorry it was such a broad question... Yeah I think she's got an idea of feminism, but maybe a misrepresented one, like you said. And I totally agree with the Girls Aloud thing. I'm really not sure about the 'man-culture' thing though... Seems a strange idea and one not really connected to feminism to me, but I could be wrong. And there is a massive 'sex sells' issue in the music industry, obv. But I think GaGa is, like you said, doing it more for the hype and art-factor instead of trying to present some sort of image/identity for females... It is a conundrum of life! xx
I don't think the whole 'man-culture' thing is really connected to feminism either; but Gaga obviously does, for some reason...
I agree, I think she is doing it 'for the art' (lol), although she can't exactly guarantee that her audience is going to perceive it that way, unfortunately.
One thing I do like about her stuff is that there is an element of parody of the whole 'sex sells' thing: like the fire-blasting bra at the end of 'Bad Romance'. This is, I think, definitely a good sign!
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ReplyDeleteOmg, that's so weird! This song has been in my head all day, and I watched the video for it earlier!
ReplyDeleteI think Lady Gaga is very interesting regarding feminism. I watched an interview with her recently in which she expressed a lot of feminist concerns (and pro-gay ones too!), but when asked if she was a feminist she sounded really shocked and said 'NO!'. Her reason? That she liked some aspects of American 'man-culture'.
This, I thought, was a stupid answer because liking the aspects of 'man-culture' that she mentioned were not exactly anti-feminist (though I don't exactly approve of the whole beer-belly lifestyle she was talking about!), and was thus not a reason to not be a feminist! Fail!
So on that front she's misrepresented feminism to everyone - though she's obviously had it misrepresented to her... Which isn't good.
As far as the video / all her videos are concerned, she does tend to REALLY oversexualise them, which in some aspects is good because I'm all for promoting a strong sense of sexuality in women, but showing women dancing in scantily glad latex outfits to be 'sold' to men? Not such a great idea... But I do think that Lady Gaga does it more for the hype/controversy she generates: there is a sense of twisted artistry in all her videos which I like.
And her videos do show Gaga in a strong female role (she dominates the hetero-relationships in both 'Bad Romance' and 'Paparazzi'), which is definitely a good thing - although I'm not so sure about female power = man killer...
I think that oversexualising music is a trap that many female artists fall into; just trying to be sexy because they know sex appeal sells rather than because 'they want to', if you know what I mean. I think many women in the music industry feel that they have to promote a 'sexy' image, which often gets in the way of the actual music (Girls Aloud, much?). It's like women can't be appreciated as musicians but must be pretty performance artists.
Everyone should just turn riot grrrl, then I'd be happy! Haha... :D
Phew, sorry for such a long response! I hope that answered your question OK... :D
xxx
Yes it did, sorry it was such a broad question... Yeah I think she's got an idea of feminism, but maybe a misrepresented one, like you said. And I totally agree with the Girls Aloud thing. I'm really not sure about the 'man-culture' thing though... Seems a strange idea and one not really connected to feminism to me, but I could be wrong. And there is a massive 'sex sells' issue in the music industry, obv. But I think GaGa is, like you said, doing it more for the hype and art-factor instead of trying to present some sort of image/identity for females... It is a conundrum of life! xx
ReplyDeleteI don't think the whole 'man-culture' thing is really connected to feminism either; but Gaga obviously does, for some reason...
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think she is doing it 'for the art' (lol), although she can't exactly guarantee that her audience is going to perceive it that way, unfortunately.
One thing I do like about her stuff is that there is an element of parody of the whole 'sex sells' thing: like the fire-blasting bra at the end of 'Bad Romance'. This is, I think, definitely a good sign!
'Tis indeed a conundrum of life!
xxx