Gaga at Gay Pride in NYC

[imnotyourbabe10 6,101]

I say the following with full-awareness that this is a social media/celebrity site and I am full of inspiration from our Lady:

But it gets old with the celebrities pandering to the gays.  I also get a bit fed up with the message of Stonewall as the pivotal point when lgbtq folks were present and forceful "Before Stonewall" (I put that in quotes because it is an excellent documentary -- go check it out).  "The Construction of Homosexuality" should be necessary reading for my fellow queers as it details not just the last 50-100 years of our history but, rather, centuries.

Many people buy "rainbow-washed" pride (every corporation adding rainbows to their ads or names and specials); lgbtq fail to acknowledge internalized racism,homophobia and misogyny.  Yes, you were "born this way," but does excuse the "no fems" "no fats" "no blacks, whites only" mentality we find in the dating scene?  Many post to social media in search of...I dunno...with altered pictures and the Hastags "Insta Gay", Hashtag Gay Pride."  Some support Pete for prez just because he's gay (and fail to question his militarism or lack of connection to POC).   Last election cycle it was "Bottoms For Hillary" on some t-shirts I had seen. I just don't get it.

Yes, the community has been through hell and back.  I support the rights we have worked hard to achieve but we have not done enough to take a good look in the mirror  and enact meaningful change-- this happens every damn Pride month.  Perhaps the problems listed above are due to our marginalized status?  I'm not sure but what I do know is that gays (and straights) need to reconsider capitalism, neo-liberalism and better work to deconstruct their identities/romantic attractions and so forth because they are socially constructed and not "real."

Now, let's all have a seat at the table of our queer, rad, campy history and have some vodka sodas! (It is okay to have fun while critiquing, I say)

[Brie Candy 18,642]

 

[LilyLark 10,105]

1 hour ago, imnotyourbabe10 said:

I say the following with full-awareness that this is a social media/celebrity site and I am full of inspiration from our Lady:

But it gets old with the celebrities pandering to the gays.  I also get a bit fed up with the message of Stonewall as the pivotal point when lgbtq folks were present and forceful "Before Stonewall" (I put that in quotes because it is an excellent documentary -- go check it out).  "The Construction of Homosexuality" should be necessary reading for my fellow queers as it details not just the last 50-100 years of our history but, rather, centuries.

Many people buy "rainbow-washed" pride (every corporation adding rainbows to their ads or names and specials); lgbtq fail to acknowledge internalized racism,homophobia and misogyny.  Yes, you were "born this way," but does excuse the "no fems" "no fats" "no blacks, whites only" mentality we find in the dating scene?  Many post to social media in search of...I dunno...with altered pictures and the Hastags "Insta Gay", Hashtag Gay Pride."  Some support Pete for prez just because he's gay (and fail to question his militarism or lack of connection to POC).   Last election cycle it was "Bottoms For Hillary" on some t-shirts I had seen. I just don't get it.

Yes, the community has been through hell and back.  I support the rights we have worked hard to achieve but we have not done enough to take a good look in the mirror  and enact meaningful change-- this happens every damn Pride month.  Perhaps the problems listed above are due to our marginalized status?  I'm not sure but what I do know is that gays (and straights) need to reconsider capitalism, neo-liberalism and better work to deconstruct their identities/romantic attractions and so forth because they are socially constructed and not "real."

Now, let's all have a seat at the table of our queer, rad, campy history and have some vodka sodas! (It is okay to have fun while critiquing, I say)

I didn't watch the whole speech since the video kept catching, but Gaga's consistently spoken out since before DADT was repealed and talks about people like Marsha P. Johnson—so I've never really gotten the idea that Gaga panders or whitewashes/corporate washes Pride. I know some folks believe the former, but they believe that of many celebs so I usually don't take that as a drag on Gaga and I think stans need to let it go (going "you should be grateful" isn't going to change someone's mind when they think a celeb panders and also can come across as patronizing....nothing will, usually, even if you bring up past advocacy). My one exception is the  journalist who insinuated Gaga & Lizzo pandered but was defending Taylor's advocacy as not pandering....which was...an interesting choice. Stan culture is weird at times, let's just say it, and even journalists can be "stan-like."

But I do agree with a lot of your points—the credit card companies sponsoring Pride events and the mostly white crowds at many Pride events are an issue. The super dead mostly white crowd when Alicia performed was not a great look—maybe the audio people tweaked the crowd for the live stream or they livened up (the stream kept catching for me)—but it was a big  yikes. Sure, openly acknowledging and celebrating Pride is wonderful and leaps ahead of how it was ten years ago back when companies faced boycotts for this type of thing but the "corporate" nature has gone way too far in some cases. IMO Mayor Pete, who has spoken out against AUMF and interventionism in most cases, isn't so much militarily problematic...but he does have serious issues connecting/addressing issues for POC voters like myself (trying not to doxx myself lol). He's in the middle of the pack of the Democratic candidates for me because of that....

TLDR: Completely agree that people can have fun, acknowledge the good, and also critically examine issues like corporatization and race. It's a bit of shame though that I haven't seen many thoughtful think pieces on these issues with Pride. Most of the articles tend to lack nuance.

[not a french fry 1,565]

I’m so glad that we have Gaga to stan, she is so caring and kind and continues to give love to us. Like we’re really bizarre strange fans and she makes us feel like we belong. She is such an icon and I’m living for her nyc pride lewk (especially the boots)

[caulixtla 2,170]

Watching the video of her speech gave me goosebumps. Mother Monster has so much love for the world and I can feel that love when she makes a beautiful sincere speech like this one. It was very inspiring to hear her speak.

[Guillaume Hamon 6,521]

9 hours ago, Hands Up said:

Isn’t Madonna going to perform as well ? 

Madonna will perform for a different event in NYC I believe.  

[aaronyoji 2,054]

3 hours ago, imnotyourbabe10 said:

I say the following with full-awareness that this is a social media/celebrity site and I am full of inspiration from our Lady:

But it gets old with the celebrities pandering to the gays.  I also get a bit fed up with the message of Stonewall as the pivotal point when lgbtq folks were present and forceful "Before Stonewall" (I put that in quotes because it is an excellent documentary -- go check it out).  "The Construction of Homosexuality" should be necessary reading for my fellow queers as it details not just the last 50-100 years of our history but, rather, centuries.

Many people buy "rainbow-washed" pride (every corporation adding rainbows to their ads or names and specials); lgbtq fail to acknowledge internalized racism,homophobia and misogyny.  Yes, you were "born this way," but does excuse the "no fems" "no fats" "no blacks, whites only" mentality we find in the dating scene?  Many post to social media in search of...I dunno...with altered pictures and the Hastags "Insta Gay", Hashtag Gay Pride."  Some support Pete for prez just because he's gay (and fail to question his militarism or lack of connection to POC).   Last election cycle it was "Bottoms For Hillary" on some t-shirts I had seen. I just don't get it.

Yes, the community has been through hell and back.  I support the rights we have worked hard to achieve but we have not done enough to take a good look in the mirror  and enact meaningful change-- this happens every damn Pride month.  Perhaps the problems listed above are due to our marginalized status?  I'm not sure but what I do know is that gays (and straights) need to reconsider capitalism, neo-liberalism and better work to deconstruct their identities/romantic attractions and so forth because they are socially constructed and not "real."

Now, let's all have a seat at the table of our queer, rad, campy history and have some vodka sodas! (It is okay to have fun while critiquing, I say)

it does get exhausting and anxiety inducing to constantly feel left out IN GENERAL in the new york gay scene, but then the added FOMO of new york pride, simply because i am not a 6'2 white gay with a bunch of friends that i have orgies with on fire island. thats literally who pride is centered around and it makes it hard for me to want to join in and feel like I'm a part of something when every other month of the year i don't feel a part of it.... 

[Mister G 10,430]

3 hours ago, imnotyourbabe10 said:

I say the following with full-awareness that this is a social media/celebrity site and I am full of inspiration from our Lady:

But it gets old with the celebrities pandering to the gays.  I also get a bit fed up with the message of Stonewall as the pivotal point when lgbtq folks were present and forceful "Before Stonewall" (I put that in quotes because it is an excellent documentary -- go check it out).  "The Construction of Homosexuality" should be necessary reading for my fellow queers as it details not just the last 50-100 years of our history but, rather, centuries.

Many people buy "rainbow-washed" pride (every corporation adding rainbows to their ads or names and specials); lgbtq fail to acknowledge internalized racism,homophobia and misogyny.  Yes, you were "born this way," but does excuse the "no fems" "no fats" "no blacks, whites only" mentality we find in the dating scene?  Many post to social media in search of...I dunno...with altered pictures and the Hastags "Insta Gay", Hashtag Gay Pride."  Some support Pete for prez just because he's gay (and fail to question his militarism or lack of connection to POC).   Last election cycle it was "Bottoms For Hillary" on some t-shirts I had seen. I just don't get it.

Yes, the community has been through hell and back.  I support the rights we have worked hard to achieve but we have not done enough to take a good look in the mirror  and enact meaningful change-- this happens every damn Pride month.  Perhaps the problems listed above are due to our marginalized status?  I'm not sure but what I do know is that gays (and straights) need to reconsider capitalism, neo-liberalism and better work to deconstruct their identities/romantic attractions and so forth because they are socially constructed and not "real."

Now, let's all have a seat at the table of our queer, rad, campy history and have some vodka sodas! (It is okay to have fun while critiquing, I say)

It’s a valid point regarding the pandering, but look at the positive side; all these major corporations waving the rainbow or changing their logos to rainbows shows that we are here and we exist. Yes it may be marketing strategy, but honestly it’s nice to know that LGBTQIA people are being recognized and it shows we are all deserving of acceptance. Imagine being 10 years old knowing that seeing two men on tv kissing or a company supporting PRIDE was considered severely taboo for the longest. It doesn’t mean the fight is over because there’s still a lot of work to be done.

[Judas Society 3,584]

6 hours ago, ydnmnme said:

Omg she’s showing her "Haus of Gaga" ring almost on every pic, is this a hint for lg6 or just promo of her museum

Where can I purchase this ring and declare bankruptcy?

[Judas Society 3,584]

3 hours ago, imnotyourbabe10 said:

I say the following with full-awareness that this is a social media/celebrity site and I am full of inspiration from our Lady:

But it gets old with the celebrities pandering to the gays.  I also get a bit fed up with the message of Stonewall as the pivotal point when lgbtq folks were present and forceful "Before Stonewall" (I put that in quotes because it is an excellent documentary -- go check it out).  "The Construction of Homosexuality" should be necessary reading for my fellow queers as it details not just the last 50-100 years of our history but, rather, centuries.

Many people buy "rainbow-washed" pride (every corporation adding rainbows to their ads or names and specials); lgbtq fail to acknowledge internalized racism,homophobia and misogyny.  Yes, you were "born this way," but does excuse the "no fems" "no fats" "no blacks, whites only" mentality we find in the dating scene?  Many post to social media in search of...I dunno...with altered pictures and the Hastags "Insta Gay", Hashtag Gay Pride."  Some support Pete for prez just because he's gay (and fail to question his militarism or lack of connection to POC).   Last election cycle it was "Bottoms For Hillary" on some t-shirts I had seen. I just don't get it.

Yes, the community has been through hell and back.  I support the rights we have worked hard to achieve but we have not done enough to take a good look in the mirror  and enact meaningful change-- this happens every damn Pride month.  Perhaps the problems listed above are due to our marginalized status?  I'm not sure but what I do know is that gays (and straights) need to reconsider capitalism, neo-liberalism and better work to deconstruct their identities/romantic attractions and so forth because they are socially constructed and not "real."

Now, let's all have a seat at the table of our queer, rad, campy history and have some vodka sodas! (It is okay to have fun while critiquing, I say)

Apologies, I'm not sure if what I perceive from your post is right, I understand your points, but I'm just not sure if you include Gaga into the group of "celebrities pandering to the gays".

If you are, I just want to say that Gaga has been vocal about this since before it was even safe for pop star careers to be so politically vocal about LGBTQ+ issues. Madonna has paved the way, but Gaga carried on when nobody else was doing it on par. If her message was not apparent throughout her entire career, even when it wasn't a media event, then I can't understand why do people still consider her to be pandering to the LGBTQ+ community.

If that's not what you implied, then I'm sorry for taking an offense to what I feel is an unfair judgement towards the  Icon of the Queer, Goddess of Love and Kindness, Mother of Monsters, Queen Lady Gaga.

[2School4Cool 6,449]

I just watched her speech and I’m so moved. Her love for the community is so intense and palpable, and just want to hug her so tight and return to her every ounce of the love she puts into the world. Her words are always so inspiring and full of passion.

[Biggest Fan 988]

This is something

I needed to hear these words 

God bless you guys

[RoverLoader 1,254]

Telling them "I would take a bullet for you" is not only downright a lie but it's totally ignorant to say stuff like that in the wake of Pulse. I've lost  a bit of respect for her. She seems incredibly insincere.

[drunkygagaa 275]

I'm so glad to have Gaga in my life.

She's really helped me a lot over the years.

[OMonster 14,675]

54 minutes ago, RoverLoader said:

Telling them "I would take a bullet for you" is not only downright a lie but it's totally ignorant to say stuff like that in the wake of Pulse. I've lost  a bit of respect for her. She seems incredibly insincere.

Why is it ignorant to say that she'd take a bullet, in light of Pulse? 

Surely, /because/ of Pulse... it's a more poignant and meaningful point to make? 

And to be honest, I don't think it is a lie. I'm not saying she would literally stand in front of one random gay guy and be shot dead to save him, but I do think she would rather be shot than be silenced. 

It's easy to forget, but Gaga does put herself in many potentially dangerous scenarios that can't possibly be *fully* safe. Even stepping out at Pride last night could've been quite risky. It wasn't a particularly large-scale set-up and it was out in the open streets of NYC... in today's era of radicalism, it wouldn't be beyond belief that something terrible could've happened. Thank God it didn't, obviously. 

And throwing it back, Gaga has performed in Russia where she could've very easily been hurt; she has protested against Trump; she has spoken publicly about gay rights before it was 'cool' to do that - and in the context of American gun laws, there was really no guarantee that some lunatic wouldn't react badly to the things she was saying and doing back then. 

So yeah, I think Gaga would take a bullet for the LGBT community in a broader sense. She at least doesn't hide away from danger, that is for sure.