Can we appreciate again how important the song Born This Way is

[DiskoBaby 1,929]

I was reading this list of songs that defined Pride. Gay anthems that became popular by the gay community and songs by gay artists. And if we see this list as credible, then Lady Gaga's Born This Way would become the biggest pride anthem of the 21st century, and a gay anthem we haven't had become this popular since the 80's. Compared to Express Yourself, it became the biggest song since Express Yourself to be embraced as a gay anthem. We waited over twenty years for another song like hers to become a gay mainstream hit.

A gay anthem that spent 6 weeks charting at number one, with lyrics such as "don't be a drag, just be a queen" "no matter gay straight or bi, lesbian transgendered life, I'm on the right track baby I was born to survive." Sure Lady Gaga was still in the middle of her imperial phase and the song was hyped up for almost a year, but there was no guarantee a song so bold would have become so successful in the year 2011. It had just as big a chance to fail as it did succeed. And it succeeded mostly because it reflected more positive attitudes of gay people in America at the time. If America wasn't becoming more accepting of the LGBT community at the time, it had just as big a chance to flop. So it really was a risk she took.

A song so unapologetically gay that not only embraced being it, but told you were "closer to god for being gay." A song that mentioned transgender on pop radio. She was embracing it before it was becoming acceptable in the mainstream. She had the biggest gay anthem of the century so far go number one, four years before gay marriage became legalized. It's also the boldest gay anthem by an LGBT artist to be so upfront about it. It brought back the phrase "I was born this way" into American pop culture again but also as a social statement.

She performed this song at the Superbowl Halftime in 2017 in front of Mike Pence, all the athletes and sports fans in the audience, and in front of many conservatives and middle America watching that just elected Donald Trump into office. And NONE of them criticized it. It might have been a statement by her to perform in it knowing who was watching but all the right leaning outlets and conservatives and Trump supporters on social media praised her performance and didn't have any issue on her performing such a pro-gay song. That just shows how far Americans and conservatives have come to not only let a song so boldly gay become number one for weeks, but for the topic of being gay not become as big of an issue in society.

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/50-songs-that-define-the-last-50-years-of-lgbtq-pride/

[Gracious Gaga 17,163]

Yes. She did THAT . 

[Allan 3,837]

I always get goosebumps when I'm watching her Halftime Show and she sings "no matter gay straight or bi, lesbian and transgender life" and "no matter black, white or beige, chola or orient made". She sang that in one of the biggest events in the world to one of the most conservative audiences in the ocidental world. She really did that, and Born This Way is THAT song.

[Miel 15,009]

Whether or not it's her best song is debatable (and I would say it's far from it), but I think it is indisputably her most important song. It's brash, it's bold, and it's brave.

 

[Miel 15,009]

And although it might have aged a bit (girl, I know she didn't mean anything malicious when she was using "chola" and "orient" because her fans used them as self-identifiers when they wrote letters to her and spoke to her, but my god she sounded like somebody's conservative suburban white dad), the message still prevails strongly and deeply.

I don't think it's over-exaggerating when I say this song had a part in helping push early-2010's perception on queerness forward. And heavily so.

Hell, she even sings the "transgendered" line as "transgender" (semantics, but it shows respect). Sticks to show that this song still matters.

[oaklatinx 0]

I agree. I recall reading an article that noted that Born This Way was the only song that has gone #1 in the the billboards to mention the words gay, bi, lesbian, or transgender in the context of the LGBTQ+ community;and, I actually wanted to work on a project to scrape the lyrics of all #1 songs and to illustrate that it is in fact true.

[Judas Society 3,584]

I mean, when she was THE pop star to watch, she performed this song live on national television, streamed by people all over the world who had access to internet without censoring the words "no matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life...."

That is power. And that was when most of the world were still discriminating against LGBTQ+ communities.