Opinion: How Gaga Embodied the Gay Experience and Pushed It Forward

[RRR 3,996]

This is my opinion and my experience.

My entire life, being gay was not accepted. It was mocked and ridiculed. There was never anything that even remotely could be both a welcome thing, and a gay thing, at the same time. Largely this was due to where I grew up, as well as when I grew up.

Gaga came along and began to smash on the charts, and achieved immense popularity. She was also advocating for the gays. This was not something that I was used to seeing. I realize in the past, this had happened culturally, even to a similar degree. There are other artists, politicians, and citizens that have taken something and created cultural change in a similar way. However, she was the first for my lifetime in the sense of what I was able to pay attention to.

Suddenly there was this figure that was culturally accepted, roundly, if not celebrated, and a main pressure point regarding her public persona was that of championing gay rights. I observed how society accepted her, which also meant accepting the advocacy.

Born This Way was released and many who could covertly be a Gaga stan, or even the general public, were forced to acknowledge this aspect for the first time musically. The song was a huge success. It truly felt like a big win when it came on the radio, at least to this naive young adult of that time period.

Gaga became disliked and spurned by the public. For the purpose of my point here, she was regarded much like gays were perceived, at least in my general area - as something worthy of less than respect.

She brought herself back by being unstoppable. There were those who still spurned her, yet she won award after award, she had quality output. There was nothing that could stop her. Eventually the facts simply didn't add up - there was no real justification to disregard her, and there never really was. She released the most-awarded song of all time, she topped the charts, and she completely dominated the field.

There are so many ways to look at anything in life - in this sense, I can form a story about her career just like I can add creative storytelling to anything. To me, her career was parallel to my personal life. It showed me that one can be ridiculed and given up on. It showed me that you can be regarded by society as "lesser than." However, it also showed me that through hard work and determination, you can also push through and reach new heights. And maybe she helped some segments of society push through, as well

[Chromatican 4,046]

Honestly we might not understand Gaga's role in furthering gay rights for quite some time. Of course Madonna and other singers had been progressive on the issue for quite some time, but Gaga made gay rights the top issue of the day during her peak. Don't Ask Don't Tell was ended after Gaga put a load of pressure on politicians, and 2011 was considered a turning point year in the gay rights movement, the same year Gaga got a song mentioning gays, lesbians and transgender people to the top of the charts.

[Chromatican 4,046]

Before Gaga it was socially acceptable to use "gay" as an insult, and many didn't think gays were actually "born that way" lol. I am sure this was the direction society was headed with or without Gaga, but Gaga accelerated progress in ways I don't think is acknowledged.

[Enno 706]

Gaga was like the Madonna of our generation. I remember being such a repressed child and then a teenager gaining confidence as Gaga's music came into my life, but it was at BTW Ball that I really saw Gaga as my hero. She was my gay icon on BTW, ARTPOP and CTC, from Joanne onwards I learned another valuable lesson: the power of maturity. Currently I don't feel so excited about Gaga's music career but I'm sure she will be part of my life forever

[stevana229 1,873]

Gays are SO in right now. the gays literally run pop culture. its only a matter of time before someone truly comes and takes Gaga's spot as queen of the gheys. I dont think that artist has emerged yet. 

[Chromatican 4,046]

1 minute ago, stevana229 said:

Gays are SO in right now. the gays literally run pop culture. its only a matter of time before someone truly comes and takes Gaga's spot as queen of the gheys. I dont think that artist has emerged yet. 

Honestly I don't think a gay icon of today will reach the level of Madonna, Gaga, or even Cher or Britney in terms of gay icon status. I just don't see it happening in today's pop cultural landscape, but Ari is the closest I think.

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

I think it was just time. If Gaga didn't do what she did, someone would have came along and did it anyway. We're talking 10 years ago... not something from the 1920s. That's not to diminish Gaga's impact, its just it was time for change and time for someone to 'take the lead' in the fight for LGBT rights. And Gaga was the perfect person to do so.

I mean, Gaga has said time and time again that through out her life she has grown up along side gay men. Infact, when she was on RPDR she said that it was the gay men in her life who taught her how to be woman. She is apart of this community as a bisexual icon and an ally. Her core group of fans before she was famous was the gays. She played in gay clubs to prove to record labels that she had a fanbase. And that carried on throughout her career. 

Gaga is an extremely strong willed person and she'll speak her mind on anything. Knowing that she is extremely caring and passionate about wanting to do good on this earth, and knowing how much she cares about the LGBT community, it's no suprise that she'd campaign relentlessly for us from the get go. 

She was always in conversations back in 2011. Especially after the meat dress in 2010. That was the perfect moment to release a song about self-expression and LGBT rights since that's when most people who aren't Lady Gaga fans will listen. Gaga's song plus all the campaigning she did (she scared Joe Biden) made people question things and think for a moment. When the DADT act was repealed in the US, it was almost like people watched as this woman was changing the US (and the world's) view on LGBT rights. It made people believe that when you fight relentlessly for your rights, and when musical phenomenons like Gaga start getting political and campaign for the injustices, things can get done. 

Over the past ten years, Gaga created this wave that allowed people to become more open minded with LGBT rights. Globally, the world started to change... and of course, theres still a long way to go. People began to question themselves and began to look into things a lot more. She took the reins and allowed people to speak their mind, and then the domino effect began.

[Ariana Grindr 3,173]