All over the web headlines like “Porker-face,” “Gaga-gantuan,” “Gaga Pregnant!” have assaulted me for weeks, accompanied by images of a seemingly plumper Lady Gaga performing in Amsterdam. What would usually be another run-of-the-mill rumor about a celebrity has taken a nasty turn as tabloids and gossip rags spew out nasty puns calling Gaga “meatier” and claiming that her over-the-top style is just a cover-up of her weight gain.
The photos may show a heavier Gaga, but even if she did gain 25 pounds, she is still at a healthy weight and shouldn’t be shamed so publicly and severely. What does this say to women and girls around the world: that weight and appearances are the only things that matter. Instead of focusing on something as trivial as a weight gain, the media should be turning their attention to things like Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, a foundation she started in order to inspire and empower youth.
So what else would Mother Monster do but create an entire movement in order to take the power back? After weeks of ridicule Gaga posted a photo of herself in her bra and underwear with the simple caption “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15” on her social media site Littlemonsters.com and invited her fellow monsters to post photos as well and to “be brave and celebrate with us your ‘perceived flaws,’ as society tells us.” With this post Lady Gaga started what she is calling the “Body Revolution,” a movement to “make our flaws famous, and thus redefine the heinous.”
In a world where looks seem to be the only thing that matter, Gaga is taking a step in the other direction and making us face just how messed up our perception of beauty really is. While other celebrities would hide the fact that they gained weight and immediately begin an intense diet and workout routine, Gaga has told her critics to back off and her fans to be brave.
Lady Gaga is exactly the kind of celebrity that our society needs right now; someone who won’t tolerate something just because our culture has in the past. Lady Gaga stands up for what she believes in and inspires others to do the same. While some people choose to only see her for goofy costumes and dance-anthems, I choose to see her as a spokesperson for equal rights and a less hateful world.
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