Lady Gaga’s Speech Puts the “it” in “Hit,” but Takes Them From “LGBTIQ”

National Equality March was far more amazing than anybody I know had expected–I spent the whole day thinking that, when my rights as a pansexual transwoman are finally made equal with those of the straight, white, rich, able-bodied, and otherwise privileged cismen, I will look back on yesterday as the day that dream became a demand, rather than an ideal. Unlike many of the other students of my college who were lucky enough to get a seat on one of our two buses from upstate New York, I did not look at the list of speakers in advance, and I think Staceyann Chin, Kate Clinton, and all the rest of the speakers who really hit the notes, were that much better because I hadn’t been expecting them.

This is not to say that my fellow students didn’t talk constantly about the guest list, because they did. Unfortunately, the only member of the guest list that I was aware of because of this was Lady Gaga. This really didn’t excite me–while the Bi-identified artist certainly has helped what she calls the "gay" movement, I wasn’t expecting much out of her speech, since she’s given misguided answers in the past to such questions as "are you a feminist."

While most of the transpeople I asked about it at the event agreed that her speech was better than they expected, we also agreed that, while every other speech at least acknowledged that there is a "T" in "LGBTIQ," and many acknowledged the "I" as well, Lady Gaga’s speech completely ignored the Transgender and Intersex communities.

That certainly isn’t the only thing that stung my opinion of her speech–while she may feel that "gay" should include lesbian, bisexual, and possibly queer identities as well, that’s the sort of male-default language that the LGBTIQ and feminist movements have been fighting for decades. The important thing, however, is that the NEM, which was otherwise very good about all-inclusive solidarity, had many more appropriate options for a speaker from the music industry. The mood of solidarity would have been much better served if all my gay and lesbian allies had raved incessantly about Peaches.

I’m not saying that the Transgender and Intersex communities should demand the removal of Gaga from the list of LGBTIQ representatives. After all, every letter in the Queer movement needs all the help it can get. Instead, I think the sex- and gender-variant communities should call for Gaga to make a stronger attempt at all-inclusiveness than the phrase "equality for all."