I think I’m a wig away from becoming one of Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters”

No matter how much she is slagged by others, Lady Gaga has eaten my heart and my brain. I must admit, she certainly turned me off in the early stages of her career, when I thought she was being weird just for publicity. But her weirdness, her personality, her musicality, and her VOICE (it’s amazing, it’s true) have just awed me.

I wanted to share an article from Caitlin Moran that appeared recently in the Times Online. Lady Gaga’s gotten some flack here at feministing, mainly because (as I see it), some people argue that she’s a budding feminist, while others argue that she’s a fake. This article in particular, however, put a smile on my face. Gaga’s ideas, it seems, are emerging and growing:

“Do you know what that girl at the bar said to me?” she says, sipping her Scotch, and taking a single drag off a fag before handing it back. “She said, ‘You’re a feminist. People think it means man-hating, but it doesn’t.’ Isn’t that funny?”

Earlier in the day, conversation had turned to whether Gaga would describe herself as feminist or not. As the very best conversations about feminism often will, it had segued from robust declarations of emancipation and sisterhood (“I am a feminist because I believe in women’s rights, and protecting who we are, down to the core”) to musing on who she fancied. (“In the video to Telephone, the girl I kiss, Heather, lives as a man. And as someone who does like women, something about a more masculine woman makes me feel more… feminine. When we kissed, I got that fuzzy butterfly feeling.”)

We had concluded that it was odd most women “shy away” from declaring themselves feminists, because “it really doesn’t mean ‘man-hating’?”.

“And now she’s just said the same thing to me! AND she’s hot!” Gaga beams. She points to the girl – who looks like an androgynous, Cupid-mouthed, Jean Paul Gaultier cabin boy. “Gorgeous,” Gaga sighs.

Yes, there was the infamous interview where Gaga exclaims something along the lines of, I’m not a feminist, I hail men. I’m going to cut her some slack, though, as the girl is 24 years old. Can’t we still give her the chance to learn? And I think this very eye-opening, down-to-earth interview gives a very clear view of where she’s heading and where she’s been. The reporter totally doesn’t portray Gaga as a diva; instead, she’s adorable, serious, focused, and carefree. I can truly say that I was glued to this article from beginning to end, and I encourage you all to give it a read!

P.S. Autostraddle also has feedback on the Times article.