In a typically trippy interview, an in-character Lady Gaga, doing her usual sexy James-Bond-villain shtick, gives us some very mixed messages:
Thanks to Feministing for bringing this doozy to our attention! After drawling her love for gay men and penchant for marinating in monsters and playgirls, Gaga gets feisty. Asked whether her sexuality "distracts from her music," she fires back,
You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting her with a cigarette in my hand, grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music 'cause I love fast cars and fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I'm a female, because I make pop music, you're judgmental, and you say that it is distracting. I'm just a rock star.
But, when asked if she's a feminist, she replies, "I'm not a feminist - I, I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer, and bars and muscle cars..."
Because, yes, young people of the world, feminism = man-hater. Also, beer-hater. Now, if she wants to "hail" them while they stride around in togas and laurel wreaths, well, then, I guess she may indeed have legitimate philosophical differences with the rest of the community. But as Feministing's Vanessa Valenti sagely puts it, "Good on Gaga for making a feminist statement, but bad on her for not owning it as one." Now, I'm not saying Gaga should be regarded as a feminist icon, but it would be nice to see someone in the public eye - with, by the way, obvious feminist views - use her pulpit to correct misconceptions rather than perpetuate them. She's right, though: her sexuality doesn't distract from her music. Her Rainbow Brite wig? Maybe slightly.
Why Lady Gaga, Why? [Feministing]
Lady Gaga Feels Pre-Judged By Norwegian Journalist (09/07/30) [YouTube]