Recognized professionally by the stage name she adopted early on in her musical career, Lady Gaga was born Stefanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta in 1986. Valuing the power of an education, her parents enrolled Gaga in the Convent of the Sacred Heart on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York (Biography.com, 2016). Her memories at Sacred Heart, however, are tainted with the painful memories of being bullied and ridiculed by her peers. “I used to be called a slut, be called this, be called that. I didn’t even want to go to school sometimes,” admitted Lady Gaga in an interview with Rolling Stone (Hiatt, 2011). The daily torment evolved into her drive to succeed in life and the same vibrant personality that was once seen as unusual is now a staple
…show more content…
Throughout her musical career, Lady Gaga has yielded her power and influence to challenge engrained gender norms that act as obstacles for women in society. Despite living in modern days, the patriarchal society continues to impose more traditional expectations onto women. This includes the idea that women, viewed as the inferior gender, should put aside their dreams to stay at home, raise their kids and care for the family. Gaga, however, has completely uprooted these ideals both through her fiery personality and passionate music. “Everything about her, from the way she dresses to the lyrics of her songs, has encapsulate an aggressive fame dominance that generally goes against the perception that society has of women, especially in show business,” (Musulin, 2012). Her music has often functioned as a medium to react to a number of prevailing societal issues such as sexual violence against women. With the music video featuring scenes of common scenarios that lead to rape, Gaga dedicated her “Til It Happens to You” to survivors of sexual assault (Mokoena, 2015). Sharing it with her millions of followers on Twitter, Gaga tweeted, “we hope u feel our love&solidarity through the song & perhaps find some peace in knowing u r not alone through this fill #TilItHappensToYou,” (LadyGaga, 2015). While she is not certainly the first female position to use the power of her voice, Gaga is gnawing at the rigid gender barriers in society and paving the way for future
Throughout her musical career, Lady Gaga has yielded her power and influence to challenge engrained gender norms that act as obstacles for women in society. Despite living in modern days, the patriarchal society continues to impose more traditional expectations onto women. This includes the idea that women, viewed as the inferior gender, should put aside their dreams to stay at home, raise their kids and care for the family. Gaga, however, has completely uprooted these ideals both through her fiery personality and passionate music. “Everything about her, from the way she dresses to the lyrics of her songs, has encapsulate an aggressive fame dominance that generally goes against the perception that society has of women, especially in show business,” (Musulin, 2012). Her music has often functioned as a medium to react to a number of prevailing societal issues such as sexual violence against women. With the music video featuring scenes of common scenarios that lead to rape, Gaga dedicated her “Til It Happens to You” to survivors of sexual assault (Mokoena, 2015). Sharing it with her millions of followers on Twitter, Gaga tweeted, “we hope u feel our love&solidarity through the song & perhaps find some peace in knowing u r not alone through this fill #TilItHappensToYou,” (LadyGaga, 2015). While she is not certainly the first female position to use the power of her voice, Gaga is gnawing at the rigid gender barriers in society and paving the way for future