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We are constantly redefining our own perspectives, and therefore tend to write a lot about our personal experiences. Many followers and contributors are living with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and a variety of other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.
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And what’s fucked up is I like Lady GaGa’s music. I usually like her ideas and style, but it’s evident that she appropriates culture a lot(Chola look, now Burqa). What also gets me is that the designer is trying to use the burqa to make a statement, but isn’t using muslim women to do it. What is falls right into is the idea that fashion choices can only be beautiful, only powerful and political on the white body. Or that white people have the power to take things out of it’s cultural context and re-invent them under the guise of being edgy and original. I guess white people really do have an awesome system going on to preserve their culture. Invite nothing for people to take and take everything from other people.
This is EXACTLY how I felt about the whole Lady Gaga eating disorder thing put together in the way I wish I had been able to put it together.
First of all, let’s call fat people what they are - FAT - not “fluffy” :)
Sure, Lady Gaga’s heart is in the right place. Anything that motivates discourse around body positivity is a good thing. It’s not what she’s saying or doing that’s the problem - it’s what’s NOT being said or done that’s the problem.
When thin-privileged people become icons for body positivity, there is often little opportunity to bring authentic discourse about fat rights into the discussion. The oppression of fat bodies in society is more prevalent than ever, but fat voices and experiences continue to be erased or deemed irrelevant.
Basically, it’s a different approach than I would take. Gaga is speaking more to people in recovery or struggling with eating disorders, promoting general outcry against societal norms, which is wonderful, but is very one-dimensional. She is still defending her weight gain in the press by saying she is in the process of dieting and trying to lose weight. She’s still entirely misinformed.
It’s a highly public statement coming from a place that basically says “Your body is a good body and you should love yourself…AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT FAT, IN WHICH CASE YOU SHOULD STILL BE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, BECAUSE FAT IS STILL UNHEALTHY.” Which is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Not to mention, I prefer messaging that focuses less on “loving” ourselves as it shifts responsibility onto the individual (as if a lack of love within oneself is the real problem), when responsibility actually lies with the fucked nature of society.
Considering all of these things, I know it’s unlikely there will be any opportunity for her to bridge the gap between her message and fat positive or fatty-political issues. Ending fat discrimination is often left out of the discussion to remain palatable for the masses, or just not embraced altogether. It’s kind of a problem.
Until fat rights issues become the focal point of high-profile body positive discussion, I will remain unimpressed.
I think it is also important to point out that people need to actually LOOK at the state of her message board right now. 80% of the posts are before / after weight loss photos. There is also a huge OUTCRY of people trying to prove that she isn’t fat. There is as much distancing from being a big ol’ fatty as a person could make going on right now. This isn’t helpful for the people who want to be able to live in their body right now without being bullied, harassed or shamed into changing our bodies. Her message about embracing your “flaws” is undermined by the rampent fat phobia that is all over her site.
YES.
This week, the media has been especially brutal toward fat bodies. Not that it isn’t always brutal, but still.
We have advertisements blaming fat parents, shaming fat bodies, shaming fat CHILDREN, and goddamn military officials proclaiming that fat kids are the next national security problem.
We have a whole culture of people who think it’s okay to hate and shame fat bodies, who are TAUGHT to do these things. We’re told our bodies are part of a fucking epidemic. The entire fucking world is out to silence fat voices and experiences.
Gaga isn’t about to take that shit on - therefore, her message to me becomes null and void.
Put a fat body and a fat voice in the spotlight with something to say about this shit. Hell, give me a goddamn megaphone.
Like every other fat activist, I’m brimming over with things to say that DESERVE to be said and heard - but we will never get as much media attention as Gaga’s “Body Revolution” mediocre mixed-up internalized fat-shaming “body love” bullshit.
Can you feel my rage? I can certainly taste it.
First of all, let’s call fat people what they are - FAT - not “fluffy” :)
Sure, Lady Gaga’s heart is in the right place. Anything that motivates discourse around body positivity is a good thing. It’s not what she’s saying or doing that’s the problem - it’s what’s NOT being said or done that’s the problem.
When thin-privileged people become icons for body positivity, there is often little opportunity to bring authentic discourse about fat rights into the discussion. The oppression of fat bodies in society is more prevalent than ever, but fat voices and experiences continue to be erased or deemed irrelevant.
Basically, it’s a different approach than I would take. Gaga is speaking more to people in recovery or struggling with eating disorders, promoting general outcry against societal norms, which is wonderful, but is very one-dimensional. She is still defending her weight gain in the press by saying she is in the process of dieting and trying to lose weight. She’s still entirely misinformed.
It’s a highly public statement coming from a place that basically says “Your body is a good body and you should love yourself…AS LONG AS YOU’RE NOT FAT, IN WHICH CASE YOU SHOULD STILL BE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, BECAUSE FAT IS STILL UNHEALTHY.” Which is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Not to mention, I prefer messaging that focuses less on “loving” ourselves as it shifts responsibility onto the individual (as if a lack of love within oneself is the real problem), when responsibility actually lies with the fucked nature of society.
Considering all of these things, I know it’s unlikely there will be any opportunity for her to bridge the gap between her message and fat positive or fatty-political issues. Ending fat discrimination is often left out of the discussion to remain palatable for the masses, or just not embraced altogether. It’s kind of a problem.
Until fat rights issues become the focal point of high-profile body positive discussion, I will remain unimpressed.
“Yesterday she Tweeted, ‘And thank to my fans who love me no matter what, and know the meaning of real beauty&compassion. I really love you,’ with a link to an image of Marilyn Monroe and Monroe’s quote, ‘To all the girls that think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful one, its society who’s ugly.’”
(via Gothamist)
Fuck the fat shamers.
WE CAN DO IT.
WHAT IS SHE LIKE TRYING TO BE FAT NOW TOO?
FUCKING STOP AND TAKE WHATEVER IT IS YOUR WEARING OFF.
stop. stop. stop. stop. stop. stop.
Ugh Lady Gaga is this catch-all kitchen sink drain ball of trendy commidified and appropriated REAL LEGITIMATE ISSUES for REAL PEOPLE
ALSO that Marilyn quote is total fabricated fuckery. “Size 0” wasn’t even a thing until Twiggy burst onto the scene, after Marilyn’s time. I hate that quote more than anything because it becomes this “go to” quote everyone gravitates toward when looking into body positivity and IT DOESN’T EVEN MAKE SENSE.
i hate lady gaga for so many reasons.
but i think her whole “jo calderone” thing is the worst one.
she uses people’s actual identities as this entertaining costume to gain more attention for herself. if she actually gave a shit about trans* people or even the queer community in general, she wouldn’t write shitty fucking songs like “born this way” and she wouldn’t say “oh, here we go again” when someone asks her a question criticizing the way she addresses the queer community.
if she actually gave a shit about trans* people you would hear her talking about them, not just dressing up. it’s all fucking theatrical, this is the same thing as when she used a wheelchair onstage. this is the same thing as when, during a photo shoot that was “asian inspired”, she squinted her eyes in every single picture. it’s the same shit. she’s a fucking commodity and this is the cheapest possible way to make oppressed minorities feel like “oh, she cares!”
she doesn’t.
not to mention that using tape to bind is a terrible idea and it’s bad for you.
Alright… I’m just gonna go ahead and say… Fuck that noise. As far as I know Jo is an alter-ego. Her quote: “How can we remodel the model? In a culture that attempts to quantify beauty with a visual paradigm and almost mathematical standard, how can we fuck with the malleable minds of onlookers and shift the world’s perspective on what’s beautiful? I asked myself this question. And the answer? Drag.”
See that? Drag. DRAG! Lady Gaga isn’t trans, ladies and gents, she just does a mean drag. Why are we getting all bothered about this?
And personally, I’m so very pleased she does this because it shows the flip side of gender bending. Everyone knows what a drag queen is, not everyone knows that drag kings exist. It makes it a lot easier to dress as male around family when you have a reference point, no? Helps me anyway.Oh and… UNF SO HOTTTTTTT.
If the kind of male reference point you want is one that objectifies women, over-sexualizes masculinity, exists solely for display rather than true identity, and engages in dangerous and highly unhealthy ace-binding, then go right ahead, but I want NO part of Lady Gaga’s world, and I want her to stop pretending to be my idol. She specifically states that JO is representative of FTM trans* identity, but she doesn’t represent me, my identity, and my lifestyle. I want reference points like Stephen Beatty and Lucas Silveira, Leslie Feinberg and S Bear Bergman.
Asked Anonymous
Yes! I’ve also checked out her “Body Love Revolution” thing or whatever on her website, lots of people submitting photos and stories of their bodies…Really, anything that motivates this kind of discourse is a good thing to me.
There are some flaws in that I feel we should be focusing less on “loving” ourselves as it shifts responsibility onto the individual when it actually lies with the fucked nature of society.
It’s a different approach than I would take. She is speaking more to people in recovery or struggling with eating disorders, promoting general love and acceptance, which is wonderful, but is very one-dimensional.
I read somewhere she is defending herself by stating that she is dieting and trying to lose the weight she’s put on - so I know it’s unlikely there will be an opportunity for her to bridge the gap between her message and fat positive or fatty-political issues. Ending fat discrimination is just as important as anything else, but is often left out of the discussion to remain palatable for the masses, or just not embraced altogether. It’s kind of a problem.