I don't like Lady Gaga. | Teen Ink

I don't like Lady Gaga.

April 2, 2010
By betterhappyending BRONZE, San Ysidro, California
betterhappyending BRONZE, San Ysidro, California
2 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin." - Leonard Cohen


Blasphemy alert. I’m a sixteen year old American girl and I don’t like Lady Gaga. And no, it’s not because I don’t like her music, her costumes, or her performances. I just don’t like being manipulated.

Actually, I lied. It’s partly her music, costumes, and performances. But not so much because they’re hideous or outrageous or tiresome. But looking back at those pictures of her as a “normal” girl and seeing what and who she is now, it’s almost insulting. The fact that this girl had to change into something almost non-human to finally get noticed is unsettling, at best. She’s instead this cold, faceless force. No one noticed her when she was trying to “make it”. But then the fame machine (monster, she calls it?) seemed to eat her up and spit out an entirely new person, repackaged and revamped to “shock” us all.

And in the end, it really isn’t even that shocking. It’s almost a little pathetic (and you’ll see what I mean by insulting) when it seems that the state of the nation’s youth has degenerated so much that we need a woman in a mask and sparkling breasts to tell us that we’re all okay. Okay to be different, okay to be loved, the whole package. Because then we really aren’t, are we?

She's been quoted as saying, “I would rather die than have my fans not see me in a pair of high heels. I'd never give up my wigs and hats for anything.” I'm afraid that this mentality about possessions and image, to her millions of female fans, is dangerous. She speaks almost as if these material things are as vital to life as water is. This is the same woman who says that “I'm always saying something about art and music and fame. That's why you don't ever catch me in sweatpants.” She claims that her style and her persona is for art, and yet, it begs the question if she ever does anything for herself. She makes herself a martyr for the love of her fans. And if she is as passionate as she says she is about new frontiers in art, why are the vast majority of her lyrics about sex and money?



I'm not asking her to be anything different, not exactly. Give me a David Bowie reincarnate, an rebel in the music industry. But give me a little more complexity, a little more beauty, a little more thought than just what's on the outside. Give me another facet than just the freaky hair and makeup and clothing, because if that’s all there is, her opinion about simply being yourself is lost somewhere in the jumble of cosmetics and oversized sunglasses. But most of all, give me a break.



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This article has 471 comments.


mebuggy1 said...
on Jan. 31 2012 at 1:46 pm
Really she was born this way. I understand this is your opinion,but have you took the time to sit their and listen to her muisic and wonder why she wrote the song

Zebra$tripes said...
on Jan. 23 2012 at 11:59 pm
I respect ur opinion but i feel the writer is not looking at the lyrics and background in the correct way. She comes from a place where her parents limited the way she dressed and she couldn't express herself. The outfits make her different so she can't be compared to others. She isn't telling us we're loved. She wants us to remember. If you can understand, she isn't the normal pop star. She is an empowering figure who brings an edge to the table. Tell me why other artists are appealing to you?

Hacker said...
on Jan. 12 2012 at 1:05 pm
Hacker, No, Colorado
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Haters are just confused lovers

Thanks! After i posted that I got an account :P

on Jan. 11 2012 at 9:43 pm
pandavalanche GOLD, Folsom, California
13 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I beg to differ with your opinion. I'm not one of those crazy Lady Gaga fans, but I admire her music and her style. I have a lot of respect for her. My reason why is because she has created a reputation that says, "I'm going to be who I want to be, and do what I want to do, heedless of the fact that you all might think I'm weird or crazy." And because she has become so famous, and has so many who adore her, it's actually quite inspiring, and I'm sure people out there feel that it's okay to be who they are because of her. Her style IS beauty, because it's a style that shows no fear, and shows individuality. Also, her music is inspiring too. Especially "Born This Way." It's also different from the other kinds of music you hear out there, so I find beauty in that too. Although I'm giving my honest opinion, which, I suppose, contradicts everything you say...I want to commend you for this article. It's very, very well-written and thought-provoking. Good job! ^-^

on Jan. 11 2012 at 4:34 pm
Caroline Sulick BRONZE, Wilmington, Massachusetts
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
okay if there was a like button i would seriously love to hit that up right now. hahaha whoever you are youre amazing! and to the chick who wrote this article i can agree with that honestly if you listen to some of her new stuff its very religiously based and not for everyone and her costumes can get a tad innappropiate

on Jan. 11 2012 at 3:46 pm
songofsongs BRONZE, Melbourne, Florida
3 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dance is the hidden language of the soul. ~Martha Graham

she wasn't born this way...nobody is! that song was just an excuse she used for all her critics. by saying she was 'born this way' is like telling people it's right and ok to flash your breasts in public and walk around the streets half naked. it's not ok!

vazenitran98 said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 2:14 pm
vazenitran98, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street,I met a man who had no feet."

True,nobody's hating. It's just the truth. Leave people to their own opinions unless you want your own opinion changed.

vazenitran98 said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 2:12 pm
vazenitran98, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street,I met a man who had no feet."

You're not hating. You're showing your true inner emotions and opinions in a very positive way. Quite amazing how someone can put the two together.

on Jan. 11 2012 at 1:10 pm
PandaBear31 BRONZE, Coventry, Other
4 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
May the penguins of happess take up home in your fridge. :)
I like girls who like carrots- Louis Tomlinson
Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, 'what wattage is my microwave? -Harry Styles

Ok, so Lady Gaga has been through a lot in her life. Well, so has half of the world. If GaGa had been through a lot, then she should be proud of who she is and how she stayed that person through the hard times, not dressing up in disguise and faking. Yeah, she's being different and she has right to do so, but i don't tink you have the right to say you hate everyone who doesn't lke GaGa; that's just prejudiced. Everyone's got an opinion, and we all gotta respect that!

Hacker said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:58 pm
Dude she doesn't dress like that cuz baby she was born that way

Hacker said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:55 pm
Don't flame people. If you want to then go to a flame site.

Hacker said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:52 pm
Haters are just confused lovers. :3

on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:16 pm
Hetalia-otaku SILVER, Sweden, Maine
5 articles 0 photos 47 comments
me too!!!!!!!

on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:13 pm
she also sings about poker faces

on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:10 pm
yall!? haha who says yall! ahem no offence of course. but i agree! lady gaga stinks and just because she has had a hard life dosent mean she needs to act like a weirdo

Blairezie GOLD said...
on Jan. 11 2012 at 12:32 am
Blairezie GOLD, Montrose, Colorado
18 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You must never give in to despair. When there is no hope, you give yourself hope. That is the true meaning of inner strength." -General Iroh

I agree! Evanescence is an amazing band.

on Jan. 3 2012 at 4:34 am
RumMonkey BRONZE, Sunny Side Somewhere, Other
4 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I dream I'm on the surface of my own life, watching it unfold."

I agree. If Lady Gaga were to dress in conventional blouses and actual pants she would not be as recognized as she is now.

on Jan. 3 2012 at 4:28 am
RumMonkey BRONZE, Sunny Side Somewhere, Other
4 articles 0 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I dream I'm on the surface of my own life, watching it unfold."

^Agreed. Her music isn't anything ground-breaking or extraordinary.

on Dec. 22 2011 at 6:36 pm
CorrinaElisabeth, Eatonville, Washington
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without even noticing it." ~C.S.Lewis

I agree, she's not hating on Lady Gaga. Having a differing opinion isn't hating.

on Dec. 20 2011 at 9:45 pm
Mjjames2016 BRONZE, Encinitas, California
1 article 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
"No snowflake in an avalanche feels responsible"

OMG I LOVE EVANESENCE