Lady Gaga could retire now and still enjoy her place in the pop culture hall of fame, but that’s not stopping her from making headlines where she can. At Super Bowl LI Sunday, viewers waited for an expected Gaga-spin on the halftime show. Her go-to has been to shock. How would she top wearing a raw meat dress?
But in the most outrageous turn of events, Lady Gaga came as…Lady Gaga. She hid behind no egg. Her weird personality still shone through without – let the halftime show memes be a testament. But viewers were reminded that the gifted singer is as talented and relevant as ever. Gaga’s rock star-professionalism and commercial appeal gave her performance credibility and took nothing away from it, giving the audience a chance to focus on the thing that has set Lady Gaga apart from Beyonce, Katy Perry, Drake, Rihanna, and the other pop stars of today: she has something to say.
Gaga opened the halftime show with “This Land Is Your Land”, an inherently activist folksong about inclusion and a meditation on land ownership in America (the full song even references a wall used to keep people out). Then, in the middle of the most machismo display of masculinity in American sports today, Gaga belted out the lyrics to “Born This Way”, singing: “No matter gay, straight or bi / Lesbian transgender life / I’m on the right track baby / I was born to survive.”
From an outspoken LGBTQ supporter whose very persona comes from being an ally, you might’ve expected something a little more in-your-face. Many of her fans even asked for it. And yet, Gaga’s uncharacteristically subtle nod to LGBTQ people in the middle of the biggest football game in the world is her greatest moment yet. Though she didn’t burn a flag or follow in that one “overrated actress’’” footsteps by making a speech, she did use her platform to let her music do the talking.
A constant advocate and leader of the self-identified weird, off-beat, and out-of-the-mainstream, Gaga’s greatest asset is that she is actually mainstream. On Sunday, she used her place in the public eye, beside the Rolling Stones, Beyonces, Britney Spears, and Janet Jacksons of the world, to normalize that which isn’t quite there yet.
Because truthfully, we aren’t there yet. Lady Gaga was the first halftime singer to ever reference LGBTQ people during a show. And it matters.
The NFL incredibly has only recently seen its first openly gay player. We still live in a country that legalized gay marriage less than two years ago with a current Vice President who (by the way, was in attendance at Super Bowl LI) opposed it as governor of Indiana (not to mention made it legal for businesses to cite religious freedom when discriminating against LGBTQ people).
If it’s too late to change the hearts of some, it does matter that children at home were watching someone of Lady Gaga’s status sing about being true to yourself, and letting others do the same.
Lady Gaga’s performance wasn’t explicit. It was normal. And for the people who have been given power, there’s still plenty of room from for that kind of activism in today’s world.
Photo By Eric Garcetti – Lady Gaga speaking at a vigil for the victims on the shooting in Orlando, CC BY 2.0, Link