by Renee Craig

Staff Writer

I have not always been the biggest fan of Lady Gaga. Her fashion choices and songs were not always to my taste. But lately, after the release of  the song “Born This Way” and its video I admire her more and more. When Lady Gaga first burst onto the scene in 2009 with “Just Dance” I wasn’t her biggest fan. She seemed flashy and weird.She seemed fake too. I suspected that her elaborate costumes and spectacles were just for show. To me what she did didn’t seem like self expression it seemed more like she was just trying to get a reaction from people.

But my opinion of her has really changed. “Born This Way”for me is an anthem about being who you are and not caring what other people think. The video really drills this message in. For those of you who have not seen it, the “Born This Way” video is an absurd mashup of dancing, 80s science fiction, and pop culture references. Ironically one of the things I liked most about the video was the fact that for the most part Lady Gaga wasn’t wearing very many clothes.

Nobody get excited, this isn’t me championing scantily clad women or anything. But from Lady Gaga I appreciate it. She is almost always wearing some kind of disguise. Even when she is wearing little clothing she has some elaborate mask or body art. What I appreciated about this was that she was wearing a relatively simple black bikini like outfit. She wasn’t hiding behind a disguise or insane outfit. She was vulnerable. The video along with the lyrics of the song have definitely changed my view of Gaga. “Born This Way” is an anthem for people who have struggled having the world accept them.

This song is applies to high school students in particular, because so many of us struggle with being ourselves. “Born This Way” is a blessing from the Queen of Pop herself that you should always be who you are. Celebrities today have a huge power over people. The things they talk and sing about affect us and the way we think about ourselves. Gaga is telling us that we should be whoever we want to be and not be afraid of what others will think.

So, though I may not always agree with Lady Gaga’s fashion choices or some of her musical decisions, I still admire her as a person and an artist. And in the words of Gaga herself:

“You have to be unique, and different, and shine in your own way.”
— Lady Gaga