Die Already, King Kong Racism: Lady Gaga Edition

Perhaps the most depressing part of this, is that I found this image because Ruth forwarded it to us along with a link to  an article on Feministing that celebrates Gaga for her feminism. Ruth asked us what we thought of Gaga’s feminism in the context of the King Kong shot.  (I am not even going to deal with what this shot suggests about Kanye’s politics. I leave it to you, dear reader, to beat that dead horse.)

While in my September article I gave a digital eyeroll to Gaga’s assertion that she is “redefining beauty,” I’m willing to reconsider that stance.  I can see how Gaga often subverts viewer expectation, enticing us with views of perfect white beauty, but then ensconcing that beauty in the disturbing.  She presents her “perfect body,” but covers it in fake blood.  She dresses up in sparkly dresses and matching heels, but her shoes are creepily curved into scary bird feet.  Juxtaposing images that are comfortable or normative with images that are unsettling or bizarre, Gaga turns the tables on us.  Instead of simply refusing to allow voyeurism, she harnesses it, tricking and punishing the heteronormative in us, while rewarding our inner pervert.

And yet, like sooooo many artists who do interesting and progressive work in one area, Gaga totally fails in another.  The very visible problems with the King Kong Gaga image suggests that along with some great parts of feminism – being sex-positive, being critical of how the entertainment industry uses women’s bodies – Gaga is also practicising the worst part of feminism: racism.

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