Yesterday Lady Gaga did something more culture-challenging than sashaying around town in wigs, costumes and towering platforms: she posted pictures of herself – sans makeup, sans platinum tresses – in her underwear online.
It was a “take that!” message to the beauty-bullying pop culture media that had mocked and criticized her for gaining 25 pounds. But the initial gesture was surprisingly simple and subtle – she posted the photos under the caption “Bulimia and Anorexia since I was 15.”
Then she invited her enormous fan base to join her in a “Body Revolution,” and show the world what their bodies really look like.
Instantly, Gaga turned her website Little Monsters into a dramatic public forum on eating disorders, cutting, and all types of body hating. The photos popping up are startling in their honesty. Reed-thin anorexics, those who are overweight, kids with dwarfism, disfiguring scars and artificial limbs. All baring their souls along with their bodies.
“I have to say, coming on here and seeing all these Body Revolution pictures you
Monsters are posting has honestly made me tear up. You guys DEFINE BRAVERY,” said one commenter, echoing thousands of other supporters.
The story started when photos from Gaga’s current tour showed her heavier, and reporters and media critics took note. Tabloids and gossip sites like Celebritypop and Celebitchy hosted endless discussions about whether Gaga’s weight gain was acceptable or not, accompanied by after/before images like the one below.
At first Gaga offered a simple – and logical – explanation: That she’d taken to eating frequently at the Italian restaurant newly opened by her father, Joe Germanotta. “I love eating pizza and pasta, I’m a New York Italian girl,” she explained to radio interviewers. “I gain five pounds every time I go in there.”
But clearly, Gaga thought better of her apologetic attitude.
Those joining Gaga’s social media revolution aren’t apologetic either; instead, there’s a forward-looking positivism that could be powerfully encouraging to anyone struggling with these issues.
Says one cutter: “My scabs have finally turned to scars, and I plan to keep it that way!”
It was the second day that bulimia and cutting made it into the headlines, after Katie Couric confessed to her own battles with eating disorders on her new show with guest Demi Lovato.
Demi Lovato has been one of the first celebrities to talk openly and in detail about bulimia and cutting, both of which get far less attention – and are less well understood – than anorexia. Lovato has reached out to teenage girls in several forums, including Seventeen Magazine, describing her struggles and entry into rehab and is now working with nonprofits to create education and outreach campaigns.
The "Fat Gaga" / "Skinny Gaga" hoopla
Gaga’s media savvy is as clear in this situation as it is in her attention-grabbing shows and public appearances. Her Little Monsters is by no means your typical fan page, but instead is a forum that requires log-in and verification to join, thus creating a semi-private world where the so called “Little Monsters” can share anything and everything. The “Mother Monster”, Gaga herself, pops in and out, adding comments and starting new topic threads.
In other words, these discussions aren’t just transpiring in the ephemeral world of Twitter and Facebook, but in a site where they will continue and be preserved into the future for those who want to come back again and again.
I think Gaga herself should have the last word. But please add your comments, stories and thoughts as well.
Titled “Your Bravery,” her post in part read:
Seeing you post photos of things on your bodies and in your minds that you feel society tells you you should be ashamed of. You are showing them you have no shame. You are brave, strong, and accepting not only of yourself, but of others through your experiences. You are proud to be born this way, and brave in your vulnerability with this community. Watching you all create a safe space online for people to be compassionate is the greatest gift you could ever give me. My weight/loss/gain since i was child has tormented me. No amount of help has ever healed my pain about it. But YOU have.
Love, Gaga
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