Shame on you USU

I'm in a ranting mood today, for some reason I've been looking around all day and finding things to rant about slash make fun of. I will not go off on them though because its just too much, I can't possibly get out all of the thoughts that are constantly going through my head :). However, there was one thing today I just couldn't let go. Today on the front page of the USU statesman was an article entitled "Aggies Strut for Women's History." I was intrigued by this title because I like women's history, and this article was about a show I had seen an add for. This article was about a runway show that the women and gender studies club put on. It was supposed to honor women in history who have defied social norms and done great things for the history of women. Next to the article was a picture of a girl dressed as a woman in history, clearly a picture they chose to demonstrate what this show was all about and what this show represented.

The picture: LADY GAGA! Are you SERIOUS USU???? really????? This is the woman you chose to represent woman's history, this is what you chose to show well respected women who left their mark and did great things for society? This is who you chose to represent those that defy the norm??? I would argue Lady Gaga is the norm, a classic example of someone who sold out their talent in favor of sex object in order to sell more records. If you haven't seen a lady gaga video you should in order to understand what I mean. There are lots of female artists who use their sexuality to sell records and gain fame, however Lady Gaga takes it one step further. This woman is the definition of lewdness. Her videos and songs are about nothing but pure, immoral, dirty sex. Lines like "I want to take a ride on your disco stick" or " when its love if its not rough it isn't fun" demonstrate her lack of lyric writing ability and a complete disregard for what sex should be about. In her videos she dances around in very little clothing, gyrates against everyone in the video, and if it is possible to have sex with yourself and make it look like your doing it with someone else this woman does it. I'm not saying her songs aren't catchy, they are, but seriously every single one is about naughty drunken sex.

The sad thing about her is if you watch some of her early videos, she is legitimately talented. She taught herself piano at a very young age and she plays very well. She has a beautiful voice and she can write some nice lyrics. However at some point she decided she wanted to "embrace her inner freak" and turned into a whacko. She has based her career on being nothing but a slut, using synthesizers to change her voice, weird clothes, and sex sex sex.
I find this quite sad. I recognize there are several famous women who were also sex objects like Madonna or Marilyn Monroe. The difference is they have serious talent and they are much classier. Madonna is still making music and she looks beautiful at 40. Women like Shakira can be very sexy but shes incredibly smart, has countless foundations to help impoverished youth, is a peace ambassador and honestly cultivates her talents and works to better society. What I'm mostly mad about is they chose someone like Lady Gaga to represent this show over someone like Marie Curie, Lucille Ball, Jackie Kennedy, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Real and classy women who did amazing things for history. I'm not saying we should all be feminists and say go women power but really, there is a huge difference between women who affect history and those that become famous because they can have sex on stage better than someone else.

So if they want to say that Lady Gaga defies norms then they are mocking the women that risked everything to do what they believed was right. Marie Curie gave her life to do what she loved and Elizabeth Cady Stanton devoted her entire life to giving women rights and working for a just society in addition to being a wife and mother. Selling yourself out to be a sex symbol doesn't defy norms, that's called a whore. So I say shame on you USU and shame on the women and gender studies club for allowing someone like Lady Gaga to represent what you believe in. You just shot yourself in the foot, no wonder your club is losing its funding because if you don't want to portray women in the right way and show what they can and should be, then don't expect anyone to follow your cause. As for Lady Gaga, re-embrace your talent and know that you can be famous not because your a hot freak, but because you are beautiful and smart and can sing and dance. Respect yourself, and respect women and their values.
Thanks for letting me rant :)