In a recent Huffington Post blog article,(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-whitehead/lady-gaga-and-the-pornifi_b_705306.html) author/attorney John W. Whitehead critiques Lady Gaga and the influence she has on youth taste and style. The title of his article, Lady Gaga and the Pornification of America, immediately grabbed my attention. The academic in me wanted to see what kind of value claim he would present. And the popular culture junkie in me could not resist the reference to Gaga. She is ubiquitous in today's culture and her name sells stories. Also, I must admit and anyone that keeps up with this blog should know. I am a Gaga fan; however, it is a more love/hate relationship. I like Gaga because I see the man (not literally) behind the mask. She is a contrived artist, as most pop stars are. I find her image and appeal to be very camp and drag. She is a performance artist, but also a provocateur. She pushes buttons, while pushing the envelope. Gaga is carving out a niche for herself. It is not new or original, but at times it feels fresh. That said, the whole “little monster” thing is pretty insufferable. It's a mothering image that I find off putting.
Moreover, with fame come criticisms and Gaga is not immune from her share of them. Whitehead is not particularly happy about the influence he thinks Gaga has on young teens, especially girls, whom he believes are the biggest consumers of the Gaga brand.(c'mon lots of boys like Gaga, too) Whitehead insists, “Gaga is precisely “another sexy pop star,” albeit one whose hyper-sexualized façade has greatly contributed to the pornification of American culture.” What an obtuse claim; however, he does admit she's not the only artist contributing to the pornification of American culture, he cites music videos generally are culprits, too.
The problem with Whitehead’s argument is his reasoning. He primarily puts forth a false dilemma. Lady Gaga and pop music videos may influence teenagers of all shapes, creeds, colors, and sizes, simply because she and the medium she operates within are apart of what make pop culture popular. Communications Professor John Fiske suggests that “ popular culture is made in relationship to structures of dominance. This relationship can take two main forms—that of resistance or evasion” (2). The relationship Gaga has with her millions of fans is one of resistance. She, for them, signifies empowerment because she seemingly resist convention. Her hyperbolic excessive style and attitude creates solidarity among her fans. And for a lot of teens, anyone who seems to defy traditional gender or social roles is appealing. Whitehead’s argument could have been stronger if he'd attempted to deconstruct why “pornification” appears so pleasurable to millions of teens in American culture. Thus, to suggest that somehow Lady Gaga’s influence trumps other factors is a harsh generalization.
Lady Gaga's recent rise to stardom has occurred in a relatively short time. Has her music and image are about spectacle, but has she really moved America further away from whatever moral center Whitehead has in mind? No! Gaga operates in a system that she has by no means created. Popular culture, especially pop music, has recycled images of scantily clad to practically nude women since the late 70s. Consider acts such as Donna Summer to Cher, both women were dominant forces in pop music. Neither woman shied away from styles that revealed their assets. Of course, Madonna has forever placed her stamp on the construction of a hyper-sexualized pop music queen. Most, if not all, female pop artist today take their cues from Madonna’s playbook.
Whitehead’s argument is more about attacking what he perceives as a culture drunk on sexually charged images. He likens sexual images in videos to violence on television, claiming both adversely affect young people whom can’t distinguish reality from fantasy. Although I won’t use this article to argue the validity of Whitehead’s claims about pop culture and the degree to which it influences teens, I think it’s pretty obvious that it does. Nonetheless, Whitehead has not done his homework and he clearly does not understand popular culture. Although he does provide a thorough analysis of Gaga's 'Bad Romance' video, he fails to really substantiate his main thesis.
Best Gaga video to date:
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