Gender and sexual representations has been included in some of our most favorite music videos. Back in the old days, gender and sexual representations was not a topic that people would touch on, until Madonna came into the game and change the music industry and she was not afraid to include this topics in her music. By doing this, she opened doors to a lot of female artist around the world including the artist who made my favorite music video, Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga continues to follow Madonna’s footsteps in including controversial topics in her music and music videos. Her videography is being described as one of the best by an artist. She was not afraid to push the boundaries and be creative. One of her most iconic music video, ‘Bad Romance’ was released in 2009 and it made history as the most watched music video on YouTube. The music video received 10 nominations on the 2010 Video Music Awards and won 7 including Video of the Year and won a Grammy for Best Short-Form Music Video.
How did the music video become the first video to receive 100 million views? It is because it was not just a music video, it is a story which includes different representations. The music video includes feminism, sexism and sex-trafficking. In the opening sequence, Lady Gaga is showed wearing a razor blade glasses which she said in an interview, “I wanted to design a pair for some of the toughest chicks and some of my girlfriends, they used to keep razor blades in the side of their mouths. That tough female sprit is something that I want to project. It’s meant to be, ‘This is my shield, this is my weapon, this is my inner sense of fame, this is my monster.’ ”
The music video continues showing Lady Gaga is in a bath tub with her enlarged big eyes which represents innocence and purity in woman and it is later being taken away and slowly turning her into a sexual figure. Later in the video, she was covered in her diamonds entourage while dancing and giving a lap dance to seduce one of the Russian Mafias. The Russian was bidding against each other and it was later shown that she is being sold for ₽1,000,000. This scene includes sexual representations which is sex trafficking, sexual slavery and sexual exploitation.
Lady Gaga was not just turned into a sexual figure but a “sexual monster”. There’s a scene in the video which shows her protruding skin in her body which make her look like a “monster”. This scene represent how women is being portrayed in the media and in real life as sexual object and is being made to satisfy the male sexual needs. Another scene is when Lady Gaga is being covered in diamonds in the center of all men while they are watching her. The scene symbolized her as the center of attention and signifies how men in the music industry view women in music as a product instead of a real artist. Towards the end of the video, Lady Gaga is seen walking towards the top bidder Mafia who is unbuttoning his shirt on his bed waiting for her, she removed her robe and later kills him. This scene is an act of revenge as he took away her innocence and transform her into a sexual figure and to be bid by men. This scene represents how Lady Gaga is indirectly telling us how the man in the music industry makes money off woman in music by gradually oversexualizing their image and music in order to sell records. In conclusion, the music video signifies Lady Gaga taking a stand and telling the world that she will not be ruled by men, that she is her own woman.
After releasing Bad Romance and gaining success for the song and video, Lady Gaga released yet another iconic music video which is also one of my favorite, Alejandro. The video was released on 2010 on her website and YouTube channel. This music video remains to be her most controversial video to date as it includes religion and mostly the gay community. The video was directed by Steven Klein and the video treatment was written by Steven Klein and Lady Gaga herself. The video received mixed reviews but mostly praise Lady Gaga for subvert traditional gender stereotypes. The video garnered 25 million views on YouTube within three weeks of its released, making it the first video on YouTube history to do so.
The video starts off with soldier men laying around wearing stilettos and fishnets. This scene is about breaking gender roles, with being a soldier was described as masculine while wearing fishnets and high heels is described as feminine and sissy. This scene shows that men can be masculine and feminine at the same time. We later saw a group of men marching and the video stops at one part which all of them was doing a defensive pose. This scene is related to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy at the time and it signifies gay people in military defending their sexuality as they just want to serve their country regardless of their sexual orientation.
Later in the video, Lady Gaga was being seen engaging in sexual activity with men but she was not the bottom, but top. This scene represent how women can be dominant while men can be submissive. It also shows how women can also have power over what they do and be in charge. The part that receive the most criticism and backlash was when Gaga was shown swallowing a rosary. It was later explained as how people just accept and swallow up the doctrine of the church that says being gay is wrong, they adhere to it without question.
Towards the end of the video, we see Lady Gaga being held by gay men which symbolized how the gay community is worshiping her for what she had contributed to the LGBT community. Her outfit was later shown being stripped away by men and she is shown in the scene making love with them. This scene is probably one of the most important scene in the video as it symbolized her love for the gay community. As she said in an interview about the video saying, “It is a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community, my admiration of their bravery, their love for one another and their courage in their relationships.”. In the end of the video, she was shown slowly being burn off. The scene shows that she is burning in hell as supporting the gay community is a sin and it is an opposed to her religion.
In my opinion, both of the videos that was mentioned is the best examples of videos that includes gender and sexual representation. Lady Gaga was not just making a music video, but she was making a statement with her music videos. I think artist should include more gender and sexual representation in their music videos as it is a good and wide platform to educate people about the stereotypes in our society and the acceptance of others sexual orientation in this world. This is the time we change society views on gender roles that was made up by mankind itself. We can change society views on how women always have to be at home raising kids where they could be successful like men or being gay does not mean they have to be feminine and being lesbian does not mean they have to be masculine. With the use of media, celebrities and artists have the biggest platform to do so and help to change and improve our society in order to live in a more harmony world.