Pop sensation Lady Gaga recently made news when she announced that she is going to be celibate. Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, cited the rise of women infected with HIV as part of the reason she has chosen to remain celibate. While the pop star's announcement was certainly a positive message to young fans, the lyrics in her hit songs promote anything but celibacy.
MTV.com [1] reported Lady Gaga stated, “I can't believe I'm saying this — don't have sex. I'm single right now and I've chosen to be single because I don't have the time to get to know anybody.” She continued, “So it's OK not to have sex, it's OK to get to know people. I'm celibate, celibacy's fine.”
But she didn't just stop there. “You don't have to have sex to feel good about yourself, and if you're not ready, don't do it. And if you are ready, there are free condoms given away at my concerts when you're leaving! ... I remember the cool girls when I was growing up. Everyone started to have sex. But it's not really cool anymore to have sex all the time. It's cooler to be strong and independent.”
Let's just hope that Lady Gaga's young fans listen to her statement about remaining abstinent instead of listening to her music lyrics The Culture & Media Institute [2] has previously reported about some of her songs. In “Love Game” she sang about wanting to ride a “disco stick.” The lyrics include:
Let's have some fun, this beat is sick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
Don't think too much just bust that stick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
The music video for “Love Game” featured lesbians kissing and was so provocative that it was actually banned in
In another song, “Poker Face,” she sang, “And baby when it's love if it's not rough it isn't fun fun.” In “Bad Romance [3]” Lady Gaga sang about how she wants “love.” The lyrics include: “I want your ugly, I want your disease.”
While Lady Gaga's choice to remain celibate, and her proselytizing for celibacy, is certainly something to applaud, her choice of lyrics and the message that they send to young fans are certainly not.
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