Lady Gaga, I had come to believe, for the most part anyway, was ‘one of us.’ And by ‘us’ I mean, the enlightened ones- we who stand unwavering behind statements such as the title of her new record, ‘Born This Way’ (which appears to be yet another nod to her bi-sexuality), who fight hard against prejudiced policies such as ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
(Gaga’s dates to last nights VMA’s were gay and lesbian soldiers who were discharged or opted to leave over the military’s policy) and who are against animal suffering (inGaga’s words her Kermit the Frog dress was a statement against animal cruelty because she ‘hates fur’).
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Yes, we did heart us some Gaga..and then, bam…she appears on the cover of Japan¹s Hommes Vogue draped in a dress made of raw meat and then last night, double bam : wears a dress made of meat again in front of millions of viewers across the globe at the MTV Video Music Awards.
And possibly worse still, when asked to defend -or at least explain -her fashion choice when asked by our much beloved vegan goddess Ellen DeGeneres her response was a big middle finger to the animals. She answered, ‘Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian.
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As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth,’ Gaga replied. ‘However, it has many interpretations, but for me this evening … If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat,’ she added, holding up the magazine cover.
Thank goodness, at least we had our Queen of Awesomeness, Ellen De Generous at the VMA’s armed an alternative. Ellen presented Gaga with a custom bikini made out of kale and a skirt constructed of some leafy greens.
I cant speak for all vegetarians or vegans but guess what, I feel disrespected. And so are all my veggie peeps who immediately took to twitter to voice our shock and outrage over this stunt.
We are lucky to have Ellen on our side but the issue is so much bigger than what a pop star wore to an awards show. It is just another reminder that we cant look away for a second. We need to stay on our A game because sadly here we are yet again being reminded of the popular and heartbreaking DISCONNECT that makes our jobs as animal rights activists so challenging.
IF you are talking about rights you must address the rights of ALL LIVING BEINGS- all who suffer. Meat= Suffering. Period. So if you are going to make a statement about not wanting to be treated like ‘piece of meat’ then don’t disregard the plight of the animals that you have draped around your body.
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Those were animals who had a family, a yearning for a life of peace, a natural instinct to raise her young, a desire to feel sunshine on her face and a plea to not be tortured and a trembling body terrified of being killed – all so that you can have a heart attack on a plate for dinner.
I don’t know if Gaga considers herself a feminist, but if she does many feminists, ecofeminists in particular, recognize that the abuse of women and the Earth is closely connected in a patriarchal society.
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