About 25 students debated whether Lady Gaga and Beyoncé have become feminist icons through their pop music at a discussion last night moderated by Radcliffe Institute Fellow and Princeton University professor Daphne A. Brooks.

“Pop culture music is a place where patriarchy, racism, normalphobia, and homophobia—all the social and political problems our society has—reside, and reproducing these forms of oppression is problematic,” Brooks said at the Harvard College Women’s Center. “But it has also served as one of the sights for women and queer subjects to criticize and challenge societal phobias and oppression.”

Students analyzed media coverage of the two pop stars, such as magazine covers, interviews and photographs, and discussed whether Lady Gaga was making a radical statement in gracing the cover of Vogue clad only in raw meat.

“I like the irony in this picture. Women are often referred to as a piece of meat, so Lady Gaga wearing raw meat definitely makes a statement,” said Sarina M. Patterson ’14. “But at the same time, it’s just gross.”

Students watched and examined the two artists’ collaboration in the past year and compared Lady Gaga’s video, “Telephone” which features Beyoncé, and the latter’s “Videophone” video featuring the former.

"I feel like Beyoncé is such a sex icon. We are obsessed with her image and her body," said Alexandra L.L. Almore ’12. "I think looking at her body next to Lady Gaga's is very interesting.... Lady Gaga is like an anti-sex icon. She almost makes sex scary."

Students also noted that race played a role in the two artists’ self-representation.

Brooks said discussions like yesterday’s are useful tools for students to analyze today’s society and culture: “Students can use the critical thinking tools they are learning in the classroom and apply them to the world around them,” she said.

Harvard students famously love Beyonce (they protested when the Harvard libraries did not get her SI swimsuit issue,and emergency mailings had to be done to Harvard's 90 libraries!), so it is no surprise they discuss Beyonce and other female artists in symposiums on Feminism.
http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/ar...ady-gaga-meat/

Is it any surprise they're the two being studied?

Meh, I talk about this kind of thing with my friends all the time. This just sounds like a dorm room discussion reproduced in a public forum. The students did not present very enlightened opinions. It would have been much more interesting to hear some feminist studies professors discussing this topic.

I'm not surprised

They went into much more detail, we just got the part that went into the school newspaper. I'm certain this debate last a long time when certain things were said.

Stupid article.

it's unfortunate we don't get to read the actual discussion, the snippet in the article doesn't reveal much :/

really interesting. Thanks for posting!

i agree with Beyoncè = sexuality Lady gaga = anti-sexuality

i'll add this article .. very very interesting http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010...-feminist-icon

Did Matthew pay them?

Well, after reading my friends 1000 word analyses of her videos, this really doesn't reveal anything shocking.

I can't believe how true this statement is!

Flamebait.

I can't believe the bitterness.
No one is conducting studies on your fave so ya'll gotta hate....


great post btw

This.

I suppose the article left out A LOT of things out and restricted itself to show the things that are most understandable for the general public.

But if it didn't then

I'm sure the debate went on longer. I just don't think it was very enlightening. I guess they wanted a younger perspective, because Beyonce and Lady Gaga are icons to our generation. But having an educated voice on the panel would have been much more interesting. A professor of feminist studies or American studies or anthropology could have offered much more insight about what those two ladies really meant to our culture.