Lady Gaga, Her Alter Ego and Her Authentic Self

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (better known as her famous alter ego – “Lady Gaga”) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. But more than that she is a feminist, philanthropist and activist, who aims to “fight for women’s rights, equality and also to protect women as much as possible within rape culture”[i].

Who is Lady Gaga?

Lady Gaga was born into an upper middle class Catholic family in New York on March 28, 1986. According to Lady Gaga, both of her parents were born into lower-class families and worked incredibly hard to get ahead in life.

Her parents were hugely supportive of her as a child and nurtured her musical talents. Her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, offered to get Lady Gaga piano lessons at the age of 4. Lady Gaga said she couldn’t understand why she would need lessons because she could already hear the music in her head. Cynthia commented, “that was a defining moment because I knew there was something different about her at that point”[i].

Lady Gaga attended an all-girls school (Convent of the Sacred Heart, Manhattan) where she was often bullied for being unconventional, eccentric, and provocative. During her early years and into her teens, she considered herself to be bit of a misfit. But that didn’t stop her from getting ahead in life. In fact, it only set her up for greater success.

She was destined to perform. As a youth she would perform as often as she could, acting in school plays and singing at open mic nights. She even went on to study music at the Tisch School of the Arts, but only lasted 2 years before dropping out to manage her own career. In an interview she said “I don't know exactly where my affinity for music comes from, but it is the thing that comes easiest to me. That is the thing that I believe I am the greatest at”[ii].

Why is Lady Gaga an inspirational icon?

Artistically her work has broken new ground. Her second full-length album, Born This Way, sold more than one million copies within its first week of release.

Alongside her thriving music career, she began acting and performed the leading role in the hit TV series, American Horror Story. Her performance in this miniseries landed her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Then to top it all off, the success of her song, Shallow, made her the first woman to ever win an Academy Award, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe award all in one year.

But her artistic endeavours aren’t the only thing she’s famous for. She’s also renowned for her outrageous outfits and image reinventions. After she dropped out of Tisch School of the arts, she began her transformation from Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta into Lady Gaga. With help from the Haus of Gaga (the name she has given to her behind the scenes creative team) she completely reinvented herself using wild wigs, disco ball bras and space-age bodysuits.

“I think sometimes people always thought that when I was getting dressed up or, you know, putting on my outfits, that it was for attention, but I really feel a sense of growth and confidence in myself when I'm able to transform and that's what this is about and I think other people do too, just maybe on a smaller scale than I do.”

Lady Gaga Dresses

But she didn’t just reinvent herself once, or even twice, with Lady Gaga it’s been a never-ending cycle. In an interview with Vogue, she was asked how much her persona affects her musicality. She answered, “I don’t really know what people mean by persona when they bring that up with me, I just change as I make art”.

Lady Gaga is an advocate using fashion as a form of expression or as a form of hiding. In fact, she’s so passionate about transformation through fashion that she dedicated one of her songs to it, Fashion Song:

I take it off, I put it on I feel alive when I transform But this love's not material Now take it in, and turn me on Zip me up, it can't be wrong 'Cause your new look's ethereal

Lady Gaga may be all elegance and glamour today with her sleek hair and her long gowns, but some of her most iconic looks include a Kermit the frog jacket, a white ensemble with matching white mask and a dress made of raw beef.

She loves to be bold with her fashion choices, so bold that she decided to wear a pink hat every day (including during bath time) throughout the making of her album, Joanne. Gladys Tamez said “The pink hat represents more of who she is inside as opposed to her public persona. The hat is central in a symbolic sense to who this new Lady Gaga is.[i]”

On top of her fashion choices Lady Gaga is inspirational and relatable because of her candid conversations around mental health, self-harm and being raped.

In an interview Lady Gaga spoke up about being raped at age 19 by a music producer. Due to her past trauma, she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which she is undergoing treatment. Her PTSD manifests in physical pain.

"First I felt full-on pain, then I went numb and then I was sick for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks after, and I realised that it was the same pain that I felt when the person who raped me dropped me off pregnant on a corner at my parents' house because I was vomiting and sick. Because I'd been being abused.[ii]"

In the same interview she also admitted to having recently self-harming. She acknowledged that the road to recovery is an ongoing process and that relapses can happen.

"Everybody thinks healing is a straight line, that it's just like every other virus. That you get sick and then you get cured. But it's not like that, it's just not like that.[iii]"

And if all of this didn’t make her iconic enough, Lady Gaga is a huge advocate for LQBTQ rights, especially same-sex marriage, and because of this was asked to speak at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C in 2009. This, along with the announcement of her bisexuality, resulted in her cultivating a loyal gay fan base.

Lady Gaga’s artistic talent along with her cultural and social awareness, makes her the ultimate icon. We love you, your later ego and your most authentic self dear Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta!