GIRL POWER REPRESENTATION THROUGH STYLE

B. GIRL POWER REPRESENTATION THROUGH STYLE

...the practice of producing, selecting, and dressing oneself in particular style is a means through which members of a culture create a narrative of self and perform identity. (Zaslow, 2009, p.85)

This subchapter focuses on exploring how three music videos of Lady Gaga represent the Girl Power message about female style. The analysis in this subchapter based on how Gaga as the performer dresses herself. Through the way she dresses herself that includes her choice of clothes, hairdo, and accessory, her style can be traced.

Style is an expressed human‟s beliefs and values. It is understood as a means to describe oneself and make it known in a wide society (Zaslow, 2004, p.85). In Girl Power, all styles are possible to apply as long as oneself is comfortable with the style she uses. This comfort makes young women considered as strong because she does what she likes without being in need to care what others think about it.

videos which are the objects of this research, she is consistently showing her style of being herself that is different from others.

“I wanted somebody with a tremendous understanding of how to make a pop video, because my biggest challenge working with directors is that I am the director and I write the treatments and I

get the fashion and I decide what it's about ...”

( http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Bad_Romance_%28song%29 ) She becomes the conceptor of her music video and the properties which

are used within such as costumes and accesories. It shows that she totally owns her style in her music videos because she is the one who decide what she goes to wear.

In addition, she sees the choice of costumes and accesories not only as a way to dress but important part of her style and music. She calls it as art, the spirit of her work and liberation. She wants her fans to feel the liberation through style

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/02/lady-gaga-bad-romance . It can be seen on how she performs wackiness and slut style in the same time.

Among the three music video, „Paparazzi‟ is the earliest music video that comes to the industry. It was aired for the first time in June 4th, 2009 followed by

„Bad Romance‟ in November 10th, 2009 and the very last one is „Telephone‟ in March 11th, 2010.

Since her first apperance, Gaga has des cribed herself as a „wacky girl‟. With her physical apperance and body languange and character in her music videos, she Since her first apperance, Gaga has des cribed herself as a „wacky girl‟. With her physical apperance and body languange and character in her music videos, she

Figure 14

This figure is taken from „Telephone‟ music video. She appears as a wacky girl because she is using cola can to twist her hair instead of hairgrip. Her hair color,

blonde, adds the image of less intelligent since it was long stereotyped so. She also appears as less beautiful since her hair does not follow the beauty ideal about female hair. Long and straight hair are the ideal hair of a beautiful hair. One who fails to follow this pattern is considered as less beautiful. Yet, Lady Gaga is still considered as a strong girl. It is because Gaga‟s lack of desire to fulfil traditional

ideals of beauty. She rejects to take conventional style and look and chooses to behave in her own style though it is considered as weird and ugly. She is still confident with her look. It can be seen that she is looking straight to the camera that suggests her confidence. Her less concern with beauty of her hair is strenghtened by the song she writes entitled „Hair‟. In one of its verses, Gaga sings „That I'll die livin' just as free as my hair. I'm as free as my hair‟. It signifies that Gaga sees her hair as her life. She wants it to be free. Gaga‟s act then proves

herself asa truly strong person who stands up for the things she believes in.

Gaga‟s anti-conventional style places her as a differently unique young woman. In an occas ion of her „Bad Romance‟ and „Telephone‟ music video, she

is wearing odd eyeglasses.

Figure 15 Figure 16

What makes those two eyeglasses give a wacky style is that the material which are used. In the figure 15 the material is a razor blade while in figure 16 the eyeglass is made of ciggaretes. It is in contrast to other popular singers who typically wear expensive branded accessory. Popular singers must want to wear something more precious and luxurious than ordinary people. They must want to be noted for their good look and their appearance. However, Gaga simply does not want it. The choices she wears challenge the normative concept which has existed for long time ago. She does not want to be noted as a singer who achieves her career success because of her physical appearance and an ordinary style. She does not care about what people might say and how she looks like. Her natural and effortless style describes her as a strong young woman because she frees her spirit

to follow what she likes. She does not dress herself to get the society‟s approval but to be just herself. The razor-blade sunglasses which is createdby Gaga herself

also gives an idea that she is a strong young women. In an interview about her

„Bad Romance‟ music video she said that she creates the razor-blade sunglasses because she belives that it portrays a tough female spirit. She emphasized that "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 spirit 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.'" ( http://ladygaga.wikia.com/wiki/Bad_Romance_%28song%29 ).

Another style that describes Gaga as a strong young woman is her performance in a slut style. Traditional feminism believes that fashion and objectification of woman body are considered as patriarchal tool to disgrace and disadvantage woman. Therefore, they should be banned and rejected. However, Girl Power sees them as something empowering and as woman weapon. It seems that Gaga lives this Girl Power value.

Figure 17 Figure 18 Figure 19

In „Paparazzi‟ music video (figure 17) she is wearing steel outfits which reveals her legs. In figure 18 which is taken from „Bad Romance‟ music video, she is appearing completely naked. While in figure 19 which is from „Telephone‟

music video she is wearing police line which only covers her breast and crotch.

a victim of patriarchy because she knows and loves what she is doing. It can be proven by seeing what she does in her real life.

Figure 20

http://www.google.co.id/imgres?q=meat+dress&hl=id&sa=X&biw=1024 &bih=499&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=fBLc9VFuzjw- tM:&imgrefurl=http://blogs.saschina.org/pudongto

Figure 20 was taken when she was going to MTV Video Music Award. She was wearing meat dress. Most people was accused her for being insane and weird. She was also accused to insult vegetarian. However, she did not let

people‟s talk put her down. In contrast, she launched a comment saying: "Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or

vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth," said Gaga. "However, it has many interpretations but for me this evening. If we don't stand up for vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth," said Gaga. "However, it has many interpretations but for me this evening. If we don't stand up for

meat." http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/p ost/2010/09/lady-gaga-explains-her-vma-raw-meat-dress/1

From this comment, Gaga‟s value can be seen. She believes that everyone has beliefs and also rights to fight them. Human is not like meat. Meat does not have

something worthwhile to do since it is not a living creature. It also does not have power to speak up. In contrast, human being has all the things meat does not. Therefore, it is worthy to do what is liked and believed. And dressing in meat dress is one of Gaga‟s ways to express the weird style she loves. She does not

make her apperance as the main point in gaining approval from the society to sell her music. She just does what she wants, does what makes her happy, and she does it for her own sake. She is just so different and that is what makes her strong. This can be strenghtened from the song that come from another album which shows her belief of being what she likes. The song is entitled „Hair‟.

Whenever I'm dressed cool my parents put up a fight And if I'm hot shot, mom will cut my hair at night And in the morning I'm short of my identity

I scream, "Mom and dad, why can't I be who I wanna be, to be?"

I just wanna be myself and I want you to loveMe for who I am

I just wanna be myself and I want you to knowI am my hair I've had enough, this is my prayer

That I'll die livin' just as free as my hair I've had enough, this is my prayer That I'll die livin' just as free as my hair

I've had enough, I'm not a freak

And this is my prayer, I swear

These lyrics speak that other people should stop criticising other‟s choice to look like what they wish. She says that the choice people make to look like what they wish is a freedom to be themselves. She encourages young women to fight for their ownstyle and never even care about what people might think about. Do the original of our own style and be ourselves is the most important thing. And that is what Lady Gaga does. She gives no dumb to what everyone says and is still comfortable of being different. That is what makes her a strong young woman.