The Other "B" Word

In a recent interview in The Advocate, Lady Gaga declared herself part of the LGBT community, the "b-letter," as in bisexual:

As to whether she also considers herself an actual member of the LGBT community — “yes” is her response after a brief pause. Gaga draws the word out, perhaps steeling herself for the follow-up question, wondering if she’ll be forced to address the rumor that she has a penis. “The b letter,” Gaga answers, and lets out a giggle. She really is in good spirits today.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time she's talked about her attraction to other women, so I was disappointed to see some of the commenters on Jezebel (where I originally found the link to the Advocate article) questioning her legitimacy -- as a member of the LGBT community, and as an advocate (no pun intended). I don't know much about Lady Gaga's personal life, but I have no reason to think she's being insincere. Unlike Katy Perry or Nicki Minaj, I don't think she's claiming a bisexual identity solely for the titillation of men, or as a marketing tool. And while I see nothing wrong with questioning her commitment as an activist, mandating how one can label herself or her sexuality is extremely problematic. Lux Alptraum had the best comment, I think:

With regards to the nature of Gaga’s bisexuality: I think the more problematic thing here is that people feel that they have the right to comment on/qualify other people’s sexual orientations. Quite frankly, the queer rights movement should be more about allowing everyone the freedom to be attracted to/in love with whomever they choose, not policing whether or not people’s orientations are “legitimate.” If Gaga considers herself a part of the queer spectrum, and is motivated to work on behalf of sexual freedom, then god bless her—and I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to judge whether her bisexuality is “authentic” or not.

Oh, and while we're on the topic of claiming a bisexual identity as a marketing tool, the same could be said about Bowie more than thirty years ago, but no one seems to call his sexuality in question (at least not anymore) the way they do Gaga's. For the record, I'm a huge Bowie fan, and I think his "queering" of traditional masculinity broke down a ton of barriers irrespective of whom he took to bed at night. (I also don't doubt he truly identified as bi then, but that's the thing about sexuality -- sometimes it's flexible or fluid.) It would be silly to put Gaga in the same category as Bowie, at least this soon, but I can kind of see the same things happening with her: maybe not perfect representation, but welcome nonetheless.

(Parts of this were taken from a Tumblr conversation I had with The Rich Girls are Weeping.)

Rewind: David Bowie Hunky Dory

Latching on to an album when you're in your twenties or thirties isn't the same as discovering it your teens when your young and impressionable and everything, if just for a moment, is the most important thing in the world. Lacking cool older siblings whose record collections I could raid, I muddled along, pouring over the All Music Guide when it actually existed in book form, I promised myself I'd listen to all the BIG IMPORTANT ALBUMS critics praised.

I have no idea when I first became aware of Bowie. Coming of age in the 80s, I know I should say Labyrinth, but I'm pretty sure it was when he and Mick Jagger covered "Dancing in the Streets."

The 80s ruin everything. There. I said it.

I had the same discussion about Bruce Springsteen with a friend. It took a lot of deprogramming (and one rainy afternoon with Nebraska) to disassociate Bruce Springsteen, the songwriter, with Bruce Springsteen, the fist-pumping, Born-in-the-USA, arena-rock star I'd seen on MTV as a kid. Thankfully, the cheesy image of Bowie, dancing woodenly and singing along to an old Martha and the Vandellas song was transient and easily replaced with the image of Bowie, a icon in the glam rock world who was self-aware enough to shrug off covering a 60s pop song. (Which, in retrospect, is pretty cool.)

I go back to Hunky Dory more than any other Bowie album. It sounds like what I envision the early-70s to be under the best circumstances: glamourous, androgynous, campy, with a dash of self-conscious cool. Okay, so maybe that's not so far removed from the 80s Bowie I scorned.

I can't motivate myself to write today, so here are some, um, entertaining videos

(And I don't do Valentine's Day posts.)

I was barely a toddler during the 70s, but this, I think, sums up the zeitgeist of the era. (Or at least it does in my imagination.)

Bowie and Cher:



Bowie and Marianne Faithfull (inexplicably dressed as a nun) singing Cher: