Lady Gaga just wrote an essay about womanhood and it’s so powerful
Part of the reason why we love Lady Gaga is because the singer isn’t afraid to speak her mind and advocate for what she believes in. Oh, and she’s a brilliant popstar, too.
Well, now Gaga has written a powerful essay about womanhood and what it means to be a woman in the modern world and it’s so incredible.
The essay is part of Lady Gaga’s Harper’s Bazaar December/Januarycover story, and in it the singer paid homage to the “tough women” in her family.
"Being a lady today means being a fighter. It means being a survivor. It means letting yourself be vulnerable and acknowledging your shame or that you're sad or you're angry," Gaga wrote. "It takes great strength to do that."
Gaga heaps praise upon her mother and grandmother, who she says are “the most powerful female forces in my life,” before going on to open up about her father’s sister, her late-aunt Joanne.
"The best way to describe my relationship with her is that it's like the relationship someone might have with an angel or a spirit guide or whatever you think of as a higher power," Gaga explained.
The singer has spoken a lot about how her aunt Joanne, who died aged 19 in 1974 of lupus and whom Gaga is also named after, influenced her and the impact that her untimely death has had on her family.
"To me, Joanne was my hope and my faith. I always felt that I had somebody looking out for me, and I looked to her to protect me," she added. "As I've gotten older, I've also really looked to her to help understand myself."
Lady Gaga recently released her fifth album, Joanne, which she has dedicated to her namesake.
Gaga has previously opened up about the sexual assault that her aunt suffered and the impact that had on her illness. In the essay she opened up about how the recent political discourse and rhetoric, along with Michelle Obama’s powerful speech in New Hampshire made her think about everything her aunt, and every woman, had been through.
"Being a lady today means being a fighter," Gaga wrote. "It means being a survivor. It means letting yourself be vulnerable and acknowledging your shame or that you're sad or you're angry. It takes great strength to do that."
"I turned 30 this year, and I'm a fully formed woman," Gaga continued. "I have a clear perspective on what I want. That, for me, is success. I want to be somebody who is fighting for what's true—not for more attention, more fame, more accolades."
Read Lady Gaga’s full essay at Harper’s Bazaar. Joanne is available now.
