Gays Fed Up With Gaga's 'Pandering'

'Born This Way' the new gay anthem? Maybe not
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2011 10:47 AM CST

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" debuted to wildly enthusiastic reviews from the likes of Elton John and Perez Hilton, who see it as the new gay anthem—but other prominent gays are not so happy about it, writes Jacob Bernstein on the Daily Beast. Critiques ranged from the mild ("Gaga shmaga," wrote the editor of Out) to less mild ("very Blond Ambition meets Express Yourself," wrote Bravo host Andy Cohen) to the downright severe: "It seems pretty en vogue at the moment to pander to people's concerns about bullying," a party promoter says. "I sort of liked Gaga more when she sang about dancing as opposed to trying to be the voice of a generation."

Another gay man came up with this analogy for the song: It's like "white people writing a song about breaking free from slavery and expecting black people to worship us for it." (Although, Bernstein points out, Gaga has said she's attracted to both sexes.) A modeling agent, noting that Gaga once said she wrote the song in 10 minutes, said "she should have taken at least 11;" a DJ and former drag performer called the track "cheesy and overproduced." But what about Madonna, whose "Express Yourself" so many people have compared the track to? She's a fan, Gaga assured Jay Leno last night. Watch that video in the gallery or click to listen to the song. (More Lady Gaga stories.)

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