Baby, I was born this way. At least Lady Gaga thinks so. Admittedly, I was up at six a.m., drawn in by the hype of what was supposedly going to be the “gay anthem for this generation.” Like many of my friends, I was interested in hearing her new single as soon as it came out.
I had no idea what to expect but I was secretly hoping the song would suck. Due to the track “Speechless" from Gaga’s last album, part of me was expecting a grandiose epic only rivaled by Meatloaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” Or I thought perhaps we’d get another “Bad Romance” with queer-friendly lyrics. I must confess that Gaga defied every single one of my expectations. The last thing I expected “Born This Way” to be was the GAY 'ole song it is.
Love her or hate her, Gaga's appeal to the younger generation may be that she puts a trendy, hipper face on the queer movement. Whether you like Gaga’s songs or not, you have to admit they're a pretty far cry from Diana Ross, Donna Summer, or Liza Minelli. Even when Gaga drew inspiration from Madonna, it was more from artsy dark Madonna than Junior Vasquez remix Madonna.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2011.