The trolls of the internet have hit again. This time, targeting Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance. No, not her dancing abilities or the pitch of her voice, which seems like a reasonable thing to criticize for a performance gathering such publicity. Rather, her haters ridiculed the way her so-called "belly fat" looked in her high-waisted sequinned costume.
There is so much wrong with this. Let's begin with the fact that Lady Gaga is around 112lbs. How do I know this, you may ask? Well there is a website dedicated to the size of celebrities' bodies, which in itself is a major concern. But putting that aside, Lady Gaga is well under the average weight of a woman in today's society. In America, the average women is 166lbs, far from a "large" body type.
If Gaga is being shamed for her well below average weight, what is being said about every other woman in America? This is why unrealistic body standards exist.
Honestly, I aspire to be like Lady Gaga. The confidence it takes to rock a dress made out of meat is amazing. The bravery needed to step onstage in front of millions of people is unbelievable. The courage it takes to post pictures of her without makeup and in her underwear on social media is astounding.
Meanwhile, I barely have the confidence to rock a bikini on the beach! Knowing that a woman as beautiful as Lady Gaga is being criticized for her body is sickening. It's not shocking that so many girls suffer from low self-confidence. Having role models that get criticized publicly in the way that Lady Gaga does sets unrealistic expectations. Hats off to you, Gaga, for going on stage looking nothing less than perfect.
Another thing that sets Gaga apart from the thousands of other celebrities is her boldness to openly discuss her struggle with an eating disorder since the age of 15, an issue that unfortunately affects far too many.
Lady Gaga understands the importance of loving your body. Her song "Born This Way" encompasses how we should all feel about our bodies, "I'm beautiful in my way / 'Cause God makes no mistakes." She is, like the rest of us, perfect in her own way.
I would love to ask if they would feel comfortable rocking a bikini in front of millions of people. I'm sure, "you should be wearing a bigger size" would be the last thing they would like to hear.
So f*ck the haters. Being a size 14 doesn't make you any less of a person than someone who is a size 0.