Lady Gaga’s Message To Women: “It’s Time To Take Off The Corsets”

In the days before the 2016 presidential election, Lady Gaga encouraged fans to vote for Hillary Clinton by becoming "modern suffragettes." On Instagram, she posted photos of herself in all-white ruffles and a white, feathered hat with a "Vote" pin attached. "Go put on your hats and #GoVote," she wrote. "Corsets Off!" In an essay for Harper's Bazaar, Gaga elaborated on that message by making it clear it truly is time to rebel, both literally and figuratively, against the corsets that hold women back. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but isn't it time to take off the corsets?" she wrote. "As someone who loves them, I think it's time to take them off." Gaga is ready to protest — as she showed in the early-morning hours after the election, when she stood in front of Trump Tower with a "Love Trumps Hate" sign — and she wants other women to join her. If not for themselves, then for the generations of women who have never stopped fighting. For Gaga, that includes her mom, her grandmothers, and her dad's late sister, Joanne, who died in 1974 at the age of 19 and is the namesake of Gaga's latest album. The singer wrote that 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." Now, Gaga feels it's time to protect her. Like herself, Joanne was sexually assaulted, and like so many, wasn't given a voice to speak out. This election reminded Gaga that not much has changed for women who have been assaulted. They are still fighting for justice, because there are still people who don't want to listen. "We're worried that we will appear weak," she said of survivors being afraid to speak out. "That we'll be told we're being over-the-top, dramatic, emotional. But we're not. We're fighting for our lives." That fight is an important one for Gaga, who said turning 30 made her realize that she wanted to be "fighting for what's true — not for more attention, more fame, more accolades." "Health, happiness, love — these are the things that are at the heart of a great lady, I think," she wrote. "That's the kind of lady I want to be."