Lady Gaga: Born this Way

Did you happen to catch Lady Gaga on Oprah’s Next Chapter on Sunday night? If you watched or listened to the TV news shows or radio accounts of the interview the next morning like I did, you may hear about Lady Gaga’s relatively conservative dress, her vow of silence (for interviews) for the near future, and her desire to have a “soccer team” of kids.

I heard a different interview. I heard her describe her personal experience of being thrown in a garbage can while in school, a “joke” that continues to haunt her even today after all the “fame and glory.” I heard her describe why she started the Born This Way Foundation, which she co-leads with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, to “foster a more accepting society where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.”

I heard three young people who used Lady Gaga’s lyrics from the song “Born this Way” to empower themselves and others against bullies. One of them, Ruthanne Johnson, even started her own foundation, BeYou YouthEmpowerment.

I heard a young woman who is making history — not just with record sales or one-of-a-kind artistic fashion statements but with a compassion that is changing the lives, and therefore the histories, of the next generation. She is empowering individuals to be brave, to gain self-confidence, and to take a stand when a stand needs to be taken.

As we honor Women’s History Month, I’d like to add to the list of great women who have changed history. So here’s to you, Lady Gaga, and to the many other women alive today who are using their own power for good — to help their families, their communities, their countries, and ultimately the world. You are creating a history that we will all be proud to look back on someday.