Lady Gaga’s meat dress: the outfit that shocked the world

Garland was not with her that night, but saw the photos online. “I thought it was amazing,” she recalls. “It’s all about getting noticed. It’s all about, “Did I make you think? Have I left a lasting impression?” And I think there’s also a shock factor: Whether people like it or not, they’re all going to be talking about it.”

Of course they were. Francesca Granata, assistant professor of fashion studies at Parsons School of Design and author of Experimental Fashion: Performance, Carnival, and the Grotesque Body, says the combination of raw meat on bare skin was what shocked people the most. “This is the ultimate disgust,” says Granata. “It bothers the inside of the body rather than the outside, literally having flesh on the outside of the body. It reminds people of their own mortality. I don’t think any other appearance of hers has caused such obvious concern.”

Granata says the dress can also be seen as a critique of the objectification of women, “especially the way pop stars were perceived as sex objects. Lady Gaga’s meat dress turns the expression “piece of meat” on its head. “

Some were furious. Animal rights charities condemned the dress, with Peta calling it “offensive” and saying “there are more people who are upset by the slaughter than those who are impressed by it.”

In a post-show interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Gaga said that no offense was intended and explained that the dress was a statement of protest against the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prevented service members from disclosing information. their sexual identity. “For me tonight it’s (saying): ‘If we don’t stand up for what we believe in, if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’ll have as many rights as meat on our bones.’ A week later, she appeared at a rally calling for an end to the policy and gave a speech entitled “America’s First Rib.” The law was officially put into effect three months later.