Lady GaGa ?

To the globalised world we live in, this is Lady gaga, To her Friends and family She's Steffani Joanne Germanotta. What is it about this Sensational Artist, that makes her a globalised, untouchable superstar?

Pictured above is GaGa herself in her New York yankees Jersey sporting just her underwear and heels at a recent game. Slandered constantly by the media, with "what's she wearing now?" "Ohh GaGa the Supreme Freak" This woman has fast become an international icon for fashion, liberation and individualism...  I think the hook she has is that, people feel she's displaying  and demonstrating their inhibitions. She likes to go out in daringly glamourous emsembles, saying what she thinks, dancing like no one is watching. All while demonstrating her passion for art.

To most people they respond with how she's a freak her videos are salacious. They often spark outrage and shock eventually becoming over editted, commercialisation distorts the artist meaning of her videos.People say she knows how to get attention, "she's just a mentally unstable young lady with alot to learn". To me and she's an artistic and lyrical genius, using art to communicate a story of how fame kills. 

An avid user of symbolism in her music videos, performances and lyrics. GaGa had her self killed on stage while Performing Paparazzi at the MTV VMAs, which is a song about her taunting fame and how she'll "be there biggest fan and follow them until she loves them"  Recently at a concert in England a parent complained when her 12 year old daughter saw GaGa being mauled by her dancers, she said it was too raunchy that she was appalled, and thought she brought being a slut to a new level. Even with attractive, catchy lyrics. She's not all that suitable for children. Art cannot be tammed or capped, Simply Misunderstood as a freakish attention seeking weirdo. My interpretation of her art and symbolism is very much different, to many critics.

Last year in a video interview in norway when the interviewer asked if her videos were over sexualised and distracted people from her music. She bit back,

"You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting here with a cigarette in my hand, grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music 'cause I love fast cars and fucking girls, you'd call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I'm a female, because I make pop music, you're judgmental, and you say that it is distracting. I'm just a rock star"- Lady gaga

However with a massive fan base that's only getting bigger, the only way is up for this inspirational Woman.

Do we take the right to vote for granted?

In the UK it could be said that we certainly take the right to vote for granted. Some of us don’t vote and aren’t even on the electoral register because we don’t care or simply can’t be bothered. Although in the rest of the world voting for women can sometimes be forbidden, for example in Saudi Arabia women are dependent on their husbands and male counter parts; they can’t vote or stand for election. So without this political representation it’s difficult for women to get things done about serious issues like rape, divorce honour killings and also forced marriages.


Even in some countries where women can vote they can still be faced with intimidation or be harmed for doing so. The Taliban in 2009 threatened to cut off women’s ink stained fingers if they went to the poll in 2009. They faced suicide bombers and being killed in a free fall of terror, if a bomb was suspected. In Zimbabwe women who voted in against the country’s dictator Robert Mugabe in 2008 were beaten and raped by his followers.


It’s so easy to take our voting rights for grated here, even though less than 100 years ago women couldn’t vote in the UK. Many made huge sacrifices and fought for the right to vote at the polls. Things changed in 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst formed the suffragettes. The suffragettes had the passionate aim of having the right to vote, finally getting what they wanted in 1928, which was long overdue. Throughout their struggle they were imprisoned for wanting to be equal to men. Emily Davison a suffragette activist was even killed when she walked in front of the king’s horse.


Today voting gives us the chance to vote on things that matter. Be it the price of alcohol, human rights or farming policies. The problem I think in the country is that people can’t be bothered. Some people I’ve been speaking to lately think that it’s a bitching match between “two sides”. Another told me she won’t be voting because she thinks it’s a joke. Another young person told me he won’t vote because he doesn’t understand what’s going on. To be honest I don’t follow northern Irish politics, but I know which party stands for what I want. I don’t follow Northern Irish politics as I too think it’s a joke, and echoes the era from which so many have moved on from and are trying to move on from, but are held back by so few.


Some people aren’t voting for change, they’re voting with the sense of collectivism. To show they belong to whichever side. I think if voting is done right you’re party could even change every year depending on what they’re aiming to change. In an ideal world I would like fresh minded liberal people to take over the running of the country, people who are not bias or bigoted. Maybe that way we would get something done and overcome the years of petty politics.






Don’t take your vote for granted may 6th; check out these websites below if you haven’t a clue who you’re voting for. They’re simple and easy to use.


Find out what your local MP/MLA stands for etc:


http://www.votematch.org.uk/


http://www.voteforpolicies.org/

The way I'm seeing it.... The Fight for Equality

To average young men equality doesn’t mean an awful lot. To me it stands for everything. As a member of the LGBT community in the North of Ireland, i know firsthand what it’s like to be discriminated against from the base of society and not conform to the social norm. I often can’t help but wondering will there ever be full equality in society.


Since the Civil rights struggle in the USA, worldwide it seems to have sparked a fight for human rights. Be it Women’s’ rights, Children’s rights, Trans rights, or deaf and disabled people’s rights. It all seems to be happening and is long overdue. With all the political activism and campaigning people do in our country and worldwide today, I would have thought things would have changed a lot more by now. I won’t take away the progress the human rights movement have made in the past 60 odd years. But I think social attitudes take a long time to change and develop.


For feminism and women’s rights, to some extent the law has changed to allow gender equality to partially exist but social attitudes haven’t. In a heterosexual relationship women get 6 months off for maternity leave and men get 2 weeks for paternity leave. In my opinion the couple should be able to take the 6 months and 2 weeks and divide them between the Man and Woman as they see fit. To me this is the state echoing the outdated view that women are to be kept at home looking after the children even though this may seem as an extreme view i do feel that the state should give the couple the choice.


I study sociology, in a quick survey of the class of roughly 18-25 year olds the female members of our class were asked do they think gender equality exists in Northern Ireland, most of them nodded. The reasons were that women were allowed paid time off for maternity leave, women have equal pay and equality laws make sexual harassment illegal etc. To me, on the surface gender equality may be dressed up as being an okay issue, with equality laws making everything slightly chipper. Law is one thing, but it isn’t illegal to be prejudice. Maybe it’s the Social attitudes we need to change and back them up with the laws. The same thing applies to Gay rights. Again I won’t shadow the impressive progress made in relation to gay rights and the equality act.


However to be blunt I think the politicians society elect are hardly ever in the minority. For example there are only a few openly gay politicians is this why gay rights will be slow? Again most politicians are men so will women’s rights take a back seat? I have to be careful not to over generalise on the issue as this isn’t always the case. But I’m a firm believer in if you want a change you have to get to the top and be active. People could be more active and passionate with issues they think need addressing. Politicians are elected to change things on our behalf. I do find that not enough people speak to their local MLA or MPs asking what they’re doing for an issue they feel needs raised. I know it’s something i feel i need to do more.

Motivation...

I often ask myself what motivates us to live, who’s driving the hard bargain which makes us want to go on. The fundamental question in life often asked, is why am I here?. It’s what we do surely? we have to be here, if not where else would we be. It seems indoctrinated into the very brains we each use every day but will the question ever be fully addressed as to what makes us get out of bed in the morning.



So what motivates us to carry on? Family, Friends, Jobs, Money or that search for the ultimate life filled with happiness and success. Hands down it’s easy to say everyone has something that motivates them. For me it’s my hopes and aspirations, for the next person it could be that they have to function for their kids’ futures. Ask yourself, how do we find the motivational factor in life and what makes them so special that we never give up hope in finding them.



Throughout life’s course our motivational factors can swap and change. Once we get that well deserved place at university or that fought over promotion at work, that dream having been fulfilled will only suffice for so long before we’re charging full steam ahead into something greater and bigger all over again. It seems to me that everybody’s fighting for something. That very human instinct of survival and happiness is on its own a complete and utter touch of magic.



To some people “nothing” motivates them. Then why are you here? What do you get out of this? Life is precious and taken for granted, people doubt themselves and become fatalistic about not getting what we want. We deserve every happiness and we should NEVER follow your dreams. You should charge at them and hold them tight. Stay motivated, if you can’t get motivated start with what simple things you have. I have the breath of life which surely has to count for something. Things may be awful, things may be dark but finding motivation to get out of our ruts and be successful is surely something everyone will be eternally fighting for.

I couldnt help but wonder...

To new beginnings. 
A new blog is a new lease on life, after some shopping around and comparing different sites to host my blog i've settled. If i'm totally honest starting a blog sounds/looks easier than it actualy is. I wasn't aware of how original i was to be. I thought long and hard and ,


 i couldnt help but wonder what to call my blog..