When Lady Gaga decided to light up a spliff on stage during a concert in Amsterdam (where recreational marijuana use is within the limits of the law) on September 17, she must have expected a bit of backlash from the anti-drug brigade back in the good ol’ U.S. of A. But, during a kick-off event for an anti-substance abuse initiative on Monday, Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro decided to denigrate more than just the pop star’s drug use. According to the Staten Island Advance, Molinaro said, “I would call her a slut.” Sir, I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
During his presentation, Molinaro showed photos from Gaga’s Amsterdam concert plastered on poster board and labeled with the headline, “Stop Glorifying Drug Use in the Media.”
“We have to understand that there’s a tremendous influence with our youth, which I didn’t have as a youth. And there’s the influence right there,” he said while pointing to Gaga’s image. “Stop glorifying the drug use.” Now, it’s not unusual for a politician to pursue a drug-free agenda — in fact, it’s practically required in crime-riddled places like NYC — but Molinaro crossed the line with his next statements.
Molinaro went on to say, “There’s Gaga. Here’s this … this … I would call her a slut. This slut is influencing many, many children … My niece has two daughters, 12 and 14, they love this woman. Why? Why?” Hold the phone, Molinaro. I believe you went a little bit off message here. Weren’t we talking about her drug use? What does Gaga’s sex life have to do with it?
Oh, I’m sorry, you’re not finished. Carry on.
Molinaro continued, “So, we have a job to do also with these actresses, actors, ballplayers. They use drugs as if it’s nothing. We shouldn’t praise them.” Fair enough; I’m with you there. “We shouldn’t honor them. We should really hit them. We should hit the sponsors that she has … where her millions of dollars come [from].” Oh my. Now we’re advocating violence? Is that really the message you want to send the children you’re trying to influence? That you should hit the people you disagree with? But I digress… Back to the “slut” comment.
“To me, she’s not an actress, she’s a slut … in the pure meaning of the word,” Molinaro concluded. You’ve lost me again, Mr. Molinaro. Because, you see, when I look “slut” up in the dictionary (who am I kidding, I mean when I type “slut define” into Google) it says, “A slovenly or promiscuous woman. Synonyms: trollop, strumpet, harlot, streetwalker, slattern.” You know what it doesn’t say? Drug user. I’m not saying the two terms are mutually exclusive — plenty of drug users are promiscuous — but they are also not synonymous. Also, Gaga is not an actress. Who does your research?
The inaccuracy of Molinaro’s terminology aside, “slut” is not a word that should be bandied about. To quote the very wise Ms. Norbury (played by Tina Fey in the 2004 comedy/teen girl bible Mean Girls), “You all have to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” So, you see, much like the n-word and using “gay” to mean “stupid,” it’s not okay for anyone to use the term. Especially when its original (albeit derogatory) meaning is stripped away and it is simply used to denigrate a person. Considering Gaga’s drug use has nothing to do with her sexual activity, Molinaro uses the word here to mean, generally, “a woman who does bad things.” Molinaro is setting a dangerous precedent for the kids he is trying to reach. Does he want “slut” to be their go-to name for women who make them unhappy? I can see it now, “Mom is making me clean my room. She’s such a slut,” says every Staten Island ten-year-old. That seems problematic.
While Gaga is guilty of publicly smoking marijuana — again, in a city where it is legal — Molinaro’s choice of a scapegoat is ill-advised. Gaga, who is an advocate of gay rights and a healthy body image, is far from your worst choice in role model. Following criticism of an apparent weight gain, Gaga took to her web site, LittleMonsters.com, on Tuesday to defend and praise her curvier figure. Gaga posted photos of herself wearing nothing but her underwear and captioned the shots with the powerful words, “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15 … But today I join the BODY REVOLUTION. … To inspire Bravery. … and BREED some m$therf*cking COMPASSION.” I don’t know about you, but a woman who regularly takes a stand against teen bullying and celebrates being “born this way” is someone I think many teens can aspire to.
After hearing Molinaro’s diatribe, one thing is very clear to me: Molinaro needs to go back to kindergarten, a place where name-calling and hitting are met with a nice, long, time-out.
Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone
[Photo Credit: Borough of Staten Island]
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