I missed Lady Gaga’s halftime show live. While I was busy filling my belly at Shaya in New Orleans (heavenly hummus and halloumi), others were tweeting about Gaga’s belly. I didn’t know about the belly or belly commentary until yesterday (the day after). All I had heard was that the show started on the top of the stadium (the only important detail my 14 year old provided).
I pulled up a Youtube video of the halftime show. I don’t know if everyone does this (I would guess many do) but I immediately went into evaluation mode. “Does she sound good?” Or, “is she a good dancer” and of course “how does she look”. It would be lovely if we watched the show and didn’t feel the need to judge it. However, just as many discussed who won the game, the same goes for the musical performances. I did not dig Luke Bryan’s anthem by the way.
I love Gaga’s music and her message, I’m a fan. When I saw the belly my first thought that it was nice to see a little pooch on someone in the spotlight. I also thought that perhaps the costume didn’t fit her very well. I have some jeans than dig into my sides and others that cover any bulge or bump. If I were to perform at the Superbowl, I’d choose the flattering ones.
Was this wardrobe choice intentional? The Foodtrainers’ office seems to think so. If you think about how you come down from the roof on a cable, you think about your wardrobe. If it was a “this is me and I was Born This Way” move, I love it. I’m just not so sure any woman would want to have the focus on their belly.
On the topic of “body shaming”, there was some pretty mean-spirited comments. Nobody can condone that. But I think that pretending we didn't take note of her teeny tummy isn't honest. We can notice the belly and quickly move on to how much ass she kicked.
