Not Just a “Love Game”
July 17, 2009
When Lady Gaga sings “I wanna take a ride on your disco stick” in her new hit single “Love Game,” she’s got people wondering, Is she singing about what I think she’s singing about? With its catchy pop lyrics and up-tempo beat, it’s hard to resist this popular song and music video.
Yet, it’s important to remember that “Love Game,” through its seductive words and images, promotes a distorted view of sexuality. The music video, with Lady Gaga naked and suggestively gyrating with groups of men, shows a sexual fantasy world that’s all about fun and games without consequences or emotion. It offers no honest, accurate information about real relationships or important sexual health information about STDs, pregnancy or safer sex. Although the lyrics are provocative, they just seem empty and vapid.
Asking “Love Game” to offer real information about sexuality is probably too much to ask from a simple song and music video. After all, “Love Game” was manufactured to sell, and as we already know, sex sells. But we should always keep in mind that there is so much more to sex than just carefree flings. While it’s fun to sing along with the catchy tune and there’s something appealing about fantasy, real relationships require more than gyrating and disco sticks.
