Lady Gaga represents both the height of celebrity and a disruption of the norms surrounding the social position. This book charts the way the pop star manages the celebrity persona in her relationships with her fans, the development of her gender identity, her parodying of other celebrities, and her navigation of the legal and economic system that make up the music industry. Much of Gaga’s ability to maintain ownership of her identity comes from her early decisions to characterize herself as a performance artist. For Gaga, this means living the persona 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Gaga mimicks celebrity life in a self-conscious way that makes the mimicry apparent. Her performance of celebrity is an on-going project—despite what she may claim, she was not born this way. The excess of her celebrity is magnified by her title: Mother Monster. Historically, media narratives of celebrities, monsters, and mothers have centered on uncontrolled excesses that must be contained. Gaga adopts these personas, but refuses to submit to the containment that comes with each. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Amber L. Davisson is Lecturer of Media and Cinema Studies at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Amber L. Davisson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 204
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7475-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0376-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments  vii
Introduction  1

1—Monstrous Celebrity  23
2—Dragging the Monster  54
3—The Pop Culture Monster  85
4—Selling the Monstrosity  120
5—Killing the Monster  148
Chapter Notes  167
Bibliography  183
Index  191