While there’s an inarguable degree of glitz, glamour, and fortune inherent in being a successful pop star, it’s also undeniable that there’s a darker, uglier side to living life in the lime light. Seemingly, the higher you ascend, the more people want to see you torn down.
However, as The Guardian reports, when critics, known in the parlance as “haters”, are done lambasting your music, your videos, your performances, the way you dress, and just about everything else, many start going after your genitals. Specifically, which ones you’ve actually got.
“Accusing female pop stars of being born male isn’t anything new,” writes Mish Way, “just a weak, obvious attempt at a put down. It’s happened to many women in the spotlight (hello, Jamie Lee Curtis). Most recently, R&B star Ciara had the tag attached to her, as did Lady Gaga.”
Indeed, while some may not recall the viral email-spawned rumours that R&B singer Ciara was born a man that circulated back in 2005, most readers will be familiar with the rumours that pop queen Lady Gaga was in fact born a man and still had a penis, which was allegedly visible in some photos and music videos.
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“Each singer dealt with it in her own way,” writes Way. “Ciara denied the rumor and attempted to brush it off as just silly gossip, while Lady Gaga looked at it as a compliment, saying she ‘loved the rumor that she had a penis’ because her sold-out shows proved that her fans support her art no matter what.”
The latest star to be hit with such an “accusation” is Australia’s very own Iggy Azalea, who has been receiving more than her share of attacks in recent months. Amid a heated beef with fellow rapper Azealia Banks and persistent questions about her authenticity, the 24-year-old’s sex has also come into question.
As Way reports, while Azalea battles accusations of racism and cultural appropriation, as well as attacks on her looks — Snoop Dogg famously compared the rapper to a character in the movie White Girls — and her authenticity, she’s now facing claims that she was born as a male named ‘Cody’.
“It was almost too predictable that the next attack on Azalea would be the accusation that she was born with a penis,” says Way. “What else is left to hurt her with? …Everything is up for scrutiny: her voice, her performance, her ass, her tits, her hair, her femaleness. Even the authenticity of her vagina is challenged.”
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While Azalea has laughed off the rumours, which were started by the insidious “satire” website Huzler, asking if she’ll still be able to receive her Billboard Women in Music Award, Way opines that the claims are in fact another example of the misogyny rampant in the music industry, particularly towards young pop stars.
“Women never escape a disbelief that they wrote their own songs, produced their own records, or performed live without a backing track,” she writes. “Compound the disbelief in a woman’s talent and skill with the social pressure to have the poise, grace, beauty, and perfection of a doll.”
“Women are always going to endure harsher criticism of our physical selves than any other group experiences; the type and degree of criticism depends on class, race, and sexual orientation within the female identity.”
“I think Azalea handled the ridiculous accusations that she was born a man the only way she knows how: by laughing it off. Of course, it probably hurt her a little. It made her feel down for a second, stare in the mirror at her make-up-free face for an extra two minutes – but that’s par for the course when you become a successful female pop star.”
