Gaga, You Shouldn't Say This About Your Ring

As any Lady Gaga fan knows, her engagement ring is pretty massive in size. And aside from being huge, it is also extremely distinctive. A Lorraine Schwartz designed heart-shaped diamond is pretty hard to miss, after all. And as it turns out, there may be a reason why the pop star's ring is so large and bold, as she revealed in a recent interview on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. While being interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, Lady Gaga implied that Taylor Kinney got the engagement ring to warn off other guys from hitting on her.

So here's the full context. Fallon commented on Gaga's ring not long after he greeted her on his show by saying, "I just put my hand on top of your hand and felt that rock—ooh-la-la!" (Nice "Bad Romance" reference, on an unrelated note.) Gaga responded by saying that there is a reason for that. "I think that's why he got me such a big one, so if men touch my hand they're like, 'Oh, I feel something!'" the 29-year-old said, while showing off her rock on the show. Now, a lot of folks out there love to ooh and ahhh over stories about celebrity engagement rings, especially if they are as fantastic and outlandish as Gaga's. But some fans and followers like myself might be bothered by her recent comments about the reasoning behind the rock, especially if they follow her specifically for her widely known views on equality and feminism, like I do.

Now, it is worth mentioning that it was Gaga that said this about her fiancé getting the ring for the reason of warning off other men. Kinney has not been quoted as saying anything close to that. And it is also worth mentioning that the American Horror Story: Hotel star was most likely joking about the so-called reason. After all, anyone following these lovebirds for the past four years knows that they are so dedicated and loyal to one another that marking territory in any way (rock or otherwise) would not even be necessary.

That being said, the whole idea of "marking territory" in of itself has the potential to connect larger and more pervasive themes of male ownership and entitlement that has been entrenched in our society for quite some time. Since Gaga is such a public and steadfast advocate for equal rights, not only for gender equality but also for gay and civil rights, the idea of marking territory does not really bode well for the equality ideals she is known to espouse on a regular basis.

Now, this certainly does not mean that this one probably-in-jest comment from Gaga's end disqualifies her from speaking up for equality ever again. It does not make her a bad feminist. And it does not make her a hypocrite. But this does mean that in the future, she might do well to take a pause before making light of something that would seem like the exact opposite of what she wants to stand for. And we could all benefit from that.