Metro

Dear Monsters,

Let Your Identity Be Your Religion.

I am so very honoured and proud to be the editor-in-chief of Metro for the day. Not only because I can speak with you directly, but because I wish to illuminate the powerful voice of my generation and let them speak for themselves. Little Monsters are not a fan base; they are a culture that exists entirely outside of pop music.

They are their own religion. They are a race within the race of humanity. The freedom and unprejudiced nature of The Monsterball, and for those who love Born This Way, spreads widely and has begun to live outside of the walls of the arena and the album charts.

I don’t say this with hubris, or with intent to take ownership over this community (as in fact they created their voice, not I), but rather I’d like to posture the possibility that kindness, mobilization and pop culture can push the boundaries of love and acceptance. We are all different, and it is this fact that makes us the same.

In the most basic and scientific sense, our “way,” as we were born, would be defined as cellular procreation, as I have theatrically interpreted in many of my performance pieces.

So, if we were to analyze this basic formula, we could quite simply say we were born not only from each other, but we were additionally made of each other, and designed to grow together. Love is the magic ingredient, of course, to the giant petri dish of life.

In this issue, I nominated Monster ambassadors to represent each Metro country from around the world. I asked them to research, write about and identify which issues pertaining to equality and social justice affect their region the most. In this paper, I’ve included graphs, charts, commentary, global surveys and articles inspired and generated by Little Monsters.

This piece conjures an approach to anti-bullying and equality that encourages togetherness through our shared human struggles. Metro and I beckon for those who are perhaps not affected by these challenges to help spread awareness of their reality, and act as a nurturing and compassionate force to those in need.

Be yourself, love who you are, and be proud. You were born this way, baby.

Sincerely,