During her halftime performance at Super Bowl LI, Lady Gaga absolutely got political, whether you realized it or not. According to USA Today, Gaga may have also made history with her performance. They pointed out it's likely the first time the word "transgender" has been uttered during a Super Bowl halftime show. That's not just another fun fact, it's a major deal.

In her song "Born This Way," an acceptance anthem for the LGBTQ community, Gaga says "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life." As USA Today guesses, this probably is the first time anyone has said "transgender" during the halftime show, and that's important not only because of what's going on in the country, but because it normalizes transgender identity in a huge way.

During Gaga's performance, Vice President Mike Pence was sitting in the audience. Pence has a poor record when it comes to supporting LGBTQ rights, having opposed marriage equality and allegedly advocated for spending public money on conversion therapy. As he, and no doubt numerous other legislators who have opposed LGBTQ rights, watched, Gaga — an openly bisexual woman - belted out a song meant to inspire LGBTQ people to love themselves completely, no matter who they are. That sends a message to everyone listening that LGBTQ people exist, exist in many different ways, and love each and every one of those ways.

If in fact it was the first time someone said transgender during the halftime show, that's a big deal because millions of people were watching. The Super Bowl is always the most-watched TV event of the year, according to the International Business Times, which estimated more than 116 million would tune in during this year's game. For many of those people, being transgender is taboo - it's something that's outside the norm. This is evident because 90% of transgender people report experiencing harassment or mistreatment at work, 63% of transgender people report experiencing some type of major discrimination overall, and nearly a quarter report a disastrous type of discrimination that caused them to lose their home, be put in jail, or be physically or sexually assaulted because of their identity. Transgender people may experience so much harassment and discrimination because a lot of people don't understand what being transgender means. That's why Lady Gaga saying it at the Super Bowl is historic — millions of viewers heard the word spoken during the most watched television event, and one of the biggest sports events, of the year, meaning it's something totally normal and not at all taboo. The more people hear and talk about transgender identities, the more normal it becomes and the more it leads to acceptance.

And that was Gaga's whole message — acceptance.

“I believe in a passion for inclusion. I believe in the spirit of equality and the spirit of this country as one of love, and compassion, and kindness,” Gaga said during a press conference before the game about what her performance would be like. “My performance will uphold those philosophies.”

It definitely did.

Related: If You Think Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Performance Wasn't Political, You Missed the Point