Contemporary Female Pop Musicians As Mental Health Motivation.

Ariana Grande is proof that no matter how shitty a time you’ve had of it, you can come out fighting, and that a winning streak doesn’t mean you’re not vulnerable.

Lana del Rey is proof that you can control your own damn narrative and build yourself into who you want to be, and that that person can still change and grow.

Janelle Monae is proof that you can be a complex person who embodies seemingly contradictory things.

Kali Uchis is proof that you can tie your passions together and make that unique fusion what attracts people to you.

Beyoncé is proof that both the micro and the macro can be inspirations, as well as anxieties.

Marina and the Diamonds is proof that you can be upbeat even if you’re focussed on the negative.

Rihanna is proof that plain speaking and assertiveness are to be respected. That you should know your value.

Nicki Minaj is proof that exploring the complexities of the different aspects of your personality and being different people in different situations is rewarding.

Lorde is proof that your unique perspective is what people value about you.

Cardi B is proof that good and bad come together – life is not a triumph or a narrative, you can’t win, you can only work hard at what you want.

Adele is proof that sometimes you may need to dress up your work or yourself to make people look, but it’s still your way of being, your talent and the work you do that makes you successful.

Cher Lloyd is proof that the dumb stuff you did as a teenager has helped form you, now, a better person, and people love you for it.

Stan culture doesn’t mean turning your back on the problematic things a person’s image embodies – whether that’s the needless celebration of wealth and consumerism, a difficult relationship with other cultures which skirts (or outright is) appropriation, or suggesting that perpetrating or experiencing violence may be fun. Stan culture means being inspired by what a person’s image opens up to you, taking what it means in the popular consciousness and seeing how it can send you in a direction that makes your life better. Stan culture is taking a person’s public image and art together as a package which you can enjoy, but which means more to you than just a piece of pop music could.

We stan.

To-Do:

• Go through Sylvia Plath’s letters for references to Germany, Romanticism or (ideally) German Romanticism.
• Make appointments with N and R RE: PhD.
• Find some poems to show therapist.

Today’s Culture:

• The soundtrack to Almost Famous. Maybe even the film itself, if I have time to watch it.
• Pasta bakes, dahls and baked potatoes – cheap, warm, healthy(ish).
• Smaller handbag – less space means carrying less means not doing my back in.