Ep 38: Representations of female popular musicians, with PhD researcher Sarah Sharp

Sarah Sharp (FRSA) is a PhD researcher of popular music and mental ill-health at University of East Anglia. She is currently researching representations of popular female musicians, including Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Halsey and Demi Lovato. She illuminates her findings and interweaves this through a candid reflection of her own life history, including her experiences of psychiatric care, misogyny and emotional, domestic abuse.   Sarah's blog post for Tonic Music for Mental Health: https://www.tonicmusic.co.uk/post/sarah-sharp   Contact Sarah: BlueSky: sarah5harp@bsky.social. LinkedIn: Sarah Sharp FRSA Facebook: Sarah Richarda Marie Sharp Research Profile: https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/sarah-sharp Contact Sound Affects Podcast: Email: soundaffectspodcast@gmail.com Twitter/X and Bluesky: @SoundAffectsPod Instagram: sound_affects_podcast   Helplines and support: Refuge: https://refuge.org.uk/ Women's Aid: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/ Rape Crisis: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/want-to-talk/ Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/ Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ Amy Winehouse Foundation: https://amywinehousefoundation.org/ Face The Music Now Foundation, by and for survivors of abuse in the music industry: https://facethemusicnow.com/ Women and Girls network: https://www.wgn.org.uk/ Beat (eating disorders): https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ OWHL: https://www.owhl.co.uk/ More links to things mentioned: Misogyny in music inquiry: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6736/misogyny-in-music/ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-factsheets/police-crime-sentencing-and-courts-bill-2021-making-misogyny-a-hate-crime-factsheet    

Om Podcasten

Welcome to Sound Affects Podcast – featured in NME's Podcasts for the People series. A music & mental health podcast exploring all crossovers between music and mental health: how music and sounds affect us somatically and psychologically, the songs that see us through, what drives people to music careers/a life on the road, the music industry climate, music therapy as support for mental illness, music fandom, music journalism and research in all these crossovers. I speak to well-known musicians and figures, experts, therapists, academics, researchers, authors, journalists, charities, and music fans. Each episode is an interview with a guest centred around a specific theme of music and mental health. Sound Affects is produced, edited and hosted by me, Katerina – a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist working professionally in both the NHS and private practice. I'm also a freelance sub-editor and writer published in The Independent, The Guardian, The Times and Wellcome Collection. Before becoming a therapist, I was a Samaritan helpline listener supporting people struggling to cope with suicidal feelings, and I worked full time as a copywriter and editor for Samaritans during the time of the charity's male suicide research launch. I've worked in magazine and newspaper publishing for many years and spent a lot of time during this time speaking to musicians and creative people. The idea for Sound Affects came while writing about and interviewing bands – I noticed a theme emerging around existential identity and just how sad some of the so-called "rock n roll" stories of excess were. I was also aware of just how much music impacts me, and in particular, specific bands and sounds. It is no secret that I'm a huge Oasis fan, and this theme features regularly in this podcast as alongside my interviews, I occasionally pause to reflect and consider what draws me to this music and how it has shaped me. When I trained as a psychotherapist, I drew together all my interests, culminating in this podcast. I often see musicians as clients for therapy, and I routinely appear in the press and radio commenting on various aspects of therapy and emotional health. I've been a guest on BBC Radio, and appeared in OK! Magazine, Psychologies, Stylist, Grazia, The Independent and more.