Fangirl Culture and It's Impact Today: That Fangirl Life Podcast Episode

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I featured as a guest on the That Fangirl Life Podcast to talk about my dissertation, 'What A Feeling' and discuss what life is like as a modern-day fan girl.

That Fangirl Life is the brand new podcast hosted and created by Instagrammer stroke Harry Styles stan, Laurel Melsom. Each week, she hosts alongside a special guest to discuss their experience of life as a pop-culture fangirl, talking about what it's like to be one of the many thousands of faces in a crowd or the words behind an internet fan account. In this episode, the second in the series, we talk all about some of the personal effects of involvement in a music fan-culture, from sparking creativity amongst adolescents to guiding future careers within the media and creative industries. 

Given my ever ongoing commentary on my time in the fandom and the hefty dissertation I mentioned earlier on, I'd like to think I'm quite well informed on the subject. It's also a topic that I hold quite close to my heart, as my time in the One Direction fandom was something that guided me through much of my own adolescent life, inspiring me to pursue Music Journalism at University. We broke down a number of the larger topics from my dissertation and spoke about our personal experiences within both the One Direction and Harry Styles fandoms. It's certainly safe to say that there was a LOT to talk about, and a lot to unpack from my eight-thousand-word project.

In this week's episode, I'm talking to recent Music Journalism graduate, Issy Aldridge, who wrote her dissertation on music fandoms and how they can enrich lives further than what is thought at surface level. We discuss what a fangirl is, why they are perceived to be crazy, as well as how being part of a fandom when she was younger has now made her pursue a career in music journalism. We also discuss how One Direction's Olivia deserved those trumpets too! 

This episode first aired at 8am on the 11th December 2020.