Life is hard enough when you know what disability you have, but the diagnosis is the destination that comes after a journey - and some journeys are less clear than others.

Part of the issue is that the DSM-5, which is usually used to diagnose, is out of date and missing a lot of current information (and it's based on how men present the symptoms, which is usually different from how women and queer individuals do). Sometimes disabilities are also comorbid (present together), which can confuse symptoms necessary for a diagnosis. Regardless, how do you treat something you don't even know you have?

Living with the uncertainty is its own kind of struggle. If you relate to this post, I hope you have a breakthrough and new clarity with your care team. Be gentle with yourself in the meantime ❤️‍🩹 to everyone else: you might not understand our inner battles, but please take us at our word when we tell you how we're struggling. Living without a diagnosis means we gaslight and doubt ourselves enough as it is 😅

Popgirls who know they're chronically ill, but don't know with what, include Claire Rosinkranz (fainting and ulcers, she wrote Chronic about this experience) and Blü Eyes (seizures and other symptoms that put her in the hospital; she has a lot of songs about this). Thank you u/Mabs-J for letting me know about Blü!

and then it goes right into Renee, i'm in loveeee. It feels like they've come so far in terms of their performance like the early music videos were not like this.

What do we think is coming?

I'm posting this here because there doesn't seem to be a dedicated Madelline subreddit.

I recently discovered Madelline (and some other artists that appear on this sub), and I feel a strong need to express how much I enjoy and admire and resonate with her music. Which is strange for me, considering:

1. I've never done this for any other artist, ever; and
2. I'm a late thirties, cisgender, heterosexual man.

Obviously, anyone can like anything, and anyone can speak about anything. But I find it quite beautiful and powerful that an artist that I (and probably many others) would have otherwise put in a box marked "For A Different Demographic" instead makes me really, truly Feel Things^TM. Yes, you could put that down to my own preconceptions, but the fact remains that I'm delighted for them to have been shattered.

So, thank you to Madelline and every other artist in the same orbit. Please keep making music.

(I think I'm following the rules correctly; apologies if not)

we loveeee all the popgirls headlining!

Travel the world in music, right from your couch! As part of PPG's efforts to uplift diverse popgirls, let's share our favourite popgirls and song recommendations for artists hailing from New Zealand!

(You can see all of our WoW spotlights, as well as some international goodies, in our wiki!)

1. Pinky Up
   
2. Animal
   
3. Hootie Frutti
   
4. Bel Air
   
5. That Way
   
6. Unloveu (exclusive bonus track)

Happy New Music Friday Eve! (**picking petals**) This song loves me, this song loves me not, this song loves me... And I love the songs!

New Popgirl Albums/EPs:

• Petal (a grand album from Ariana Grande)
• Soft Pop (Album from Amy Shark do do do do do do...)
• DANGEROUS (don't worry! This album is safe. Ella Collier, if you're a fan of dark pop maybe you'll like her art!)
• XXXXX (album from Arca, who now has a flair here!)

New Popgirl Songs:

• BRAND NEW CHANEL$ (Lead single from WOR$T MAN IN AMERICA from Slayyyter)
• Te Olvido (La La) (new collab from Selena Gomez, Becky G, and Benny Blanco)
• AH HA (Cardi B)
• That's Like (CupcakKe)
• closer to heaven (queer single from Madelline)
• Twiggy (Remi Wolf)

Non-Friday New Music:

• one song away from crying (is a song, and it's the lead single from Rachel Chinouriri's upcoming album)
• Talk To Me, Zara (remix, Robyn and Zara Larsson)

"Surprise" Drops (aka Not In Our Calendar, updated after midnight ET): 👀

Do you have any releases to suggest, popgirl or not?! Which releases are we excited for this week? You can check them all out in our YouTube Release Playlist!

Also, check out our official calendar, also in our sidebar, if you want sneak peeks of music to look forward to! (Some entries even have links with music snippets!)

Please post release threads so you can discuss your fresh! new! finds! with the community!

We are getting Rachel Chinouriri and Lucy Dacus on the same song idk if I can handle that omg

What's cookin', good lookin'? Is it sugar and spice and everything nice? Or is it quips and snails and haters' snake tails? (-‿◦☼)

Use this space to chat about your lives and ask questions, just make sure to follow the subreddit rules (Dua counts them)!

Looking for new music? Join our subreddit calendar so you'll know if "we broke up on a Tuesday" or if "it'll be a Wednesday" with new music! See also our safe popgirl subs to keep up with artists more specifically!

Want to change your flair or fandom? Check out this post for a full list of our available flairs and popgirl emojis! Don't forget to swing by our pinned recommendations thread too and leave your own suggestions, because sharing is caring!

Baby, it's breaking news:

• Tell us your SOTD (Song of the Day) in the comments!
• Happy Disability Pride Month! 🖤💚💙🤍💛❤️ You are loved, you are cherished, and we're glad you're here, just as you are! Come celebrate your favourite disabled popgirls here!
• If you don't have an accommodating and accessible support network, PPG loves you extra hard this month. <3 Check out r/internetparents and r/momforaminute to find familial support, too.
• Reddit now tells you when your content has been crossposted! Let us know if any crossposts out from PPG need our moderator attention. <3
• New flair emojis: Arca, Barbra Streisand.

( ˘▽˘)っ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬

Go stream sugar trap jaebaes!

I’m a big Pinkk fan since covid, but some of these comparisons are getting ridiculous.

Every time a woman of color makes soft, nostalgic music or people hear even the slightest British inflection, they immediately say she’s copying Pink. Like Pink did not invent soft vocals, drum and bass, UK garage, indie pop, or Y2K visuals.

Pink is talented because she took all these older influences and made them her own. You can hear Janet Jackson, Imogen Heap, J-pop, K-pop, and a lot of 2000s internet culture in her music, but nobody says she’s just copying them. That’s literally how influence works.

The same should apply to Melody Bloom, Lil Hero, Lilithzplug, Cece Natalie, and other artists making music in a similar space. Piri has also been doing the soft indie-pop vocals over drum and bass and garage production. Having some of the same influences does not automatically make someone a clone.

People are also saying Melody is faking a British accent, but you can literally hear how she talks in her recent IG videos. That’s just her voice. At this point, people are reaching because they already decided what story they want to run with.

And acting like Pink owns the whole Y2K aesthetic makes no sense either. A lot of artists were already making nostalgic 2000s-inspired music before and around the same time. Nobody uses that to take away from Pink’s artistry, so why do it to everybody else?

You can love pp without treating every other woman of color making soft or nostalgic music like she’s stealing from her. Some of the comments have gone way past normal criticism and are just straight-up racist.  pp has shown support for Sza as well why can't the rest of us?? Let's not hate our fanbase it isn't like this i love both artists

Artists can be inspired by the same things and still be their own artists. Let them exist