“There’s been a severe uptake in recent years of individuals being willing to talk about mental health issues, but if we stop short at only allowing depression and anxiety to be normalised, we are letting a huge percentage of the population down.” It was irresponsible and glorified suicide in a way that was worrying and led to copycat suicides. “A recent study showed that there was an increase in suicidal behaviour from teenagers after the release of 13 Reasons Why, which was irresponsibly filmed and went against the World Health Organisation’s media guidelines on reporting suicides, and they ignored the advice of a youth mental health charity. “The representation of mental health issues in shows such as Pretty Little Liars tend to be incredibly problematic, and there is still a culture where in shows people who display behaviour that is socially unacceptable are labelled mentally ill. I don’t think it does.”īut it’s not the first time mental health has been undermined or misrepresented in pop culture, Courtney says: “I’m not blaming Ava Max specifically, but all the people involved in making that song, the writers who collaborated and wrote the lyrics and composed the music all had a duty to think about whether portraying a woman as dangerous, fun and likely to cut your clothes up (hello, misogynistic stereotypes) has a place in the music scene in 2018. Look at all the feminist artists out there standing up for themselves. Look at Ariana Grande and ‘Thank u, next’. “We’ve been taking massive steps forward recently. “Songs like ‘Sweet But Psycho’ just pull back on the advances artists are making,” Smyth explains. She has been involved with youth mental health charity Reach Out and writes regularly for HeadStuff on social issues surrounding mental illness and stigma. As well as this, Courtney is a mental health advocate with a BSc in Psychology. I spoke to Courtney Smyth, who has years of experience with mental health systems in Ireland. It feeds into a misogynistic “crazy girlfriend” narrative, while also stigmatising those who suffer from psychosis, psychopathy or other mental illnesses.Īs someone who suffers with mental health themselves, and an advocate for de-stigmatisation, I wanted to take a further look into the problems deep rooted in the song and pop culture itself. This is Max’s debut single, and unfortunately for her, it’s anything but pleasant. If you’re a regular listener to Top 40 radio, or similar on Spotify, chances are you’ve been subjected to the song ‘Sweet but Psycho’ by Ava Max.
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