"Brave New Ideas Begin": Disability, Gender, and Life-Writing in Twenty-First-Century Pop

Lady Gaga’s recent revelations about her chronic health conditions have highlighted some of the issues faced by disabled women forging a career in the pop music industry. Singers Mandy Harvey (USA), Viktoria Modesta (UK), and the Sisters of Invention (Australia) represent a range of pop styles and attitudes, but each puts the experience of disability at the center of their performance. This chapter explores the way these contemporary female disabled artists in Anglophone pop use their creative output as a form of life writing, articulating their views on gender and disability in their music and their engagement with the public.