EP.166 - Andrea Samtani - "I Would Really Love For Indian Women To Start Taking Ownership For Their Own Bodies"

This episode is dedicated to our bodies.The Brown ones. The bloated ones. The strong ones. The “why is my head filled with negativity about my body" ones.I've been thinking a lot lately about how we  were taught to fix our bodies  before fully living in them. How little we learned to trust our gut, to understand the connection between mind and body. And how hard it is now to tune in.This week on Middle Fingers Up, I sit down with Andrea: a South Asian mental health professional and content creator based in Australia --to talk about body image, fitness culture, the flat belly myth, BMI, hormones, and the exhausting experience of trying to achieve a beauty standard many of us were literally never built for.We talk about:-striving for a whiter ideal(even when we think we aren't. )-why generic health advice often fails Brown women-and how our  body becomes something we monitor instead of something we build a relationship with. One of the biggest takeaways?We may not be able to stop people from commenting on women’s bodies. Those aunties, guys and society...But we can stop turning those comments into our identity.Also: maybe the goal isn’t a flat stomach.Maybe the goal is finally taking up space without apologizing for it. The tummy is the new black.Listen now if you’ve ever:avoided the photo,changed your outfit 14 times,or believed your worth increased every time your body got smaller.Middle Fingers Up to all of it.Instagram: andreasamtaniSupport the showIf you like what you hear please click on "subscribe" or "follow" -  It's free and you will get notified when the newest episodes are posted!  Check us out on Instagram, X, and YouTube @mfupodcast. Give feedback, middle finger recommendations as well as random thoughts to [email protected]. Thank you for listening!In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.