Unlearning Internalized Beauty Standards

Unlearning internalized beauty standards and redefining beauty for myself continues to be a big work for me. As a young person, one of the ways several of the kids in my class (especially the girls) bullied me was with the label “fat.” I pointed out that the boys who were my size or larger were not also labeled this way, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t about them. It wasn’t really about me either, but I took it on. We learn many norms, like body norms of size/shape/hair/etc., through shaming because they aren’t about us. They are about control and power. They are sprayed on us to manage what is socially undesirable and we absorb them like pesticides, poisoning our ability to nourish ourselves. Instead we learn to shame ourselves, to keep ourselves in compliance, and forget we even had a choice in the matter. In this episode of Unlimited, the podcast, I share a my most recent work to explore my own internalized beauty standards and empower myself through awareness and radical self-love. Some of what I talk about in this episode includes: Societal and generational learning and unlearning The expansive experience of decolonizing my library Walking through shame toward radical self-love Challenging society’s beauty ideals Intimate relationships and what is “sexy” Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it! Take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag me: @unlimitedcoachval Want to share your thoughts or have questions? Send me a message! I love to hear from you. You can email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram AND don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast! BOOKS/ARTICLES REFERENECED IN THIS EPISODE: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love Plucked: A History of Hair Removal by Dr. Rebecca Herzig Alok’s IG Book Report Post on Plucked My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Stop Telling Women They Have Impostor Syndrome UNLIMITED EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: Allowing Space to Imperfectly Love Your Body and Yourself Building Confidence Through Boudoir Photography No, You’re Not Crazy CONNECT WITH VALERIE: Facebook Instagram Get email updates! Work with Valerie! Send us Fan Mail Support the show