As women in particular, but also men I think we're told that if we don't conform to certain standards of attractiveness a man is never going to choose us. Back when our quality of life was tied to marriage that really mattered a lot There's all this gender socialization that occurs from a young age and it reinforces the idea that My value as a woman lies in my physical appearance. It takes a lot of effort and energy to not care about what we look like Especially in a society that puts it front and center So I think that's one factor putting myself back into an environment in which First impressions and and looks feel like they matter.
Recently I've been feeling, as the episode title says, ugly. My relationship with my body and sense of 'attractiveness' has always been complicated and in the past few months, certain events and experiences have only exacerbated a lot of the insecurities I've had since childhood. So I wanted to talk about it, because I know I'm not the only one. Our 20s involve a lot of self growth, coming into our own identity and reframing our mindset on appearance and our relationships with our bodies. So what are some of the reasons why we feel 'ugly', how does that experience impact our emotional and mental wellbeing, what is the influence of societally held beauty standards and how we can escape this narrative that our looks are the extend of our worth to society. We talk about all of that and more in today's episode. Listen now.
If you need further information, resources or assistance please refer to the following services:
Australia - The Butterfly Foundation
https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/
USA - National Eating Disorders Association
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
UK - Beat Eating Disorders
https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk
Canada - National Eating Disorder Information Centre
https://nedic.ca
Worldwide - https://www.verywellmind.com/leading-eating-disorder-charities-and-organizations-4145389
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