Mamamia Out Loud

SUNDAY SPECIAL: But What Have You Done To Your Face

Jan 25, 2025

Alison Brahe Daddo, a renowned Australian supermodel from the late 80s and a passionate advocate for midlife and menopause issues, joins the conversation. She delves into the emotional complexities of aging and societal beauty standards. The discussion covers the pressure of maintaining youthful appearances versus embracing self-acceptance. They reflect on beauty in the digital age, the impact of diet culture, and the personal journey towards confidence in midlife. It’s a candid exploration of how beauty perceptions evolve, highlighting the importance of self-care and support.

57:10

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Episode guests

Alison Brahe-Daddo

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Quick takeaways

The podcast highlights the emotional challenges women face with aging and societal beauty standards, emphasizing the pressure to maintain youthful appearances.

It discusses the transformative journey of self-acceptance, where women often find newfound confidence and beauty in their current selves compared to their younger years.

Relationships are affected by changing self-perceptions, stressing the importance of communication to navigate intimacy challenges related to body image.

Deep dives

The Reality of Aging for Women

Aging brings significant emotional challenges, especially for women who have historically been valued for their beauty. The podcast features a candid discussion about the struggles associated with observing changes in one's appearance, such as wrinkles or sagging skin, and the societal pressures to maintain youthfulness. The dialogue emphasizes that despite recognizing aging as a privilege, many women often grapple with the perception of themselves in the mirror. This complex relationship with aging is intertwined with the fear of being judged or appearing desperate to hold on to youth.

Intro

4min

Embracing Beauty in Midlife

18min

Beauty in the Digital Age

3min

Redefining Body Image

5min

Breaking the Cycle of Diet Culture

20min

Navigating the Empty Nest

5min

Embracing Self-Care and Confidence in Midlife

3min

Outlouders, in 2025 many people are celebrating the new and making changes for themselves. We've spoken on the show at lengths about the pressures of beauty standards on women in society. To look younger is a conversation that isn't going anywhere.

Which is why today, we are sharing with you a fascinating episode of MID that Holly did last year... because even supermodels have the same thoughts that we do.

Alison Brahe Daddo was THE Australian model of the late 80s, on every magazine cover and on many a teenage girl’s wall. She had a huge career here and overseas. In recent years she became the most honest, interesting voice about midlife and menopause and all the messy challenges it brings us.

But in this episode, Holly and Ali get deep about surface stuff. Beauty, whatever it means to us - and let’s be honest, there’s a sliding scale of how much any of us can ever claim to have felt beautiful, at any age - is a beast in midlife. Because how we wear our age on our face and our bodies can feel so important, so crucial to how the outside world sees us, even as we know it’s really the silliest of all our concerns. It often doesn’t feel that way.

LINKS:

You can follow Ali on Instagram here.
Find her books and other projects here.

THE END BITS:

Share your feedback! Send us a voice message or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au

CREDITS:

Host: Holly Wainwright

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Producer: Tahli Blackman

Audio Producer: Thom Lion & Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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Mamamia Out Loud

SUNDAY SPECIAL: But What Have You Done To Your Face

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Reality of Aging for Women

Re-evaluating Beauty Standards

Personal Stories of Transformation

Navigating Relationships and Self-Image

Changing Perspectives on Health and Strength

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts