Now that I have jumped straight into the world of podcasts, I am realising that there is so much content out there and I am quite excited. Most podcasts are around 30mins to an hour-long so it makes me walk outside for a little longer (taking all safety precautions). I look at the stars and listen to someone far removed from me talking about experiences that are universal. These few podcasts that I’ve listened to so far happen to be American because my social media is often dominated by the West. I do plan to change that soon. Yet there is no reason to dismiss or cast ideas out. Some of these podcasts are really informative and are a good analysis of the human psyche. The only disclaimer I’d like to put is that diversity is surely on my mind even though it might not seem like it just yet.
So my podcast for today is-
iWeigh with Jameela Jamil- the episode with Nicole Byer
Background
I’ve been following Jameela on Instagram for the longest time and I’ve noticed this podcast and told myself I’ll listen to it multiple times. I got the incentive to actually do it when I downloaded Spotify. And if we’re being honest here, it is surprising that I still haven’t played a single song on Spotify haha, it’s just a podcast app for me at this point. No shade, I am just obsessed.
So as I was saying, I have wanted to listen to this podcast for a while. I’ve heard Jameela talk quite a few times and I love the movement that she’s starting. Her unfiltered interview with ET Style really helped me understand her outlook on Hollywood, breaking that illusion of perfection and revealing to us what society is really doing to us. Showing the truth in places where people believe they can already see it.
In fact, for what it’s worth, I would even say you should follow Jameela and iWeigh on Instagram. Sometimes, very often actually, she posts content that makes me really question the number of stereotypes I have internalised at this point. She once posted a picture of Pedro Pascal’s magazine cover pointing out that if he were a female actress, they would have airbrushed the living hell out of that picture. Now, Pedro Pascal is a very, very beautiful man and an absolutely amazing actor so no one is disrespecting him. But it was commendable that the magazine, a famous one too, had put his picture on their cover with all his fine lines and wrinkles just… existing? Women are just not allowed to age. The amount of botox that women in Hollywood get is not because they love injections but because they cannot look 50 years old when they are 50 years old. They have to look 25 otherwise they are just not beautiful anymore. And when Jameela pointed this out, I stopped and thought for a second. This didn’t even strike me before, I had only been staring into Pascal’s beautiful eyes…
I’ve seen Nicole Byer on Nailed it! and absolutely loved her. So I thought, this could be interesting, let’s give it a shot! If you’re ever bored and feeling sad, watch this show, Byers will really make you laugh.
The Crux of the matter
TW: anyone with food-related disorders. Byer and Jamil approach this idea in a very beautiful way and I try to add to those ideas in a positive manner. However, if that is not something you want to read/ hear, please take care!
One of the very first topics that Byer and Jamil approach is the idea of shame that is often attached to food. That is where we as a society have come up with the notions of beach bodies and summer bodies as if our normal bodies were not appropriate for these events. This topic especially resonated with me because I, like them, have also recently been on a path of changing my approach to food and fitness. If we think of fitness simply as a “joyful way of moving our bodies” and not as a drastic forced measure done out of desperation to look good at the beach, we might be able to actually be truly healthy. Whatever that means or looks like for us. We might be able to achieve a real balance where food has no stigma attached. In fact, Byer also brings up the topic of “fat athletes” and reminds us that you could work out every day and still look different. The ‘ideal body’ that is stuffed down our throats is often artificial and extremely unhealthy. In a lot of cases, weight is good for us. Drastically losing weight, on the other hand, isn’t. Yet society rewards those who lose weight fast, the “quick fix” Jamil refers to and is unkind to those who find comfort in their natural bodies.
If you like the idea of working out for joy, there are quite a few people I follow who can really help. These people are all about re-thinking all these internalised notions and loving ourselves. I’ve really learnt a lot on this topic with Yoga with Adriene, Natacha Oceane and recently, Talilla Henchoz. To address internalised fatphobia, I also recommend following Kenzie Brenna and Emily Solman. Perhaps I can write another blog on this topic if you’re interested?
Moving ahead, Byers also brings up, what for me is one of the most powerful things she says. She states:
I was like mommy let’s go to Barbados and she was like we’ll go to Barbados when I’m thin enough to be in a bikini and then she died so we never went ’cause she never got thin enough…
50mins later once the podcast had ended, I was still thinking about this dialogue. Not only does it tell you that all this internalised fatphobia that we have is costing us seconds of our lives but also reminds you to live life. We spend so much time and energy worrying about everything but often we really do forget to live. Life really truly is short. And if anything, sadly, corona virus has also made us rethink how we spend our lives. It questions how we treat each other, the Earth and just as importantly, ourselves.
Do I recommend it?
I’ll be honest, my article is a disservice to the podcast. The two talk about so many important things in such a candid manner, by the end of it, I had really learnt a lot. If you have time, please do listen to it. They discuss issues of body image, racism, representation, loss, grief and so much more. I could write 10 articles on this one podcast!
