Speaker 1: 0:00

What is up? Welcome to Bodyholic with Dee. Dee here, and I am fired up. I'm fired up like molten lava guys. I'm molten lava ready to erupt. Fired up Cause I saw this article praising Barra Faeli, the model who, by the way, is around my age.

Speaker 1: 0:23

It was praising her, for here's the air quotes looking amazing and having the body of a 16 year old, and I want to share with you that I I swear to God, my head almost freaking, exploded and I knew right then and there that this was podcast gold, because this, this is a problem on so many freaking levels and judging by the DMs that I got after I posted this on my story, you feel the same. Welcome to Bodyholic with Dee. No fads, just facts. I'm Dee and I'm here to help you ditch the noise and build a life you love. Let's go. Oh, but wait. I'm not a doctor, so use your common sense. Now let's dive in. So look, baritha. Ellie is gorgeous, absolutely stunning. Nobody is denying that. But this obsession with women, especially women in their late thirties, forties, looking like teenagers, well, that's a little toxic and damaging and it's plain freaking wrong, and here I am calling bullshit.

Speaker 1: 1:41

Now, before I go any further, I want to address the context of this comment. Okay, I got a little angry and now let's backtrack and talk about the context. It came from a recent interview with a 22 year old model named Taylor Malkoff and, um, I'm sure, I'm certain that she thought she was being kind in the context she's like all about being kind to women. She genuinely thought she was paying Barra Fa'eli a compliment and empowering women. And that's the problem, because it's this kind of thinking that is so deeply ingrained in our culture, so normalized, that a young woman like Taylor, who's just starting out in the world because she's you know a little, she was born just now thinks she's saying something positive and that's what we need to talk about. Okay, so let's be very, very real.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Taylor is a product of her environment. Taylor is a product of her environment. She's been raised, just like us, in a world that constantly tells women that their worth is tied, smushed together, to their youth and their appearance, and she's been bombarded with images of hyper-sexualized young girls and women who are praised for looking like young girls. Okay, so, of course, in the context of an interview, she of this interview, she thinks this is a compliment she doesn't even realize.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Okay, that's what I want to point out the underlying message, the insidious pressure that it puts on women, especially women who are older than her. Of course and that's not her fault, she has no idea what she's doing. It's the societal problem and it's our responsibility to call it out, and it's our responsibility to educate. To call it out and it's our responsibility to educate. So here I am talking to you as the 39 year old woman that I am. I'm a mother of both a boy and a girl, and those aspects also have to do with my urge to educate.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Um, I've worked with so many incredible women and I've seen the damage that this kind of thinking does firsthand. I see regularly the insecurities that it breeds, the unrealistic expectations it sets, the constant pressure to turn back the freaking clock and it's exhausting and it's demoralizing and it's plain wrong, especially because it ignores our basic biology. Our bodies change as we age. It's a natural and it's an inevitable process. Hormones shift, metabolism slows a little usually, and, yes, our bodies redistribute and, and and. Trying to change it is like trying to stop the tide. So let's be clear, those changes aren't inherently bad. They're just part of the beautiful, complex process of being a woman, because hopefully you're going to live past 22.

Speaker 1: 5:05

Look, taylor, if you're listening, I am not coming for you. I'm not trying to shame you. I hate for you. I'm not trying to shame you. I hate that stuff. I'm actually trying to educate you. I almost look at you like like you could be my daughter and I'm trying to open up your eyes to the bigger picture, because you're a young woman, you are just starting out and you have the potential to be part of the solution and you actually thought in the interview that you were being part of the solution. But you have the potential to use your platform to promote a more positive and empowering message and I truly believe that you can, because that was your intention. All right, I do see it, and this isn't about tearing anyone down. It's really about raising awareness, about challenging the status quo.

Speaker 1: 5:54

I don't believe that Taylor is actually listening to this, but just in case, because this is about a world where we want to create, a world where we value women's intelligence and their strength and their accomplishments and their everything their strength and their accomplishments and their everything, not just the ability to look like a teenager. That's weird. Okay, when I, when I say it out loud, when we talk about. It's weird. Let's have this conversation. Let's talk about the underlying messages, the societal pressures, the insidious ways in which this kind of thinking affects women and fucks with their head of all ages. Let's talk about how we can shift the narrative and create a more inclusive and empowering environment for all women shape, size, color and age. And, taylor, I hope you join us.

Speaker 1: 6:53

Okay, I think I'm done. I think I'm done with my rant for today. Let me know what you think, hit me up in the DMs, leave a comment. Let's get this conversation going because this is so important and, as always, stay strong and stay true to yourself. And this is Dee signing off. Thank you for being here with me. Much for tuning in and if this hit home, please share it with your crew. Likes, comments, shares. Show your loved ones you care.