Freak bodies, societal norms, ableism, and why your doctor is often wrong, on Episode 3 of the Bawdy Love Podcast.
When we as a society deem “healthy” bodies as right and worthy, and “unhealthy” bodies as gross and wrong, we set all of us up for failure. Because like it or not, all health is temporary. Not only is all health temporary, but most people cannot and will not ever attain these subjective standards of health that we put on all of us. What does this standard do for the worth of someone born with a disease, fighting cancer, or using a wheelchair? Are they less valuable?
In our interview, Dr. Martina Shabram and I discuss what happens to the psyche of society as a whole when we are constantly being told our bodies are not good enough, that happiness, love and worth are all attainable only if we eat less and exercise more, that our value can be judged by our size, that our worth resides in the ableness of our bodies.
Sign-up for the Bawdy Love Podcast newsletter and get bonus content, exclusive deals, and my secret episode Silencing Your Inner Critic During Sex. Past episodes, longer show notes and more can be found at LaurenMarieFleming.com/Podcast.
Topics covered in this conversation include:
the medical establishment, body-image, self-worth, freaks in society, social norms, ability rights, disability rights, ableism, sizeism, health, chronic illness, health standards, weight loss
Announcements:
This episode is sponsored by Little Black Box. Little Black Box offers intimate accessories for women and couples. To see my favorite of their offerings, visit Lauren.ShopLBB.com.
In honor of our podcast launch, we’re giving away over $300 in products from Little Black Box. There are three ways to enter:
- Sign-up for the Bawdy Love podcast newsletter.
- Head over to iTunes and rate and review the Bawdy Love podcast, then send a screenshot of your review to Info@LaurenMarieFleming.com.
- Post about the Bawdy Love podcast on social media using the hashtags #BawdyLove and #TeamLBB.
Enter all three ways to increase your chance of winning! Winners will be chosen Sept. 1, 2015.
Quotables from this episode:
- “We label people who are different as “freaks” so we can justify treating them as less than human.” #BawdyLove
- “There are some definite benefits to standing up and saying “I’m a bad freak and I’m not going to change for you.” #BawdyLove
- “The medical establishment treats bodies as a conglomeration of problems that need fixing, when we are whole humans.” #BawdyLove
More About Dr. Martina Shabram
Martina Shabram has a PhD in English Literature with special expertise in disability studies, cultural studies, and science fiction. Her work focuses on pain, embodiment, and kinship, which means that she’s interested in how bodies come to belong in the world. She lives and writes in Seattle, WA with her husband and dog. Find her writing at The Liminal Logbook (https://
Connect more with Lauren and the Bawdy Love revolution:
Bawdy Love is a revolution, one full of people audacious enough to stand up and say “I am worthy of love as I am right here, right now, no exceptions. My body deserves to be seen, my voice deserves to be heard. I will not shrink. I will expand and thrive.”
Are you in?
- Join the revolution and get your free Bawdy Love basics video series.
- Connect with other like-minded Bawdy Lovelies on the Bawdy Love Facebook group.
- Get personalized tips and tools to boost your self-confidence, incorporate self-care into your daily routine, and profoundly love your body with individual coaching with Lauren.
Sign-up for the Bawdy Love Podcast newsletter and get bonus content, exclusive deals, and my secret episode Silencing Your Inner Critic During Sex. Past episodes, longer show notes and more can be found at LaurenMarieFleming.com/Podcast.