1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Psychology of Your Twenties, 2 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: the podcast where we talk through some of the big 3 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: life changes and transitions of our twenties and what they 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: mean for our psychology. 5 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,440 Speaker 2: Hello everybody, Before we get into it, I just wanted 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 2: to pop in here and let you know that this 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 2: episode we'll deal with some pretty extreme concepts around disordered eating, 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 2: weight gain, and weight loss. If this is something that 9 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 2: is triggering for you, or may upset you, or you 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,959 Speaker 2: just aren't in the right mental headspace to hear it, 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 2: please feel free to skip this episode and return to 12 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 2: it later on. We will also have resources below if 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 2: you are looking for some extra help. Hello everybody, Welcome 14 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,959 Speaker 2: back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. New listeners, 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 2: O listeners, wherever you are in the world, it is 16 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 2: so great to have you here, back for another episode 17 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 2: as we, of course break down the psychology of our twenties. 18 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 2: So I have a feeling that today's chat is going 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 2: to be a big one, because honestly, I have been 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 2: wanting to talk about this topic for some time. You 21 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 2: can obviously probably feel my passion or rather, I don't know, 22 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 2: like frustration already coming across but before I did so, 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 2: I wanted to just like sit with my thoughts for 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 2: a little bit, have some reflections, talk to the trusted advisors. 25 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 2: I also want to thank our research assistant Liby Colbert 26 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 2: for her help on this episode and a friend of 27 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 2: the show, Aaron Somerville, who is an assistant psychologist and 28 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: therapist that works with people who have eating disorders. Her 29 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 2: opinions and thoughts were so valuable, So big shout out 30 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 2: and thank you to Erin and Libby for helping with 31 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 2: this episode today. But basically, as I said, I wanted 32 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 2: to I wanted to make sure that my thoughts work 33 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 2: her here and in the right place. Today. Of course, 34 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:08,680 Speaker 2: we are talking about skinny talk. You likely have seen 35 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 2: things about this if you are at all online. It 36 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 2: is basically a social media hashtag, social media trend glorifying 37 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 2: disordered eating and unhealthy habits behind the guise of how 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 2: good it feels to be skinny and how you can 39 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 2: do it yourself now. At first glance, you might think 40 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 2: that this looks like harmless training tips or meal inspo 41 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 2: or body positivity for naturally thinner people out there. It's 42 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 2: actually so much more complex and layer than that, and 43 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 2: one of the most dangerous intersections between body image, social media, 44 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 2: gender disordered eating that I've seen in a long time, 45 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 2: and I say seen in some time or seen in 46 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 2: a long time, because if you are of a certain generation, 47 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: you have most certainly seen this before. I don't know 48 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 2: if you guys grew up on Tumblr or the side 49 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 2: of Tumblr that I grew up on, but back in 50 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,839 Speaker 2: the day, what like twenty fourteen, Back in the day, 51 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 2: it was literally a free for all on the most 52 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 2: like heinous tips and tricks to basically become as skinny 53 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 2: as possible, as fast as possible. It was at the 54 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 2: time when like those detox t's were like huge. How 55 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 2: long until we figured out that those were basically just laxatives. 56 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 2: That's like a whole story for another time. And you know, 57 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: on these sides, like being skinny was romanticized as this 58 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 2: like fix for all of your problems. I remember so 59 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 2: many black and white images of thigh gaps, rib cages, 60 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 2: crazy wastelines, and skinny talk. It's just a whole new 61 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 2: version of that in different packaging. And what's so dangerous 62 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 2: about it is that it's a lot less easy to 63 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 2: spot as it perhaps probably was in the past. So 64 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 2: this is what I want to explore today. I want 65 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 2: to dive into the ways that we can understand what 66 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 2: content is skinny talk aligned and what is not, the 67 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 2: crossovers with disordered eating, and what this trend towards extreme 68 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 2: thinness is really saying about society more broadly and more psychologically, 69 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 2: where is this all coming from. Of course, we're also 70 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 2: going to finish up on some ways that you can 71 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 2: counteract skinny talk in your own life. I obviously want 72 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 2: to finish this episode with some hope rather than despair. 73 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 2: But yeah, it's going to be a big one. Without 74 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 2: all being said, I hope you are ready. Let's get 75 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 2: into the psychology of skinny talk. So if you are 76 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 2: coming into this completely blind and have no idea what 77 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 2: skinny talk is, it's basically a set of viral trends 78 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 2: on social media platforms that promote extremely thin body idea, 79 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 2: promotes rapid weight loss tactics, a lot of what I 80 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 2: eate in a day, videos with like enough calories for 81 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 2: a literal child, the glorification of extreme thinness. Not for 82 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 2: body positivity sake, or for health and fitness sake, but 83 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 2: for esthetic sake. Skinny talk essentially began as a hashtag 84 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,159 Speaker 2: that people could use to bookmark their content as being 85 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 2: aligned with extreme weight loss or extreme dieting, But as 86 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 2: with any trend, at some stage it kind of broke 87 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,359 Speaker 2: free from its corner of the Internet and began to 88 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 2: become mainstream and popularized. Not because of how often this 89 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 2: hashtag was being used, that is obviously one component of it, 90 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 2: but because of how dramatic and shocking some of these 91 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 2: videos were. Visible rib cages, visible hip bones, visible collar bones, 92 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 2: thigh gaps, extreme weight loss transformations that honestly could only 93 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,479 Speaker 2: make you just like gork in shock and just be 94 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 2: like wow, like I can't believe people look like this, 95 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 2: without kind of asking you to go looking for these videos. 96 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 2: Some of the examples of videos like this that I've 97 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 2: seen are, you know, a Russian model eating five hundred 98 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 2: calories a day because she wants to feel controlled and lean, 99 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 2: five foot eight women who you know on her video 100 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 2: says I weigh forty two kilos and the caption is 101 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 2: peak feminine physique. Videos are very tiny women with the 102 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 2: caption being skinny is an outfit. Another video that comes 103 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 2: to mind was a girl saying you need to treat 104 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 2: what are you a dog exactly like go drink your 105 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: green tea, bape. The shock value of these videos is 106 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 2: really what caused this trend to go viral. Psychologically, we 107 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 2: know this when we see something that is novel, that 108 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 2: is shocking, that is so counter to the norm of 109 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 2: what we expect, I guess human bodies even to look 110 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: like or so morally outrageous in some cases, like you know, 111 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 2: telling people that if they want a sweet treat, they're 112 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:19,679 Speaker 2: as good as a dog. Like we respond, we can't 113 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 2: help ourselves, and our response is what rewards this content 114 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 2: through engagement, therefore training the algorithm to show this to 115 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 2: more people and training people to produce more of this content. 116 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 2: I really want to be incredibly clear here. It's not 117 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 2: just that these people are thin. Thin people obviously exist 118 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 2: in the world, and like I really can't think of 119 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 2: anything wrong with that. It's that they are promoting this 120 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 2: unnatural thinness on their physique that they have obviously obtained 121 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 2: through extreme restriction as an ideal that if you do 122 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,679 Speaker 2: not achieve, it's because it says something about your character. 123 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 2: And they're also doing it in a way that is 124 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 2: meant to be shocking and that is meant to be 125 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 2: a form of engagement or entertainment. I saw an article 126 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 2: by the National Alliance for Eating Disorders based in the 127 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 2: US that said, before the skinny top hashtag was banned 128 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: in June this year, it had over half a million 129 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 2: posts associated with it. And we know, just because a 130 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 2: hashtag disappears doesn't mean the content hasn't already had a 131 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 2: cultural impact, and it also doesn't mean that people aren't 132 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 2: still making it. Like the content, this kind of content 133 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: is kind of like a virus. It just evolves and 134 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 2: it begins to conceal itself behind new masks and new hashtags, 135 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 2: you know, healthy lifestyle hashtags, nutrition hashtags, model diet hashtags. 136 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 2: What's so insidious is that it's not always possible to 137 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 2: tell whether a piece of content is justody sharing their life, 138 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 2: sharing fitspiration, sharing the natural way their body is, or 139 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 2: leaning into this deeply the deeply dangerous parts of diet 140 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 2: culture and the glorification of extreme thinness. There are a 141 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 2: few key giveaways, though. The first way to identify if 142 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,680 Speaker 2: a piece of content is skinny tok is the body checking. 143 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,559 Speaker 2: Body checking refers to the repeated habit of visually or 144 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 2: physically basically like inspecting your body and inspecting your form 145 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 2: either in the mirror, in close in photographs, or in videos, 146 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: and it's a form of seeking reassurance and seeking validation. 147 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 2: The focus in skinny tok content is always on the body, 148 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: how it looks, which bones are visible, the size of 149 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 2: one's waist in comparison to everyday objects, the exaggeration of 150 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 2: how thin somebody is. The extreme thinness of one's body 151 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,239 Speaker 2: is the entertainment and a twenty twenty four study researches 152 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 2: from Here in Australia basically conducted this massive search on 153 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 2: TikTok and looked at over two hundred and fifty videos 154 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 2: from the five most popular diet related hashtags. They found 155 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 2: that fifty seven percent of these videos involved elements of 156 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 2: body checking. It involved elements of the creator repeatedly checking 157 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 2: and hyper fixating on their own body, either in the 158 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 2: mirror or on video or on their phone. So body 159 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 2: checking is the biggest one. The second biggest giveaway is 160 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 2: how food is talked about. Firstly, in these videos, food 161 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 2: is often assigned a numerical value or label, often how 162 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 2: many calories it has, and normally this numerical value determines 163 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 2: the food's moral label. Food's being described as good or bad, 164 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:03,680 Speaker 2: clean or junk, safe or dangerous, nice or naughty. This 165 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 2: moral label then seems to describe the morality of the 166 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 2: person who is consuming it. You know, if they ate 167 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 2: the bad food with more calories, they are bad. They 168 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,079 Speaker 2: were bad that day. If they ate the good food 169 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 2: with less calories, they were good that day. All of 170 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 2: this is seemingly determined by a number attached to a 171 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 2: piece of food. And you know, the food doesn't care. 172 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 2: Like the food is just here to give you energy 173 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 2: and to give you nutrition. It doesn't. It isn't a 174 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 2: moral thing like a food is objectively not bad. It 175 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 2: is just a food. It's not a sentient like animate thing. 176 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 2: It just exists. But the role of food on skinny 177 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 2: Talk is something to be controlled and something to be 178 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 2: policed and something to be moralized. And that's why it 179 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 2: has just as much of a focus as like the 180 00:11:55,600 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 2: human body and the thinness. The third giveaway is kind 181 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 2: of linked to both of these things. It's an extension 182 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 2: of this idea that food has morality, and it's the 183 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:13,080 Speaker 2: idea that how you look determines your morality and your value. 184 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 2: Often there is a specific twist within all of this content, 185 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,439 Speaker 2: the thin body is celebrated not just for being thin, 186 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 2: because like I said, some people just naturally are, but 187 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 2: for being controlled, for being clean, for being disciplined. This 188 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 2: is what signifies that this person is better than the 189 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 2: viewer because they have something that you could never have. 190 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,280 Speaker 2: They have the willpower to look the way they do, 191 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 2: which is honestly a ridiculous use of willpower, Like, if 192 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 2: you have that much willpower, maybe you should use that 193 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 2: for something else. But you know, for them, this willpower 194 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 2: is a sign that they're better than you, and that 195 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 2: they have value and that they are able to dedicate 196 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 2: themselves to this I don't know, project of making their 197 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 2: body as visually appealing anesthetic as they can. This is really, 198 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing that distinguishes general healthy living 199 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,559 Speaker 2: weight loss content on social media platforms, which honestly I 200 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 2: don't really have an issue with, from skinny talk. It's 201 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 2: the fact that it goes beyond health, It goes beyond 202 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 2: loving your body. It goes beyond trying to do the 203 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 2: right thing by your body and into making your body 204 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 2: a moral and visual symbol for your perceived value as 205 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 2: an individual, even if the body actually suffers your body. 206 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:49,520 Speaker 2: Your hunger is something to be suppressed, restricted, disciplined, not 207 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:55,440 Speaker 2: listen to. I think this trend really speaks to a 208 00:13:55,559 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 2: cultural mood of if you can just manage your body, 209 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 2: you wouldn't have any problems, Rather than what systems created 210 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 2: body dissatisfaction in the first place, what is actually creating 211 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:15,079 Speaker 2: problems with our health, with self worth, with self appraisal. 212 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 2: This is why skinny talk is highly conservative, in the 213 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:27,760 Speaker 2: sense that it preserves ideals rather than dismantling them. You 214 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,800 Speaker 2: may have seen this argument being raised online, but you know, 215 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 2: the essential idea is that skinny talk isn't just diet content. 216 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 2: It's not just fitness motivation. It's quite political. The messaging 217 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 2: pushed through this kind of content actually mirrors the rise 218 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 2: in conservative ideas around gender, around our body is around 219 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 2: individual responsibility. There was a really interesting article published in 220 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 2: April by Lowest Sharing, and she explores how far right 221 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 2: groups are increasingly using thinness and body shaming in their 222 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 2: recruitment strategies for girls and young women. Now that's not 223 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 2: through obvious political slogans, it's through esthetic cues. A kind 224 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 2: of soft focused femininity built on being controlled and disciplined 225 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 2: and having restraint and being petite and small and tiny. 226 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: In this framing, you know, the female body is kind 227 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 2: of held up as something quite pure and orderly and 228 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 2: morally superior, in contrast to what far right groups you know, 229 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 2: describe the world as, which is chaotic, excessive, undisciplined. Thinness 230 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 2: becomes a way to signal belonging, a way to show 231 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 2: that you are in control of yourself, whilst this world 232 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,560 Speaker 2: around us, you know, goes crazy, and this matters. You 233 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 2: might be thinking this seems a little bit far fetched. 234 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 2: I get it. I think the first time I heard 235 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 2: this idea, I was like, that's kind of wild. But 236 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,040 Speaker 2: it matters because the research does show us that, you know, 237 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 2: political beliefs literally shape how you view your own body 238 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 2: and how you view others bodies as well. One study 239 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 2: published in the journal Nature in twenty twenty one actually 240 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 2: presented participants with computer generated body shapes and found that 241 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 2: people who identified with more conservative ideologies tended to view 242 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 2: thinner bodies as more competent, more responsible, more morally virtuous. 243 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 2: Those exact same bodies were perceived differently depending on the 244 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 2: viewer's ideology. People who were more liberal or left leaning, 245 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 2: you know, kind of didn't really care and didn't really 246 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 2: have a preference either way. Another research paper looking at 247 00:16:54,800 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 2: the link between body ideals and conservative or authoritarian ideology 248 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 2: whi IS, also demonstrated this. Researchers at the University of 249 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 2: Bristol and the University of York looked at a representative 250 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:11,640 Speaker 2: nationwide sample of two thousand people and they captured their 251 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 2: answers to this thing called the British Social Attitude Survey 252 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 2: to kind of see what is the link between political 253 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:24,159 Speaker 2: ideology and how people talk about weight, how they view weight, 254 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 2: how they view size. What they found was that weight 255 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 2: stigmatizing attitudes were more commonly associated with people who had 256 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 2: extreme right wing authoritarian values. People who had these values 257 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 2: were also significantly more likely to believe that larger bodies 258 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 2: reflected moral failure. Now, I get this is not to 259 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 2: say that every creator making a What I Eat in 260 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 2: the Day video is aligned with the far right. It's 261 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 2: also not to say that everybody who was now actually 262 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 2: thin thinks that they are morally superior. It's just like, 263 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 2: don't take this out of context. It's just really interesting 264 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:12,440 Speaker 2: research to just see how trends connect with political attitudes 265 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 2: of the time and those trends deeply impact how we 266 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 2: see our bodies and how we see ourselves. The underlying 267 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 2: narrative to this whole culture is Smaller is better, Being 268 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 2: controlled is virtuous, and your worth is visible in how 269 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:32,200 Speaker 2: little space you take up. Okay, with that in mind, 270 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 2: we are going to take a short break. When we return, 271 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,400 Speaker 2: let's discuss a few other explanations for why skinny talk 272 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 2: has managed to capture so much of our attention and 273 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:49,120 Speaker 2: some of the consequences of this prevailing back trend towards 274 00:18:49,640 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 2: extreme unhealthy thinness. Stay with us. Okay, So you can't 275 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 2: talk about skinny talk without talking about the rise of 276 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 2: weight loss drugs, because it seems that they have really 277 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 2: been increasing in parallel. To be honest, I'll make it 278 00:19:13,880 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 2: super clear, I really have no judgment on whether you 279 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 2: choose to use weight loss drugs or not. I have 280 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,919 Speaker 2: friends who do. I've seen it change their life. I 281 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,520 Speaker 2: also know, as someone who has never been small, who 282 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 2: will never be small, because I'm five eight with broad 283 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 2: shoulders and the child of literal athletes, that when you 284 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 2: are bigger, whatever you do is scrutinized. Right you choose 285 00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 2: to take weight loss drugs, you are shamed. You choose 286 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 2: to accept your body, you're also shamed. You choose to 287 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 2: do it naturally or lose weight, also shamed. Like there 288 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 2: is always these two sides that like either want you 289 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 2: to drastically change who you are or want you to 290 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 2: stay exactly in the form that you are, and you're 291 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 2: going to receive pressure from each whichever decision you choose. 292 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 2: I was listening to an episode of Maintenance Phase where 293 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 2: the host or Brigodon said something along the lines of, 294 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,320 Speaker 2: when you're fat, people are obsessed with your health, like 295 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 2: it's something that is their business or it's something that 296 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 2: is impacting them, and I think you can't escape it. Now. 297 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 2: The thing is is that weight loss drugs also have 298 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 2: health consequences. But again, if you're overweight and you're taking it, 299 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 2: you know, your health is not anybody else's business but 300 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 2: your own. It's your personal choice. How you want to 301 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 2: relate and treat your body is up to you. Kind 302 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 2: of the same with skinny took right, these people making 303 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,479 Speaker 2: these videos, If that's the approach you want to have 304 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,880 Speaker 2: to your body, like, that's up to you, as harmful 305 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:51,679 Speaker 2: or unharmful as you think it is. But when it 306 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,880 Speaker 2: comes to either of those things. You can't ignore how 307 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,960 Speaker 2: that choice has come about. Has it come from a 308 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 2: desire to be healthy or a desire for esthetics? And 309 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 2: can we say that the same intention is what everybody has. 310 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:13,880 Speaker 2: You know, The thing is ozempic like does change people's 311 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 2: lives and is really important for certain medical conditions and 312 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 2: people who are really struggling to regulate their appetite and 313 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 2: their weight, and you know, if they have type two diabetes, 314 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 2: that's that aspect of it as well. However, I think 315 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 2: now it's become something more than medical. It's become a trend. 316 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 2: And some of the skinny talk content we see about 317 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,880 Speaker 2: how life is just better when you're skinny and tiny, 318 00:21:41,359 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 2: how being thin is the outfit. Is people who readily 319 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:49,439 Speaker 2: say like ozepic got me this body, and that acts 320 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 2: as not just a form of honesty and sharing, but 321 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 2: as an advertisement, a subliminal advertisement that this is who 322 00:21:57,640 --> 00:22:01,880 Speaker 2: I am now, this is admirable, this is a respectable 323 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 2: physical physiq. Here's how I got it. And I'm not 324 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 2: going to tell you. Obviously they can't tell you if 325 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 2: it's right for you. But of course people are going 326 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 2: to see that and think that kind of transformation is 327 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,360 Speaker 2: something that would make me happier. Here's the thing. When 328 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:21,600 Speaker 2: these medications enter the culture of esthetics and just enter 329 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 2: the culture in general, they carry messages. Some of those 330 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 2: messages are helpful for people who truly need them, but 331 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 2: many are harmful when they slip into the esthetic or 332 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,399 Speaker 2: marketing sphere because this drug is at the end of 333 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 2: the day, you know, the pharmaceutical industry doesn't create drugs 334 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 2: to help people and to change lives. That's obviously what 335 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 2: they say they're doing, but if there was no market 336 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 2: for them, there's no way they would do it. They 337 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 2: are making these drugs to make money, and therefore they 338 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 2: are marketing them to make money. Regardless of who might 339 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 2: be hurt by that decision. They want as many customers 340 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 2: as possible, and as a result, it can amplify the 341 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 2: logic of things like skinny tok that if you are thin, 342 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 2: you are valued. And here is an easy way that 343 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 2: doesn't really include health as a central part of the conversation, 344 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 2: but as a secondary thought that you can achieve this 345 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,160 Speaker 2: thinness still prevails as this goal that we all need 346 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 2: to achieve. And now with the use of these weight 347 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 2: loss drugs, you know that culture is being accelerated at 348 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 2: a level that is really dangerously driving demand. Now, obviously 349 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 2: it would be great to say that weight loss drugs 350 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,439 Speaker 2: are only being used by people that need them or 351 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,679 Speaker 2: for reasons unrelated to physical appearance. And even if they 352 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 2: are being used for physical appearance, you know, for people 353 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 2: who you know again are seriously at a point where 354 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,200 Speaker 2: they don't feel healthy about themselves, that's just simply not 355 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 2: the case. I saw a video of someone the other 356 00:23:58,119 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 2: day who is like, I want. 357 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 1: To lose use. 358 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 2: I don't want to be too specific, but she was like, 359 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 2: I want to lose a certain amount of weight by Christmas, 360 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 2: and I'm thinking about going on a zepic to do that, 361 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 2: and she weighed She weighed sixty five kilos, And I 362 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 2: was like, that just seems so bizarre that you would 363 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,719 Speaker 2: risk your health to take a medication that it seems 364 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 2: like from my perspective, that your body doesn't really need. 365 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 2: And the risk is is that when we tie our 366 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 2: worth to what it says on the scale or how 367 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,159 Speaker 2: we look, you will do drastic things like go on 368 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 2: a serious medication to maintain or to gain the physique 369 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 2: of the moment and to match the shape and the 370 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 2: body form that is currently in circulation. I feel like 371 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,880 Speaker 2: every one of us has had that moment where we're 372 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 2: just like, beauty standards are so exhausting, Like every two 373 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 2: to three years, our bodies are expected to change to 374 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 2: stay in line with what is expected of the human 375 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 2: physique and what is beautiful. It's like we're a piece 376 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 2: of clay. One year we need to take off a piece, 377 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 2: the next year we need to put it back on. 378 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 2: Then we need to squeeze these bits in, and the 379 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 2: next year expand these bits back out. Thinness has been 380 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 2: in and out of trend for over one hundred years, 381 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 2: and this hurts every body type, whether you're naturally thin 382 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 2: or not, whether you're naturally curvy or not, because when 383 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 2: one is in the other one has to be out. 384 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 2: When thinness is in, the curvy girls are made to 385 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 2: feel terrible when the curves are in. If you're thin, 386 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:37,800 Speaker 2: you know, now it's your turn to hate yourself for 387 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 2: a couple of years, or drastically change your body to 388 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,640 Speaker 2: be back into what is hot and what is fit 389 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 2: and what is trending. 390 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: You know. 391 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,360 Speaker 2: In the nineteen twenties we had the women's like kind 392 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,719 Speaker 2: of flap of fashion which was built around thinness and 393 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 2: boyish figures. In the nineteen sixties, we saw a resurgence 394 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 2: of that when models like Twiggy were you know, they 395 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,439 Speaker 2: were tiny, the were adored. Then we had the nineteen 396 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 2: nineties with like heroin chic was like really the trend, coffee, cocaine, cigarettes, 397 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,639 Speaker 2: like that's the goal that everybody aspired to. But in 398 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 2: between that we also had moments where having a BBL 399 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 2: or being really curvy or very voluptuous was also the 400 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 2: ideal and was what was admired. It just constantly changes 401 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 2: back and forth, and nowadays it changes even more rapidly 402 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 2: because it changes according to the algorithm, which basically replaces 403 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,719 Speaker 2: itself every two months. Instead of like one particular magazine 404 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 2: cover or particular model, like setting the tone, like we 405 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,959 Speaker 2: scroll past hundreds of bodies an hour, our fau page 406 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 2: learns what we hover over, what we rewatch, what we feel. 407 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 2: An emotional response to the ideal becomes not just aspirational, 408 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 2: but this like echo chamber of this is normal because 409 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 2: this is all I'm seeing online, and because trends change, 410 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 2: because skinny talk won't be the final trend, just like 411 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 2: getting a BBL wasn't either. What happens. Then? What happens when, 412 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 2: for example, you have gotten on a drug like ozepic 413 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 2: that you'll never be able to stop taking a drug 414 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 2: that can destroy your digestive system. What happens when next 415 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:32,280 Speaker 2: year the new ideal body emerges and it's something that 416 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:35,600 Speaker 2: you can't achieve. It's just always going to keep you 417 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 2: on your feet. This is where the concept of effective 418 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 2: forecasting comes in the idea that once I look like that, 419 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 2: then I'll be confident. Once I weigh less than X kilos, 420 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 2: then I'll be happy and doing anything you can to 421 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 2: get there. Studies show the opposite, body dissatisfaction tends to 422 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,840 Speaker 2: stay the same or even increase one you achieve your 423 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 2: ideal body because the goalpost always moves. It's always going 424 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,840 Speaker 2: to be one inch away from where you are now. 425 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 2: It's why suddenly like having really toned abs and arms 426 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 2: is like the new thing, because now that skinny is 427 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 2: achievable for anybody if they want to get on these 428 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 2: weight loss drugs. What's the next thing for zeke that 429 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 2: people can gatekeep? Because the beauty ideal can't be everybody 430 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 2: otherwise there's nothing to sell us With that in mind, 431 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 2: Let's talk about the damage and impact of skinny talk. 432 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 2: Starting with the obvious one arise in eating disorders. In 433 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 2: the past decade, rates of anorexia and bolimia have almost doubled. 434 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 2: On twenty five study actually suggested that the biggest spike 435 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:03,000 Speaker 2: in these raids, obviously accounting for population growth, has occurred 436 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 2: in the last two years. Let me be very clear. 437 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 2: Anorexia in particular, is the most dangerous mental disorder in 438 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 2: the world. It is the most deadly, the most expensive 439 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 2: to treat, It has the highest rate of relapse, and 440 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 2: it does significant long term damage to our bodies that 441 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:29,840 Speaker 2: they might never recover from. Imagine every day entering a 442 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 2: space and someone at the door tells you, hey, there's 443 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 2: a chance you could develop a life altering, deadly illness 444 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 2: if you walk through that door today. Do you still 445 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 2: go in? Would you do it? That's what it's like 446 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,640 Speaker 2: going on TikTok and Instagram at the moment, especially if 447 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,480 Speaker 2: you're young, especially if you're a teenager. And if you 448 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:55,040 Speaker 2: think that's dramatic linking social media usage and the development 449 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 2: of an eating disorder, I want to tell you about 450 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 2: a twenty twenty review that looked at fifty s studies 451 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 2: across seventeen countries with over ten thousand participants. That concluded 452 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 2: one of the most plausible and significant risk factors for 453 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 2: the development of an eating disorder is social media usage, 454 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 2: specifically exposure to thin or fit ideals, exposure to appearance 455 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 2: based content, and social media trends relating to dieting, body composition, 456 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 2: and fitness. One of the conceptual models that this study 457 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,280 Speaker 2: proposes is actually what we call a self perpetuating cycle 458 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 2: of risk, where social media use increases body image concerns, 459 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:49,640 Speaker 2: which increases disordered eating, further feeding into social media use 460 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 2: and comparison like these trends, like I cannot express, they 461 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 2: literally ruin people's lives. They ruin their lives and their 462 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:06,400 Speaker 2: health for years to come. Being twenty kilos ten kilos 463 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 2: overweight is nothing compared to being extremely thin and dieting 464 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 2: and restricting your body of nutrition, especially during formative years 465 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,600 Speaker 2: of your life. And we know that these trends touch everybody. 466 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 2: Their emotional grip is in the minds of anybody who 467 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:31,680 Speaker 2: has ever felt pressure to meet a beauty standard or 468 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 2: an attractiveness standard. But for girls in particular young girls 469 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 2: and women, the background noise is pretty intense. I think 470 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 2: female bodies have always kind of been sites of public commentary. 471 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,440 Speaker 2: Our bodies are evaluated before we can even speak. We 472 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 2: learn very young that bodies are not just ours, like 473 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 2: they are things that will be looked at and judged, approved, 474 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,760 Speaker 2: dismissed compared what we weigh, how we look, how much 475 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 2: space we take up. All of it becomes a kind 476 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 2: of social currency. It becomes a way to keep us 477 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,520 Speaker 2: in check, and we understand that. I couldn't tell you 478 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,200 Speaker 2: the amount of times a man has disagreed with me 479 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 2: on the internet or come across something about my content 480 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 2: he doesn't like, and his first reaction is to call 481 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 2: me fat, because he knows that is a way to 482 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,680 Speaker 2: put me in my place. You know, I ran a 483 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 2: half marathon this year. I exercise every single day. I 484 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,160 Speaker 2: honestly love my body after years of not, and it 485 00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 2: still bothers me because it's such a cultural means of 486 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,520 Speaker 2: control to comment on a woman's body, to make her 487 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,360 Speaker 2: feel bad enough that she will shut up. There's research 488 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 2: showing that girls internalized body surveillance, the sense of like 489 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 2: watching themselves and being watched much more intensely and much 490 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 2: more early on than boys. And this is what is 491 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 2: known as self objectification. When you start living in your 492 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 2: body as something that is seen rather than something that 493 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 2: you feel. Over time, it feels like your body is 494 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 2: a project, a visual project, a moral project for others 495 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 2: to critique. It is something to manage rather than nourish 496 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 2: and really appreciate. And when we look at how body 497 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,840 Speaker 2: image develops, we see this pattern over and over again. 498 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:21,840 Speaker 2: Girls who feel watched learn to watch themselves. Girls who 499 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 2: are praised for being small learn to shrink. Girls who 500 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:31,200 Speaker 2: see women apologizing for eating cake, they learn to apologize 501 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 2: for hunger. So you see how these trends literally shape 502 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,640 Speaker 2: the psychology of people witnessing them. There's another disorder we 503 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 2: have to talk about here as well. I'm sure you've 504 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 2: already expected me to talk about it. It's orthorexia nevosa. 505 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 2: Orthorexia is basically described as a fixation on healthy eating 506 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:57,240 Speaker 2: to the point where it becomes unhealthy. It's this familiar 507 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:02,960 Speaker 2: pattern of eating only strictly clean foods, moralizing food categories 508 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,479 Speaker 2: into good and bad, excluding entire food groups like your 509 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:13,600 Speaker 2: body doesn't need those things, tracking calories, tracking macros rigidly overall, 510 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,600 Speaker 2: just letting food control your life by trying to control it. 511 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:22,120 Speaker 2: But behind the mask of this is healthy. It's so 512 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 2: hard to draw the line between caring about nutrition and 513 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:27,360 Speaker 2: food because you do care about your health and because 514 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 2: objectively some foods are better for your body, and caring 515 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 2: about it because this is just another form of psychological 516 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 2: control or maladaptive coping. I can't control my life, I 517 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,359 Speaker 2: can't control my past, I can't control the future. I 518 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:50,359 Speaker 2: can control what I eat. Thinking about food obsessively is 519 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:54,720 Speaker 2: not normal, unless maybe you have severe allergies or intolerances 520 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:58,239 Speaker 2: or you are literally starving. You know, especially if you're 521 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 2: in your twenties and your healthy, and you're feeling good 522 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,520 Speaker 2: and you're functioning at the level that you want, there 523 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:11,640 Speaker 2: is no need to be like extreme dieting. You know, 524 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:16,000 Speaker 2: there's a huge distinction between making healthy choices, being conscious 525 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 2: of your diet, and a rigorous, all consuming obsession with 526 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 2: food and bad foods that is about really underneath it 527 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,920 Speaker 2: all restriction and control. The real question to ask is, 528 00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,200 Speaker 2: if you see these videos of people talking about healthy eating, 529 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,600 Speaker 2: if you see these videos of people talking about calories 530 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 2: and macros, is this decision costing them more life than 531 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,080 Speaker 2: it's giving them? Like that is a real way to 532 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 2: identify when something is disordered, because for some of them 533 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,480 Speaker 2: it's just not that's not disordered. Eating. If it is 534 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 2: costing their life more than it is giving their life, 535 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:57,080 Speaker 2: that's disordered. When I was in my late teens, the 536 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,879 Speaker 2: amount I thought about food because I was going through 537 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 2: something similar to this like made my whole world so 538 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,279 Speaker 2: much smaller. Like I remember going on a trip to 539 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 2: New York with my family and just not enjoying it 540 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:14,120 Speaker 2: because all I thought about was food and I couldn't 541 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 2: participate because I it wasn't healthy, It wasn't aligned with 542 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:21,600 Speaker 2: like how many calories I was allowed for that day. 543 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,399 Speaker 2: All you think about is food all of the time. 544 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,319 Speaker 2: There was like not much room for anything else. And 545 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:32,680 Speaker 2: it's so not only physically unhealthy, but like mentally exhausting. 546 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,800 Speaker 2: Now again back to skinny talk. We think that skinny 547 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,600 Speaker 2: talk might only be linked to, you know, eating disorders 548 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 2: like anorexia. It's actually more linked to orthorexia. A twenty 549 00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:47,560 Speaker 2: twenty two survey carried out in Italy looked at a 550 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:52,759 Speaker 2: sample of four thousand participants and found that for participants 551 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,800 Speaker 2: who reported using social media for over sixty minutes a day, 552 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:02,160 Speaker 2: the prevalence of orthorexia was significantly. We see this as 553 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 2: clear as day, especially in like the gym community and 554 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:11,200 Speaker 2: on like gym TikTok. It's become really normalized to do 555 00:37:11,239 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 2: these like healthy meal swaps. For me, I absolutely hate 556 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:20,360 Speaker 2: those like no carb, no sugar, protein powder filled fixes 557 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 2: that like come up as recommendations. You know I used 558 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:28,279 Speaker 2: to eat those. They literally just taste disgusting. And you 559 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:29,839 Speaker 2: know what, you can eat what you want. Maybe if 560 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:32,960 Speaker 2: you like that, like, go for it, if that's your 561 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,399 Speaker 2: cup of tea, Like I don't have an issue with it. 562 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,640 Speaker 2: Feed your body what you want and what it wants. 563 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 2: It's just that there's an underlying discomfort and shame so 564 00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:43,920 Speaker 2: many people feel if they don't eat that healthy version 565 00:37:44,719 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 2: that restricts them from being able to participate in everyday life. 566 00:37:49,239 --> 00:37:52,560 Speaker 2: You know, I shouldn't eat that burger, that biscuit is 567 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 2: bad to the point where again, life gets smaller. This 568 00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:02,279 Speaker 2: isn't just about a trend. This isn't just about a 569 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:07,319 Speaker 2: body ideal. This is about the quality of your one true, miraculous, 570 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,440 Speaker 2: wonderful life that are like you are putting joy and 571 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 2: happiness on hold to meet a construct that probably wouldn't 572 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,440 Speaker 2: be real if you weren't online. Okay, we're going to 573 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,759 Speaker 2: take another short break here, but when we return, let's 574 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 2: talk about what the heck we can do about this, 575 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:32,239 Speaker 2: and you know how we can how we can counteract 576 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:41,120 Speaker 2: the skinny talk influence in everyday life. Stay with us. 577 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,799 Speaker 2: I'm obviously not going to end the episode being like 578 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,160 Speaker 2: this all sucks, good luck out there. That's not how 579 00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:51,399 Speaker 2: we're going to do this. Instead, I want to give 580 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:55,880 Speaker 2: you some things to do or some exercises to avoid 581 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:59,840 Speaker 2: the influence of skinny talk as much as you can. 582 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:03,040 Speaker 2: I think honestly, by listening to this, you'll have checked 583 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 2: the first thing off the list, which is just being 584 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:09,799 Speaker 2: more aware of what kind of content you're consuming just 585 00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:13,400 Speaker 2: in general. You know, once you've seen and once you 586 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:17,279 Speaker 2: can see the content clearly, you do get to on 587 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:20,080 Speaker 2: like decide how you want to respond to it, rather 588 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:23,720 Speaker 2: than just letting its tentacles like slither into your mind. 589 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 2: Because the mere exposure effect here is powerful. Just repeatedly 590 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,239 Speaker 2: seeing something, even if you don't think you're engaging with 591 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,120 Speaker 2: it on a deeper level, does have an impact on 592 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:37,319 Speaker 2: how you will go on to view your body. You 593 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:39,839 Speaker 2: don't need to overhaul your entire life. You don't need 594 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:44,239 Speaker 2: to delete TikTok entirely, flee to the woods, become digitally isolated, 595 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,520 Speaker 2: although feel like a lot of us kind of want 596 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,400 Speaker 2: to at this point, but you don't have to. Sometimes 597 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:54,319 Speaker 2: the simplest starting point is just recognizing what you're looking at, 598 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:59,360 Speaker 2: noticing the tone, noticing the body checking, noticing the rituals 599 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,040 Speaker 2: of control, or noticing how they're romanticizing something that is 600 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:09,440 Speaker 2: probably unhealthy, and just pausing and putting a buffer between 601 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:15,520 Speaker 2: you and that content. Just critically analyzing what you have 602 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:20,720 Speaker 2: seen and thinking to yourself, you know, how many people 603 00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,680 Speaker 2: do I see who actually look like this? What kind 604 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:27,680 Speaker 2: of dark thoughts might this be bringing up for me? 605 00:40:28,719 --> 00:40:31,240 Speaker 2: Are they going to actually lead me down a better path? 606 00:40:31,360 --> 00:40:34,480 Speaker 2: Is being involved in this content going to make me 607 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:37,759 Speaker 2: a better person? This is when you can really use, 608 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,040 Speaker 2: like obviously the tools of TikTok or Instagram to just 609 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,560 Speaker 2: say not interested. I honestly, the moment I see a 610 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 2: piece of content come out for somebody that is very 611 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,960 Speaker 2: obviously skinny talk aligned, like I just block their account, 612 00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:53,880 Speaker 2: I just I don't want to see it, Like I 613 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,759 Speaker 2: just I don't want to see it. I respect them 614 00:40:57,880 --> 00:40:59,760 Speaker 2: being able to do what they want with their body. 615 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:02,120 Speaker 2: I just don't want it to influence how I see 616 00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,200 Speaker 2: my body. And that really does work too, and I've 617 00:41:05,239 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 2: seen it work to reshape my algorithm, like the good 618 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,600 Speaker 2: thing about the algorithm good. The good thing about the 619 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:15,799 Speaker 2: algorithm is that it is trainable. It's boringly obedient. So 620 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:19,359 Speaker 2: if you stop liking or lingering on those videos, if 621 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:24,560 Speaker 2: you quietly unfollow or block creators who make you feel smaller, 622 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:27,240 Speaker 2: feel that you need to be smaller in your own life, 623 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:31,800 Speaker 2: your feed will change. And when your feed changes, obviously 624 00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:35,080 Speaker 2: we all spend a lot of time online, your environment changes, 625 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:38,680 Speaker 2: your thoughts change, and your habits change. This is what 626 00:41:38,719 --> 00:41:42,319 Speaker 2: we call rewiring your online environment. It's the same way 627 00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,680 Speaker 2: that you should You know that if you were friends 628 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:46,640 Speaker 2: with a terrible person in your life and you cut 629 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:48,960 Speaker 2: them out, your life would probably get better. It's the 630 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,400 Speaker 2: same reason why we say you should wash your bed sheets, 631 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,239 Speaker 2: or you should invest in getting good lighting in your home. 632 00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:58,160 Speaker 2: Like what's in your environment, the content, the people, the 633 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:01,839 Speaker 2: environment you consume as an impact, make sure you are 634 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,600 Speaker 2: being cautious with it. I also think when you feel 635 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:10,040 Speaker 2: the need to meet the trend, truly ask yourself, are 636 00:42:10,080 --> 00:42:13,440 Speaker 2: the things my body isn't capable of doing right now 637 00:42:14,239 --> 00:42:19,359 Speaker 2: that being thinner is going to help me with? Let's 638 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,520 Speaker 2: be real, maybe you don't feel great in your body, 639 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:26,360 Speaker 2: Maybe you do feel sluggish, You do think that you 640 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:30,640 Speaker 2: could exercise more, show your body more love. Is being 641 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:36,120 Speaker 2: that level of thin going to fix that? Is drastic 642 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 2: weight loss going to help you? Chances are eating twelve 643 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:43,200 Speaker 2: hundred calories a day or less probably isn't going to 644 00:42:43,239 --> 00:42:46,000 Speaker 2: be aligned with the healthiest version that you can be. 645 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:51,440 Speaker 2: Skinny talk is one version of somebody's idea of health. 646 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:55,480 Speaker 2: Don't let it be the only version. What is your 647 00:42:55,520 --> 00:42:59,480 Speaker 2: body calling for that is maybe more holistic, more balanced, 648 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:03,760 Speaker 2: more sustainable, more right for you? Or does something maybe 649 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,120 Speaker 2: just actually not need to change at all. You know, 650 00:43:06,239 --> 00:43:09,440 Speaker 2: if you weren't online, if you weren't seeing these videos, 651 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,440 Speaker 2: would you know naturally organically that anything was wrong with 652 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:16,600 Speaker 2: your body? If the answer is no, you don't need 653 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,719 Speaker 2: to change. It's the same with all kinds of marketing, right, 654 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,960 Speaker 2: Skinny talk is trying to convince you that this and 655 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,760 Speaker 2: this only will change your life. This lip product, this bag, 656 00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:34,399 Speaker 2: this new lamp, this diet. It's probably not true. In fact, 657 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:37,120 Speaker 2: it's definitely not true. You know, when I was at 658 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:40,239 Speaker 2: my smallest, when I lost weight very fast, I was 659 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:44,040 Speaker 2: also incapable of running for longer than five minutes. I 660 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:47,960 Speaker 2: was always tired, I was mad all the time. I 661 00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:51,200 Speaker 2: basically didn't talk to my family. The thing is, the 662 00:43:51,239 --> 00:43:54,760 Speaker 2: marketing for skinny talk is so good, it's really good. 663 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:59,680 Speaker 2: It's also entirely wrong. The thing that can be most 664 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:02,719 Speaker 2: ground and truly grounding, is just coming back to your values, 665 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:07,080 Speaker 2: not your goals, not aesthetics, your core values. What matters 666 00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,960 Speaker 2: to you? Who do you want to be? How do 667 00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:12,239 Speaker 2: you want to feel about yourself? How do you want 668 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 2: to experience your finite time on this planet? If your 669 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:25,040 Speaker 2: values are peace, presence, connection, joy, ease, ask yourself, does 670 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:28,440 Speaker 2: this content or behavior align with who I want to be? 671 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:34,400 Speaker 2: Does body checking align with peace? No? Does skipping dinner 672 00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:40,040 Speaker 2: align with connection? No? Does obsessing over whether my stomach 673 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:45,440 Speaker 2: looks flat align with joy? No? And then this is 674 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,879 Speaker 2: where something called opposite action becomes really helpful, and it 675 00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:52,520 Speaker 2: is exactly what it says on the tin. Like, if 676 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:56,720 Speaker 2: your mind tells you that you should check your body again, 677 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:00,359 Speaker 2: the opposite action may be to just stay exactly where 678 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:04,200 Speaker 2: you are, to breathe, to sit through the urge, to 679 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:09,880 Speaker 2: feel the discomfort, rise, peak, and fall. This is actually 680 00:45:09,880 --> 00:45:14,560 Speaker 2: called urge surfing. It's the practice of learning that feelings pass. 681 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,880 Speaker 2: They don't necessarily need to be acted on. Most urges 682 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:22,960 Speaker 2: last thirty to forty minutes at most. They always come down. 683 00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:26,799 Speaker 2: Your job is not to stop the wave. It's just 684 00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:30,480 Speaker 2: to like to surf it. Just to casually let yourself 685 00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:35,840 Speaker 2: exist and live through it. Part of life and to 686 00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:39,839 Speaker 2: get like just philosophical with you, probably not philosophical, just 687 00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:42,960 Speaker 2: to get like Instagram poetry with you. Like. Part of 688 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:46,480 Speaker 2: life is to experience the joys of delicious food and 689 00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,480 Speaker 2: yummy pastries and days where you just do nothing and 690 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:53,800 Speaker 2: getting take out at two am because you've been yapping 691 00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:56,160 Speaker 2: to your friends all night. You know, food is a 692 00:45:56,200 --> 00:46:01,520 Speaker 2: source of enjoyment and joy, not discipline and punish. Normal 693 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:05,240 Speaker 2: eating is being able to enjoy all kinds of food 694 00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:08,560 Speaker 2: in moderation without feeling like you're in some kind of 695 00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:12,720 Speaker 2: calorie debt or you aren't disciplined enough, or this says 696 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:17,760 Speaker 2: something about your human character. It doesn't. It just says 697 00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:20,800 Speaker 2: that you're having fun and that you're enjoying the fact 698 00:46:20,800 --> 00:46:25,279 Speaker 2: that food is a great joy, and being able to 699 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:26,879 Speaker 2: move your body in ways that you want is also 700 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,880 Speaker 2: a great joy, and not thinking about your body so 701 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:34,080 Speaker 2: obsessively that it becomes the epicenter of your world is 702 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,879 Speaker 2: also a great privilege and a great joy. I want 703 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:40,359 Speaker 2: to repeat one thing that I said earlier, just one 704 00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:45,560 Speaker 2: more time to finish up this episode. Skinny Took is 705 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:51,520 Speaker 2: incredibly marvelous at marketing a kind of lifestyle that is 706 00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:58,879 Speaker 2: actually probably deeply miserable and deeply unattainable. It's shocking, it's novel. 707 00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:05,680 Speaker 2: It feeds into all these very primal, archaic, teen ideas 708 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,799 Speaker 2: of body image and how we should look, and that 709 00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:12,399 Speaker 2: we would be happier if we looked like this. It's 710 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:16,719 Speaker 2: also just entirely not true. So don't let yourself and 711 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,600 Speaker 2: your life be dominated by a trend that you see online. 712 00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:25,880 Speaker 2: You know you have one precious, amazing, beautiful life. I 713 00:47:26,040 --> 00:47:28,799 Speaker 2: just don't think that our bodies or food is that 714 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:31,680 Speaker 2: important to be the only thing we care about. So 715 00:47:31,840 --> 00:47:34,399 Speaker 2: with that in mind, we are going to wrap up 716 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:38,040 Speaker 2: this episode. If you made it this far and want 717 00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:41,640 Speaker 2: you to leave an emoji of your favorite food below. 718 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 2: Mine's definitely watermelon. So drop yours below, just so I 719 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,879 Speaker 2: know that you're a loyal listener and that you've made 720 00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:50,080 Speaker 2: it this far on the episode. I hope that it 721 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:52,239 Speaker 2: was thought provoking. I hope that even if you didn't 722 00:47:52,239 --> 00:47:55,120 Speaker 2: agree with everything I said, that you know, at least 723 00:47:55,280 --> 00:47:59,960 Speaker 2: it got you to think more about the intersections between psychology, body, 724 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:04,919 Speaker 2: any social media, gender, trends, politics. It's all just kind 725 00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:07,240 Speaker 2: of like a big interconnected web when you really zone 726 00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:09,440 Speaker 2: out and look at it. I want to thank again 727 00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:13,799 Speaker 2: Libby Cobbert and Aaron Somerville for their contributions to this episode, 728 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:18,400 Speaker 2: and they're fantastic discussions and research. Make sure that you 729 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:21,839 Speaker 2: give us a five star review, especially if you are 730 00:48:21,880 --> 00:48:26,160 Speaker 2: listening on Apple podcasts. It really helps the show to 731 00:48:26,239 --> 00:48:29,400 Speaker 2: grow and reach new people and reach new audiences. You 732 00:48:29,440 --> 00:48:32,680 Speaker 2: can also follow us on Instagram at that Psychology Podcast 733 00:48:33,040 --> 00:48:36,080 Speaker 2: if you want to see some episode summaries, if you 734 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:38,400 Speaker 2: want to know what future episodes are coming out, or 735 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:40,520 Speaker 2: just be part of the community. We would love to 736 00:48:40,560 --> 00:48:44,240 Speaker 2: see you over there. But until next time, stay safe, 737 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:48,680 Speaker 2: be kind, be gentle to yourself, get offline every once 738 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:51,840 Speaker 2: in a while, and we will talk very very soon.