S1: Nothing's off limits, things off limits, bringing together experts and
S1: people with lived experience to discuss the topics we love
S1: to avoid, but absolutely need to talk about me with
S1: the support of Vision Australia and the NDIS information linkages
S1: and capacity building grant building grants.
S2: Hello and welcome to the series where nothing's off limits.
S2: My name is Polly and together with my co-host Tess
S2: over ten episodes, we're exploring some of those topics which
S2: we might usually consider off limits and discussing them openly
S2: and honestly and through the specific lens of blindness and
S2: vision with the help of expert guests.
S3: And there'll be more information at the end of the
S3: show about how you can catch this episode and other
S3: episodes of Nothing's Off Limits on the Vision Australia website.
S2: In this episode, we're talking about body image and appearance.
S2: What do we mean when we talk about body image?
S2: And how do you connect with that concept if you
S2: want primarily visual? What perceptions do you have of your
S2: own and others appearance if you are blind to have
S2: no vision? What messages are we sending through the way
S2: we present ourselves? And how do you find out what
S2: society's rules of what someone should look like are an
S2: exercise your right to follow or break those rules on
S2: your own terms? This is an emotive topic for those
S2: protests and me, and if you were affected by any
S2: of the issues in the show, please contact Lifeline on
S2: one three one one one four or the Butterfly Foundation,
S2: the national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders
S2: and body image issues, and for the families, friends and
S2: community to support them. Their national helpline number is one
S2: 800 three four six seven three. The way we dress
S2: and style our hair or makeup is one component of
S2: creating and expressing body image. Here at Vision Australia, we've
S2: done a number of projects to make the world of
S2: fashion more accessible, including partnering with Melbourne Fashion Festival to
S2: audio describe some ways. The interest in these has really
S2: debunked the perception that if you are blind or have
S2: low vision fashion and the way you look is not
S2: a priority to test this further, we asked you how
S2: much does appearance and body image matter to you?
S1: Nothing's off limits with Tess and Polly Polly. How much
S1: does appearance and body image matter to you?
S4: It doesn't personally matter much to me. It matters other people.
S4: And I think sometimes that's quite sad.
S5: When I'm walking around the house, I won't necessarily see
S5: in the hallway. Mirror is a big of jam on
S5: my lap or that I've got child related grot running
S5: down the front of my T-shirt. It's very embarrassing when
S5: somebody pointed out, and I guess I need to learn
S5: to be more open and receptive when people pointing this
S5: stuff out to me. Other than that, I don't think
S5: I smell too bad. Although a shower is never a
S5: relaxing experience for me, I'm always worried that I'm going
S5: to fall on the backside.
S1: Not too much. What's inside a person is what matters. Oh,
S1: probably a six or seven out of 10. I am.
S1: I like to look nice, but I'm not going to
S1: go crazy over it. It matters to me a lot
S1: because I like to present well in all different situations.
S1: Does being blind can make you more conscious of how
S1: you present yourself? Yes, definitely. And it's something that you
S1: learn as you get older. It's not something that comes
S1: to people naturally.
S6: It matters actually quite a lot to me, and I
S6: think it was when you're blind you because you don't
S6: see what other people look like. Sometimes it can be
S6: easy to have quite a distorted view of yourself because
S6: you can't see what's around you. You actually don't know
S6: where you often fit in the scheme of things. You know,
S6: you might think you're quite overweight, but you may not
S6: be well the other way around. You know, you might
S6: think that, you know, a certain something looks good on you.
S6: And I guess if you feel good, that's all that matters.
S6: But for me, it is quite important.
S1: Body image and appearance are really important to me, both
S1: my own and others that I'm
S5: with in the conventional sense. I'm a man in my mid-40s,
S5: so I've put on a few pounds. But actually in
S5: this country full of sunny, tanned people, I thin white
S5: and hairy, which is why they see me wear Arashi
S5: indoors at the swimming pool. In terms of that, in
S5: the context of sight. I wear sunglasses and I'm still
S5: a little self-conscious about it. But when you don't wear
S5: a set glass, you go, I'm going to a day
S5: just being me, not me wearing glasses. May you put
S5: on a pair of contact lenses whenever I stop to
S5: look at my phone, read a menu or squint at
S5: a bus stop. There's always some smart alec who comes
S5: up to you and says, Oh, you need glasses, mate. Like,
S5: I haven't thought of that before.
S7: I would say it matters quite a lot. I was
S7: born vision impaired. I have low vision when I was
S7: first learning to use a mobility cane and I found
S7: it very confronting the way people were reacting to me
S7: and nervousness, and I was getting a train with my cane.
S7: It's amazing. Man got onto the train. He was young,
S7: really beautifully dressed in like a three piece suit and
S7: a briefcase looked sleek and professional, and he was using
S7: a cane. I noticed that everyone was reacting very differently
S7: to him. He was using his cane very confidently, and
S7: he looked very much like he was successful in the world.
S7: And I was just really impressed by it made me
S7: think how much? It's great to be well dressed when
S7: your vision impaired for me anyway.
S2: Tess, you've graciously agreed to take off your hosting hat
S2: for a moment to share a story about your experience
S2: navigating body image. As a young woman who is blind
S2: when you were in your late teens, early 20s, you
S2: have quite a negative relationship with how you perceived your body.
S3: Even when I was a younger teenager, 14 15, I
S3: didn't really like the way my body looked. I didn't
S3: think I was tall enough, slim enough. But it really
S3: took a toll when I was about 19. The year before,
S3: I'd taken some tablets to help me with hormone related
S3: difficulties and my body had undergone some changes. The time
S3: came that there was an event that I was going to,
S3: and I wore addressed. Various bits of my body was
S3: sort of not quite fitting into it, and I really did.
S3: I felt genuine repulsion and I just thought it is
S3: just because I don't look right. I'm too fat, I'm
S3: too I'm too swollen. I was also experiencing a lot
S3: of anxiety that that was I can't say it was unrelated,
S3: but it was at. The anxiety was about all sorts
S3: of aspects of my life, and I felt like the
S3: only thing I could really have control over was how
S3: much I ate or didn't eat. And so combining this
S3: repulsion with the way I looked and my need for control,
S3: I really started to engage in some fairly self-destructive behaviours,
S3: like starving myself periods, trying to make myself sick, trying
S3: to bloat myself in order to make myself sick. So
S3: it was something not right about my body, and the
S3: world was full of thin, beautiful women and I was
S3: not one of them. And therefore I wasn't fit to
S3: wear nice clothes. I wasn't fit to do anything except
S3: just try and make myself a little bit less horrifying.
S3: And that behaviour continued for a couple of years and tests.
S2: Some people might be curious as to how you have
S2: these pressures, perceived pressures around how you look and when
S2: you are yourself blind. What was driving them?
S3: Do you think I was feeling like I wasn't fitting
S3: into my clothes? There was a particular time where I
S3: wore a dress and my breasts had to be sort of,
S3: I guess we had to use a bit of tape
S3: because my breasts were too were too big. And then
S3: we're sort of coming out. I've always been interested in
S3: the visual world around me and wanting to know what
S3: my family and friends look like. And I suppose my
S3: perceptions of a lot of them were that they were
S3: tall and thin, that I was short and fat. It's
S3: hard because I couldn't look into a mirror. I couldn't
S3: really see what I looked like. All I could see
S3: was if I occasionally was brave enough to stand on
S3: the scales, and even though I was average weight, it
S3: didn't seem enough. And you know, so I'd I'd be
S3: pinching my waist to try and find out how I
S3: looked there or not. In my mind, I was squeezing
S3: handfuls of fat that manifested in, you know, starving myself,
S3: trying to make myself sick and. Also exercising a bit
S3: too much, Tess,
S2: I wish I could travel back in time and give
S2: your younger self just the
S4: biggest hug.
S2: How did you get through this?
S3: I through it. I had a lot of friends and family.
S3: I took me a couple of years to tell my family,
S3: but when they knew they were fantastic, I mean, my
S3: sister saw that I wasn't eating very much and that
S3: I would take any excuse not to eat. My family
S3: were living a few hours away, so they they want
S3: to know, and a few friends of mine knew, and
S3: they encouraged me to seek professional help. So I did that.
S3: I think I went to a support group with a friend.
S3: I think it was about six months after I started
S3: having these problems. For a couple of years, I had,
S3: you know, counselling on and off. Sometimes I would feel
S3: OK about my body and then I'd spiral. But then
S3: I got to about 23 24, and I just started
S3: to experience a more positive feel about my body. I
S3: stopped feeling quite so repulsed by it, and I started
S3: feeling like I was actually. This was the way I
S3: was meant to look. And I think it was as
S3: much the counselling and support and affirmation of family and
S3: friends that really helped me get there. By the time
S3: I was 23 24, I finally got to a stage.
S3: After all that support where I could be proud of
S3: my body, I mean, you know, I'm not, I'm not tall,
S3: but I'm not short. I'm not slim, but I'm not fat. I'm,
S3: you know, I'm curvy. But that was the way I
S3: was meant to be. And what you said about wishing
S3: you could give my 19, 20 year old self a
S3: big hug. I wish the same thing, and I wish
S3: that I could have heard a story like mine, and
S3: I hope that other young women who are struggling might
S3: hear this story because these days, you know, 10 years
S3: after I was having these problems, I like my body.
S3: I can see how I was meant to be this way,
S3: and I love food. I love enjoying food, and I
S3: know how unhealthy and how ill I was back then
S3: when I was what I might have called slimmer test.
S2: Thank you so much. This really doesn't feel like something
S2: that gets talked about, particularly in this community, and it's
S2: pretty generous of you to share your experience and earnings.
S4: Thank you.
S1: If this program has brought up any issues for you,
S1: please contact Lifeline on 13, 11, 14 or online at
S1: Lifeline dot org dot AEW. The suicide call back service
S1: is one 300 six five nine four six seven or
S1: online at Suicide Call Back Service dot org. Today you
S1: there's beyondblue 1800 double to four, six, three six and
S1: online and beyond blue dot org dot. Hey you!
S2: And let's continue the conversation by bringing in our first guest.
S2: Courtney Nicky Courtney is a trained psychologist who works at
S2: Mission Australia for nearly 13 years in a number of capacities. Courtney,
S2: you've been listening in. What did you make of Tess's experience?
S2: There might be, I guess, a perception that this hyper
S2: awareness of your body or your image, if you're if
S2: you're blind, isn't that common? Is that your understanding?
S4: Yeah, I think it's more common than most people realize.
S4: I mean, we're all getting messages as tested that we're
S4: not good enough from society through the media and through
S4: corporate advertising. But people with disabilities in particular are getting
S4: those messages and particularly about their body, and because people
S4: with disabilities can't necessarily avoid the stigma of disability. Sometimes
S4: we seek approval of our bodies in other ways. Our
S4: bodies are a tangible thing, and we're told that we
S4: should be able to control them and we force the
S4: lie that everybody is supposed to be the same. And unfortunately,
S4: that keeps us busy instead of doing what we actually want,
S4: what's good for us. And I think people with vision
S4: impairments just as likely to be influenced by these pressures
S4: as anyone else.
S2: And it was interesting tests you mentioned as well around
S2: your relationship with food. And obviously, we know food impacts
S2: how our body looks and how well it functions. But
S2: there's this whole raft of other roles that food plays
S2: in our lives, from social, cultural and emotional perspectives. Are
S2: there specific challenges around that if you're blind to have
S2: that vision?
S3: I'd definitely say that there are, especially if you're out.
S3: So when I when I wasn't particularly well, I'd go
S3: out to a to a birthday or I'd even go
S3: out with friends and they would all want to go,
S3: you know, to it, to a coffee shop or whatever.
S3: And you know, there were very few things that I
S3: feel like I could eat, and I would have to
S3: get them to read the whole menu and try and
S3: find something that you know that I could eat. That
S3: was healthy enough. But also if I was going out
S3: with friends and they all wanted to do something that
S3: related to food, I couldn't just say, Oh, you guys
S3: get something to eat, chaps, I'll I'll go, you know,
S3: I'll go and, you know, look around the shops when
S3: you get something to eat. So I did feel a
S3: sense of being a bit trapped in a bit anxious,
S3: which now I can see it. It's such a shame
S3: because as you say, poly food is such a social
S3: cultural thing. I mean, these days, I absolutely love food,
S3: all types of food, and I feel I find it's
S3: emotionally soothing. It's a wonderful thing to enjoy with friends,
S3: often with a glass of wine. But but yes, I
S3: do remember feeling quite quite trapped as somebody who was
S3: blind trying to find something that I that I could
S3: eat without, without feeling like I was blowing up by
S3: the second, but also feeling feeling trapped into it.
S2: Courtney, you've you've mentioned as well in previous conversations about
S2: how the idea about autonomy and agency when you're eating out.
S2: Something that isn't necessarily a given if you're blind.
S4: Yeah, that's right. As Test mentioned, you don't have to
S4: rely on other people to understand what's available to you.
S4: And when somebody provides you with that food, it's really
S4: a take it or leave it type prospect because you
S4: don't have that ability to browse in the same way
S4: that somebody whose voice on it has. And particularly if
S4: you've got dietary preferences as a vegetarian or vegan, I
S4: find that often my options are quite limited anyway. Yeah.
S4: So food plays many roles. Definitely. It's a form of
S4: comfort and pleasure. It's a way of exchanging love, as
S4: as mentioned. You know, when you're out with friends, you're
S4: often sharing a meal together or you're even giving gifts
S4: of food. It can be an opportunity to escape or
S4: take some time out from others, as well as any
S4: expectations you feel of being late on you. And it's
S4: a way of having choice and control, especially if you
S4: don't necessarily have choice and control in other areas of
S4: your life. So it makes a lot of emotional needs.
S4: But as testers is also mentioned, unless the relationship with
S4: food is a healthy one, it can do a lot
S4: of damage to your pleasure in your own body, to
S4: your connection with others, and to an ability to do
S4: what you want. Because you start to restrict yourself and
S4: prohibit yourself from taking action unless you're the perfect thing
S4: that you need to be. So I think what's important
S4: to remember is that there are other ways of meeting
S4: our emotional needs, of soothing our discomfort and feeling good,
S4: and it's best to have a broad range of strategies
S4: and not just food.
S2: That's excellent advice, Courtney. Sort of a tool box of
S2: ways of coping with when things get tough or or
S2: whatever it might be.
S4: What's the likely?
S2: Do you think that there's a perception that if you're
S2: blind or low vision, do image isn't something that you
S4: need to worry about? Yeah, I think some people assume
S4: that if you're not visually oriented, if you don't have vision,
S4: then you don't need to adhere to the rules that
S4: are visual world mice down. But it's actually the opposite.
S4: I would assume that given that the world is set
S4: up for sighted people in order for vision impaired people
S4: to participate, to have friends and to have jobs and
S4: polite interactions in society, we have to learn about the
S4: visual norms, even though we don't have access to that
S4: visual information and we have to do our best to
S4: meet them in the social model of disability is something
S4: that tells us that because we're different from the norm,
S4: it is harder to learn and to participate in a
S4: visual world because it's not set up to operate in
S4: the way that works for us. So we have to
S4: read a lot. We have to listen a lot, we
S4: have to develop work arounds and that can be exhausting.
S4: Andy started Exchange is one way, really because we're under
S4: the guise of others, but we're not necessarily able to
S4: see them ourselves.
S2: Yeah, and particularly over the last year or so, many
S2: of us have kind of been the subject of prolonged
S2: visual exposure through Zoom meetings and various online get togethers.
S2: And there's that little box in the corner and feel
S2: sighted or not sighted. There's still that sense that your
S2: face is very much on display, and there's obviously the
S2: option to turn off your video, but I guess that
S2: in itself sends a message. What's your take on this?
S4: Yeah, I think being watched by others is draining for anyone,
S4: but at the very least sighted person has the opportunity
S4: to watch others. So it's a two way exchange, but
S4: it's a particular kind of relationship that a blind person
S4: enters into understanding that they need to participate in the
S4: visual world, but sometimes wouldn't mind a bit of a
S4: reprieve from that. And so turning off the camera is
S4: an opportunity to focus in on the sense that we
S4: need to rely on because we don't have patients who
S4: are hearing and to not feel like we also then
S4: need to perform visually at the same time.
S2: Tess, how about you over the last year or so?
S2: Are you a video on girl or video of?
S4: Well, it
S3: really does depend it from a professional. You know, when
S3: I'm when I'm in work meetings, I often prefer to
S3: have my video off unless they particularly request it. I
S3: guess partly because it makes the internet wobbly of videos
S3: on sometimes, but also because because I just I do
S3: feel a little bit less self-conscious about what I'm wearing,
S3: where I'm sitting. I don't know what anybody else is,
S3: you know, is doing, you know, whether they're all sort
S3: of dressed up in skirts and tops and whether I
S3: need to be or so. I do prefer to have
S3: the video off when I'm in a work meeting. But
S3: in a social meeting with friends, I often prefer to
S3: have the video on. Although I do, I feel I
S3: do feel sad that I can't see them. I mean,
S3: because I've so much missed that physical contact with friends
S3: being able to give them a hug or hold their
S3: arm or whatever. But I'd love to be able to
S3: see them, but I do feel a bit more comforted
S3: that they at least can see me when I'm on
S3: Zoom and that that's what makes it a bit or
S3: face time. And that's what makes it a bit different
S3: and special. Rather than just talking on the phone that
S3: they can actually see me, they can see a little
S3: bit into my house. They can see a little bit
S3: more into. I live, so it does vary, but certainly
S3: at work, I feel very self-conscious.
S2: Courtney, what about you video or video
S4: of I tend to be a video off person if
S4: I consider it to be within the realm of polite exchange.
S4: I do get asked pointedly to turn it on sometimes,
S4: and then I'll usually be comfortable to do that. That said,
S4: there are sometimes some technical barriers to me doing that
S4: because I've got a screen up in front of my face,
S4: so I then have to sacrifice being able to orient
S4: to what I can orient through on the screen by
S4: pushing that away. And just being there to be seen
S4: by others.
S2: There's been some really interesting thinking around body positivity and
S2: celebrating all body shapes and more recently took of body neutrality.
S2: So rather than aiming to love your body, which can
S2: be really tough for many of us, the less challenging
S2: aspiration to become less emotionally influenced by how your body
S2: look if you're struggling with body image, what are some
S2: things that you can do to develop and maintain a
S2: healthy body image?
S4: Start listening to your body. Do what's loving in response
S4: to what you hear. We've got to meet our physical
S4: needs through sleep and through movement that we enjoy and
S4: through responding to our genuine hunger and what we need
S4: to do, especially if we've been experiencing the challenges of
S4: an eating disorder is we've got to stop imposing what
S4: we think things should be and listen to what actually
S4: is what our body is really telling us. And mindfulness
S4: as a lot of really useful strategies for this, or
S4: if you want to keep it super simple, you can
S4: just pause and breathe and involve your breathing. Be aware
S4: of what's going on. The second thing is to nurture
S4: yourself emotionally. It's as you've just said poly, or it
S4: only natural to feel conflicted about your body. Yeah, we
S4: want to love our body. We want to appreciate it
S4: and feel grateful for it. But sometimes we also feel
S4: compelled to change it to match the expectations of what
S4: we think the outside world requires of us. So we've
S4: got to figure out some ways to get on good
S4: hands with the difference between what we actually are and
S4: what the external ideal is without punishing ourselves or hiding away.
S4: And some of the things that we can do, there
S4: are things like self-compassion, or we can simply show mercy
S4: to ourself. That's another way of thinking about it, because
S4: a lot of the things that we say about ourselves,
S4: like what is articulated to us, we would never dream
S4: to say to another person because they're so incredibly cruel
S4: that
S2: some of the sorry to jump in quarterly. But somehow
S2: some of the words tests that you were using were
S2: really strong and I don't think be another person in
S2: the world that you'd say that to. And yet you
S2: were saying about yourself.
S4: And I think one of the things that Test was
S4: able to say on the flip side and and show
S4: us that, you know, when she became a healthier person
S4: is how grateful she is for how beautiful her body
S4: is and to learn to really appreciate it's a gratitude
S4: is another thing that's very important. I would say that
S4: in this emotional nurturing space, you're also looking for social
S4: connections and test, as also mentioned, where she's able to
S4: connect with others via telehealth via video conference. Because that
S4: gives us validation of our feelings and we're able to
S4: regulate so we're able to feel together in connection with
S4: another person. And then the third thing that we need
S4: to do is embrace the fact that everyone is different.
S4: That's the reality, everyone. Everybody is different and that's a
S4: good thing.
S2: Thank you both so much. Test for sharing your own
S2: experience and Kourtney for coming with such compassion and really
S2: practical steps about what you can do to to develop
S2: and maintain that healthy body image. Thank you so much.
S4: Thanks for having me, guys.
S1: You're listening to nothing's off limits. We're Tess and Polly,
S1: did you know, Vision Australia partners with the Melbourne Fashion
S1: Festival to make its runways accessible through audio description. But
S1: more information go to Vision Australia dot org or call
S1: one eight four seven four double six. Vision Australia Blindness
S1: Low Vision Opportunity.
S2: Our next guest is Samantha Hardy. Samantha is one of
S2: the
S3: voices you might hear if you called Vision Australia as
S3: a Service Connect officer. Samantha plays a vital role connecting
S3: people with support services. Samantha herself has low vision and
S3: is a sometime cane user. How important is appearance to you, Samantha?
S4: I'd have to say it is quite important to me.
S4: I'm quite passionate about fashion than clothing in general. I
S4: still find people tend to expect people that are blind
S4: or visually impaired to look sort of badly dressed and
S4: maybe a bit sort of downtrodden and not quite sort
S4: of fishing in to the world or with other people.
S4: And I really like to buck that trend. I really
S4: like to express myself in a way that shows that
S4: I'm confident and getting on with my life. Clothing can
S4: be a really powerful tool so that it's almost like
S4: a shorthand for telling people in the world who you are.
S4: People do tend to sort of make very quick judgments
S4: about who you are by your appearance. You know,
S3: some people and I certainly usually one of them might say, Oh,
S3: I'm just not interested in fashion. I mean, it's just fashion,
S3: you know, comfort over fashion and all that. The appearance
S3: really goes deeper than fashion, doesn't it?
S4: It sort of speaks to who you are in the
S4: world and how you want to express yourself. And I
S4: certainly get that for some people, particularly since they have
S4: low vision, the clothing might not be important to them.
S4: And I'm certainly not saying that it should be. I'm
S4: just sort of expressing my own feelings about it. When
S4: I first started using a cane, I went for quite
S4: a while, was listening to this one because it just
S4: felt really confronting. And eventually I accepted that it was
S4: going to be really useful to help me to get
S4: around independently and do the things I wanted to do.
S4: So I learned how to use a cane, and I
S4: started using one. And when I first started using it,
S4: the experience was incredibly intense. It was like people's reactions
S4: were really quite extreme. And on the one hand, I
S4: was super visible in the community, but also at the
S4: same time, I became completely invisible. It's like people only
S4: saw a blind person with a cane, and they no
S4: longer saw me at all. And I got on a
S4: train with my time and still sort of dealing with
S4: people's reactions. And then I was sitting in the train
S4: and this man got on like a stop after me.
S4: Absolutely fabulous looking like well-dressed, confident looking man in a
S4: suit and a briefcase. He happened to be using the cane.
S4: I remember thinking, Yes, no one is going to be
S4: looking at that man thinking, Oh, that's so sad that
S4: man's blind, and they're just going to be thinking, Oh,
S4: this very confident, attractive man who obviously has a vision
S4: impairment is using the cane. And I remember thinking, that's
S4: how I want to be in the world. So do
S4: you feel like
S3: when you before you are using your cane people, approached
S3: you in a very different way to to when it
S3: sounds like there was a real change in the way
S3: people perceived you just because you were holding the cane?
S4: There is, and there is still and there was, and
S4: I've spoken to lots of other people who experienced something
S4: quite similar to that. It can be can be really
S4: extreme people's reactions. And I'm not completely blind, whatever that,
S4: whatever that might be. But I have some. I have
S4: some vision, so I use the cane because I can't
S4: tell distances or depth or I don't see any details.
S4: So it helps me, helps to keep me safe. But
S4: I actually have still part of the time. See people's
S4: reactions to Cane. I can see them hesitating. I can
S4: see them doing weird things with it, and I can
S4: see them staring at me. I get Botox. I'm using
S4: the cane. But then I also I'm aware of people's
S4: reactions to it.
S3: So how do we go about finding out what the
S3: visual norms are, whether or not we we follow or
S3: defy them?
S4: I guess I'm only aware of some visual norms and
S4: sorts of things. I'm aware that I'm probably missing like
S4: eye contact and things like that. But what I've done
S4: is enlisted the help of some of my trusted family
S4: and friends just to kind of give me a bit
S4: of guidance when I need it so that I can
S4: sort of I guess for me, it's a simplified version.
S4: I don't take too many crazy risks because I don't
S4: really can't really see what I'm wearing that well, but
S4: just to help me to feel like I'm dressing well
S4: in the world.
S3: Are there ways in which we can use our appearance
S3: and demeanor to give the impression of being confident, more
S3: confident that we perhaps are?
S4: I think I learnt from another friend of mine who's
S4: he's a cane user. I was finding that I was
S4: having a lot of trouble using my came, as I've
S4: already mentioned, and when I went out with and. Using mine,
S4: and she is just so incredibly confident, almost aggressive, it's OK,
S4: she's very lovely and so you could never describe her
S4: as aggressive but just super confident, and I find that
S4: people react really differently to cover up. There's a woman
S4: on a mission, really doesn't need any help. I'll just
S4: get out of her way. And I found I find
S4: that that really works for her. And I actually there's
S4: a lot by being out with her and observing what
S4: she does and how she moves in the world. Samantha,
S4: it's been
S3: such a pleasure chatting with you today. Thanks for joining us. Remember,
S3: you can download Nothing's Off Limits via the Vision Australia
S3: website at Vision Australia dot org. That's Vision Australia dot org.
S3: Just search for nothing's off limits into the search engine,
S3: and you'll be directed to a web page where you
S3: can view this episode and earlier episodes, and please make
S3: sure you subscribe so you don't miss any. Also, you
S3: can tune in via Virgin Australia Radio. We've gathered up
S3: all the contact details of the organisations mentioned in this
S3: episode and put them on the Vision Australia website. You
S3: can also find there a great webinar with Chloe Norton
S3: from the Melbourne Fashion Festival about how we can find
S3: and dress to our style.
S1: That was nothing's off limits. Made with the support of
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