Gender War Games Pt. 2: The New Purity Culture with Cadence Dubus

Is wellness the new purity culture? In part 2 of Gender War Games, host Cristen Conger and Cadence Dubus (@brooklynstrength), founder of Brooklyn Strength Virtual Fitness and Wellness Studio, breaks down how body control, aesthetic discipline, and "clean" femininity are being sold as self-care—while reinforcing the same old patriarchal power structures. From the rise of Ozempic and disordered wellness trends to body shame masquerading as moral virtue, what happens when femininity and fitness become political battlegrounds where women are expected to be skinny, soft, and silent?

• (00:00) Your Body Is a Battleground
• (00:52) The New Right's Body Ideals
• (01:23) The Wellness Grind
• (03:16) Functional Strength > Weight-Loss Goals
• (05:48) Women's Fitness Mirage
• (11:13) The Ozempic Effect
• (15:18) America's Health Hierarchy
• (17:28) Politicized Exercise
• (21:15) Class, Wealth and Commodified Wellness
• (28:29) What's a Body to Do?

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