The obsession with thinness didn't just appear out of nowhere-and it's not just about beauty, body image, or "health."

In this episode, I'm unpacking the deeper history of diet culture, female body standards, and the social conditioning that taught women to shrink themselves-physically, emotionally, and culturally. From historical ideals of discipline and restraint to the racial roots of the modern thin ideal, we're digging into how thinness became tied to morality, self-control, and worth.

This is a conversation about appetite, power, control, and the quiet rules women have been taught to follow without ever questioning them.

So the real question is... when did thinness stop being about beauty-and start being about obedience?

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources & References:

Core Books & Foundational Texts

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth (1991)

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body (1993)

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish (1975)

Strings, Sabrina. Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia (2019)

Historical Context: Appetite, Religion & Discipline

“Gluttony.” Encyclopaedia Britannica

“How the Seven Deadly Sins Began as ‘Eight Evil Thoughts.’” History.com

Forcen, Fernando E. “The Practice of Holy Fasting in the Late Middle Ages.” Journal of Religion and Health (2015)

Bynum, Caroline Walker. “The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women.”

Victorian Femininity & Bodily Control

Murray, E. Food and Femininity in Victorian Literature (2022)

Coar, L. “Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice: The Victorian Woman’s All-Consuming Predicament.”

Krondl, M. Fashioning Gendered Appetite in the Victorian Age (2022)

“Did Corsets Harm Women’s Health?” New York Academy of Medicine

Racism, Fatphobia & the Thin Ideal

Strings, Sabrina. Fearing the Black Body (NYU Press)

“How Racism Created the Thin Ideal.” UC Irvine School of Social Sciences

Review of Fearing the Black Body. UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Weight Stigma & Social Bias

“The Burden of Weight Stigma.” American Psychological Association (2022)

“Weight Stigma.” National Eating Disorders Association

Giel et al. “Weight Bias in Work Settings – A Qualitative Review.”

National Academies / NCBI — Weight stigma and labor market outcomes

Social Media, Wellness Culture & Modern Thinness

Munro et al. “Diet Culture on TikTok” (2024)

Davis et al. “#WhatIEatInADay on TikTok” (2023)

Weber. “TikToxic Effects of ‘That Girl’ Content” (2025)

Germic. Digital Wellness Culture & Womanhood (2025)

“Why ‘Skinny’ Culture Is Back.” University of Colorado Anschutz (2026)

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Apple Podcast:

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Intro/Outro Music:

“Fame Inc” by Savvier — https://icons8.com/music

The beauty industry wasn't built on beauty-it was built on control.

In this episode, I'm breaking down how beauty became gendered, why women were expected to invest in appearance, and how men were deliberately kept outside of it. From the rise of modern masculinity to the rebranding of men's grooming, skincare, and cosmetic procedures, I unpack how these standards were constructed and why they're now expanding.

So what does it really mean when men are finally brought into a system women have been expected to navigate for decades?

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources:

Fortune Business Insights — Men’s Grooming Products Market Size & Forecast

Barclays / Cosmetics Business — Growth Trends in Men’s Beauty Spending

Beauty Matter — Men’s Beauty Market: Steady Growth, Different Dynamics (Michael Gilman insights)

The Guardian — Dr. Fay Bound-Alberti on male beauty standards and appearance

Vogue — Rise of Male Cosmetic Procedures (“Brotox” and aesthetic treatments)

American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Male Cosmetic Procedure Statistics

Market Growth Reports — Men’s Grooming Market Consumer Behavior & Social Media Influence

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Apple Podcast:

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Intro/Outro Music:

“Fame Inc” by Savvier — https://icons8.com/music

Why does looking "effortless" cost so much?

In this episode, I'm breaking down the myth of low-maintenance beauty and why "natural" is often anything but. From aristocrats who had other people do the work for them to today's hyper-curated "clean girl" aesthetic, what looks effortless is usually carefully constructed behind the scenes. I'll get into how this illusion became a class signal, who it actually benefits, and who gets left out.

Because in beauty culture, effort doesn't disappear...it just gets edited out.

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources & Further Reading:

Class, Taste, and Beauty

Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (Harvard University Press).

Lemire, Beverly. Dress, Culture and Commerce (Palgrave Macmillan).

History of Beauty & Cosmetics

Peiss, Kathy. Hope in a Jar: The Making of America’s Beauty Culture (Metropolitan Books).

Jones, Geoffrey. Beauty Imagined (Oxford University Press).

Beauty, Labor, and Sociology

Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth (HarperCollins).

Waring, Marilyn. If Women Counted (University of Toronto Press).

Modern Beauty & Digital Culture

Tolentino, Jia. Trick Mirror (Random House).

Elias, Ana Sofia et al. Aesthetic Labour (Palgrave Macmillan).

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Apple Podcast:

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Intro/Outro Music:

“Fame Inc” by Savvier — https://icons8.com/music

What if I told you that one of the most popular beauty treatments today is made from one of the most powerful toxins known to science?

In this bonus episode, I'm breaking down what Botox actually is, how it went from food poisoning to a cosmetic staple, and why it's become so normalized that people are getting it done on their lunch breaks. We'll talk about how it works in the body, the side effects people don't always mention, and what repeated use might actually be doing long-term.

This isn't about fear or judgment - it's about understanding what's really going on beneath the surface. Because when something this powerful becomes routine, it's worth asking a few questions.

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources & Further Reading:

Simpson, L. L. — “The Origin, Structure, and Pharmacological Activity of Botulinum Toxin.” Pharmacological Reviews

Arnon, S. S. et al. — “Botulinum Toxin as a Biological Weapon: Medical and Public Health Management.” Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

Nigam, P. & Nigam, A. — “Botulinum Toxin.” Indian Journal of Dermatology

Frank J. Erbguth — “Historical Notes on Botulism, Clostridium botulinum, Botulinum Toxin, and the Idea of the Therapeutic Use of the Toxin.” Movement Disorders

Mayo Clinic — “Botox Injections: Overview, Uses, and Risks”

American Academy of Dermatology — “Botulinum Toxin Therapy”

Carruthers, J. & Carruthers, A. — “Botulinum Toxin Type A in the Treatment of Glabellar Rhytides.” Dermatologic Surgery

U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Botox Medication Guide and Safety Labeling

American Academy of Dermatology — Clinical Guidance on Botulinum Toxin Use

Mayo Clinic — Risks and complications of Botox injections

Durand, P. D. et al. — “Botulinum Toxin and Muscle Atrophy: A Wanted or Unwanted Effect.” Aesthetic Surgery Journal

Mathevon, L. et al. — Research on structural muscle changes after botulinum toxin injection

Schroeder, A. S. et al. — “Muscle Biopsy Evidence of Long-Term Changes After Botulinum Toxin Injection”

Benecke, R. — “Clinical Relevance of Botulinum Toxin Immunogenicity”

Bellows, S. et al. — Research on antibody formation after repeated botulinum toxin exposure

Stephan, F. et al. — Studies on resistance to botulinum toxin therapy

American Society of Plastic Surgeons — Plastic Surgery Statistics Report

Meredith Jones — Skintight: An Anatomy of Cosmetic Surgery

****************

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INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC:

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If you've ever wondered why you're attracted to villains... congratulations, you're about to get answers!

Let's talk about why so many of us are absolutely unwell over Joan "The Freak" Ferguson from Wentworth, and why a villain this elegant, severe, and unnervingly captivating makes our empathy do backflips it has no business doing...while simultaneously awakening thoughts that require either a licensed therapist, a priest, or both working overtime.

In this episode, I'm breaking down how beauty standards trick our brains into defending dangerous characters, how elegance softens evil, and why someone like Joan inspires fan edits, devotion, and comment sections full of people metaphorically (and sometimes literally) biting their lips, calling her "Daddy," and losing structural integrity in the knees.

We're going from ancient physiognomy to the modern "hot villain industrial complex" to figure out why one sharply dressed, psychologically commanding woman makes entire fandoms whisper, "Okay... but destroy me!"

If you've ever rooted for- or thirsted after - a villain you know belongs in therapy and not your fantasies, this deep dive is about to make everything make sense.

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources & Further Reading:

Lavater, Johann Kaspar. Essays on Physiognomy. 1775–1778.

Pearl, Sharrona. About Faces: Physiognomy in Nineteenth-Century Britain. Princeton University Press, 2010.

Lombroso, Cesare. Criminal Man. (Original 1876; Duke University Press edition 2006).

Rafter, Nicole. The Criminal Brain: Understanding Biological Theories of Crime. New York University Press, 2008.

Williams, Linda. Viewing Positions: Ways of Seeing Film. Rutgers University Press, 1995.

Carroll, Noël. The Philosophy of Horror; or, Paradoxes of the Heart. Routledge, 1990.

Ndalianis, Angela. Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment. MIT Press, 2004.

Creed, Barbara. The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis. Routledge, 1993.

Hamad, Hannah. Postfeminism and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema. Edinburgh University Press, 2013.

Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. Routledge, 1992.

Additional References:

Contemporary film and TV criticism from The Guardian, Vox, Vulture, IndieWire, and The Atlantic (2023–2025).

Interviews with Pamela Rabe and the creative team behind Wentworth (ABC Australia, SBS, 2015–2021 press coverage).

****************

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Apple Podcast:

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Intro/Outro Music:

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Welcome, my love buckets!

Step into the real world of medieval beauty- a place where "glowing skin" meant experimenting with ingredients that ranged from clever to catastrophic.

In this episode, I peel back the rituals, recipes, and dangerously creative practices that shaped the medieval ideal face, and the women who kept that knowledge alive. Some of what you'll hear will shock you, some will weirdly make sense, and some might feel unsettlingly familiar.

If you think modern beauty culture is intense... wait until you hear where we came from. By the end, you might start questioning how different we really are today.

Are. You. Ready?

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Featured AD:

If you love wandering into the stranger corners of history with me, you'll want to hear the trailer for my new narrative show, Murder Through Time: A Whodunit Across the Centuries. Each episode drops you into a different era as you unravel a real case shaped by the customs, dangers, and secrets of its time. You're not just listening, you're the detective. You'll hear the teaser in today's episode, and you can listen to the first episode right now wherever you get your podcasts.

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Sources & Further Reading:

Monica H. Green, The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine (University of Pennsylvania Press).

S. Pisanti et al., “The Medieval Skincare Routine According to the Formulations of Magistra Trotula,” UNESCO Chair Salerno / University of Salerno.

Walters Art Museum Journal, “Becoming a Blond in Late Fifteenth-Century Venice.”

The Recipes Project (academic collective): articles on Vergel de Señores and Moorish women’s cosmetic expertise.

The British Library, digitized medieval medical and cosmetic manuscripts.

Diana Luft, Medieval Welsh Medical Texts: The Recipes (University of Wales Press) — ingredient lists including goat urine.

Pliny the Elder, Natural History (Loeb Classical Library edition) — ancient uses of urine, skin treatments, and cleansing agents.

Becky Little, “The Strange and Dangerous History of Toxic Makeup,” National Geographic.

Science Museum Group, “Dangerous Beauty: Hazardous Chemicals in Historic Cosmetics.”

****************

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Apple Podcast:

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****************

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Intro/Outro Music:

“Fame Inc” by Savvier — https://icons8.com/music

Welcome, to a brand new bonus episode, my loves!

From extreme historical beauty demands to clothing laws that targeted women, to the era when pants were treating like a public threat, this bonus episode uncovers the absurd systems that shaped, and still shape, women's lives.

These restrictions weren't about fashion; they were about power, discipline, and keeping women in their place. These beauty "rules" weren't random; they were deliberate tools of control.

What begins as curiosity quickly turns to outrage as the same patterns repeat across cultures and centuries. And once you hear them, you'll start noticing their modern echoes everywhere.

Are. You. Ready?

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Sources & Further Reading:

Medieval & Early Beauty Practices

Monica H. Green — The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine (2001)

UNESCO Chair Salerno research on medieval cosmetic recipes (ongoing project; key publications 2010s)

Pliny the Elder — Natural History (c. 77–79 CE)

Victorian & Early Modern Cosmetics

Kathryn Hughes — “Women and Makeup in Victorian Britain” (BBC History article, 2016)

Rachel Weingarten — The History of Makeup (2020)

Ancient Rome

Janet Stephens — Research on Roman hairstyling (2010s)

Kelly Olson — Dress and the Roman Woman: Self-Presentation and Society (2008)

Japan (Ohaguro)

Liza Dalby — Geisha (2000)

M. Ashikari — “Black Teeth, Red Lips: Beauty and Identity in Japan” (article published in the 1990s)

Joseon Korea

JaHyun Kim Haboush — The Confucian Kingship in Korea: Portrait of an Ideology (2001)

Sumptuary Laws

Alan Hunt — Governance of the Consuming Passions: A History of Sumptuary Law (1996)

Colonialism & the Sari

Emma Tarlo — Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India (1996)

20th-Century Clothing Restrictions & Pants Laws

Jo B. Paoletti — Sex and Unisex: Fashion, Feminism, and the Sexual Revolution (2012)

Modern Dress Code Enforcement

National Women’s Law Center — Reports on school dress code discrimination (ongoing; key reports 2017–present)

Human Rights Watch — Studies on dress policing (various reports, 2018–present)

****************

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Apple Podcast:

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****************

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INTRO/OUTRO MUSIC:

FASION/ '1-800-DIRTY'/Courtesy of Epidemic Sound

www.epidemicsound.com