Becky and Taina are joined by fitness coach Laura Thomas for a brutally honest conversation about body image, aging, and what it really means to feel at home in your body.

They unpack how diet culture is a tool of patriarchy and capitalism, how the “male gaze” shapes even the most “empowering” wellness trends, and how we can start to reclaim movement as a way to care for ourselves rather than control ourselves.

This episode invites all of us, especially those socialized as women, to stop outsourcing our worth and start listening to our bodies again

Discussed in this episode:

• Why gyms can feel unsafe (and how to reclaim movement on your own terms)
• How diet culture and anti-fatness are rooted in anti-Blackness
• Decentering men and re-defining beauty on your own terms
• The emotional labor of unlearning body shame
• How patriarchy, racism, and capitalism keep us disconnected from our bodies
• Why movement is resistance, not punishment

Resources mentioned:

• “Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia” by Sabrina Strings
• “The Body Liberation Project” by Chrissy King
• “The Body Is Not an Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor
• “Why Does Patriarchy Persist?” by Carol Gilligan and Naomi Snider
• “More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament” by Lindsay and Lexie Kite

💪 Learn More About Laura Thomas

• Website: laurathomasfitness.com
• Instagram: @laurathomasfitness

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