The SHE Word S6/EP14 - Women, Girls and The Body Shaming Culture

In Danae Mercer Ricci’s 2024 talk At The SHE Word Event she dropped an astounding statistic - Danae stated that the diet business is worth 90 Billion Dollar; a business that thrives on us feeling we need to be something else, that we are not enough. The Body Shaming Culture is affecting girls as young as 6 years old who are turning to dieting as a result of being actively targeted by the industry.

25–50% of teenagers reporting weight-based discrimination with another report stating that up to 67% students experience body shaming. One study reports that at age thirteen, 53% of girls are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen. The Body Shaming Culture has reached epidemic levels and we simply aren’t talking about this enough.

In this episode of The SHE Word, Trudy sits down with three women who have not only experienced body shaming, but have taken steps to actively combat this culture. Corrine Muscat is well known for her radio and voice over artist voice, but in the past few years trained and qualified as a personal trainer specifically working with women and men struggling to get started, just as she did in the past. Leeanne Bartolo is the name and face behind the Gym, Sports and Fitness brand Warehouse, but despite being WFF Bikini World Champion has struggled with her own appearance and the way that she has felt about herself. Caroline Abela is a full time mum at full time work and shares her own battles with body image and being body shamed.

The women powerfully share their own journeys, from childhood body shaming, teenager bullying, online trolling and the struggles to deal with the Filtered Untruth we are challenged by every day. The conversation is full of heart breaking stories, personal accounts, honest and brave accounts and words of hope and encouragement.

Feel seen in this show by women who are having a conversation that women really rarely have, that we really should have, not just for ourselves, but for the millions of young women and girls that are also affected by the body shaming culture.

With HUGE thanks to: Browns, Prohealth, Tampax, Always, Maison Perrier, Satariano Living, Dave’s Supermarkets, iCentre, YUE, Ayurveda, Growth Gurus, Monsoon, Myoka Spas and UBER