Did you know that culture, society and politics determine what is considered beautiful at any given time or place? And that the idea of our “body project” (i.e. all the time, effort, money and mental energy we put into working on our bodies) is a relatively new, culturally constructed idea?

Listen in as Melanie C. Klein, M.A., a sought-after empowerment coach, respected thought leader and influencer in the areas of body confidence, authentic empowerment, and visibility shares with Cora how the media influences our body image, and what role social media has played in the changing landscape of yoga over the last decade. 

MORE ABOUT MELANIE

Attributing yoga and feminism as her two primary influences, Melanie has been in the business of empowering women since 1994. With over 20 years experience and notable credits including advising the Santa Monica College Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, working closely with Global Girl Media and running the LA chapter of Women, Action and the Media; she has dedicated her passion, knowledge and coaching skillset to the empowerment of innumerable women through increasing confidence, self-esteem and worth. Based on over two decades of professional and personal work, Melanie integrates her backgrounds in mindfulness and embodied wisdom with her academic expertise and advocacy work. In this way, she offers a holistic and unique pathway to personal freedom and prosperity, one that is customized designed to each individual.

She is author of numerous books, including being the co-editor of Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories About Beauty, Bravery + Loving Your Body (Llewellyn, 2014) with Anna Guest-Jelley, and co-founder of the Yoga & Body Image Coalition

PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS

• Melanie's professional & academic background
• A definition of body image
• What media literacy IS, and how it can help you understand your body image
• How current standards of beauty are culturally constructed
• How standards of beauty evolved and changed over time, and by place
• How understanding media literacy can empower us as individual content creators and consumers
• How social media is changing the power dynamic and gatekeeping role of traditional media
• Why we don’t notice what’s expected in media, and why that’s important
• Why we’re not done creating equity until diversity in representation is the norm in media
• Melanie also shares a stat about how much media we consume in 1 year now, vs. how much media was consumed in a lifetime in the 1950’s along with multiple other “mind blown” moments for me in this show. 

FIND MELANIE

• Melanie’s Website
• Melanie’s Instagram
• The Yoga & Body Image Coalition

FIND CORA

• Free Instagram Workshop
• Cora’s Instagram

For links & resources mentioned in this episode go to www.corageroux.com/podcastepisodes/episode36

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