Millennial pop culture has a lot to answer for. From Britney Spears' sexy schoolgirl outfit to an underage Kate Moss on the cover of Vogue and Paris Hilton in pube-skimming velvet tracksuits, the message was clear — being hot, sexy and desirable meant #girlpower.

So how did we all buy into the lie that self-objectification is empowerment?

Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist Sophie Gilbert says the Spice Girls, Demi Moore, Britney Spears and the Kardashians all had a role to play in how we feel about ourselves as women.

Sophie chats to Yumi Stynes about how pop culture turned a generation of women against themselves and what we can do about it.

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You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.  

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This episode will answer questions like: 

• What were the messages being sent about womanhood in the 1990s and 2000s? 
• How did the Spice Girls rise to popularity? 
• What did the term ‘girl power’ mean? 
• How did pop culture impact body image and fashion? 
• What did pop culture teach us about women’s sexuality? 
• What is pop culture today teaching us about womanhood? 

This episode contains references to sexuality, pop culture, music, performance, girl, woman, gender, gender roles, Britney Spears, Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, the Spice Girls, Pamela Anderson, body image, thinness, beauty, capitalism, entertainment industry.