Jezebel & Friends

WARNING: anti-semitism and holocaust, abortion...so much abortion, homophobia, racism, sexual assault and harassment, religious abuse

Helen sits down with former Fenwick classmates Megan Zelasko and Julianna Hirsh for a raw and riveting discussion on healing womanhood after the Fenwick boys' club and what hurt us most about our high school experience.

Tw: transphobia, homophobia, sexual abuse, suicide

Helen sits down with former Fenwick classmate Lex Buglio to discuss their healing journey post catholic school.

Tw: sexual abuse, homophobia

Kate and Helen share their darkest experiences at Fenwick, from Kairos to confession, from homophobia to sexual shame. Kate reveals her journey of realizing her true identity post-Catholic school, highlighting the challenges of self-discovery and breaking free from patriarchal norms.

From sexist dress codes and the creepy men who enforced them, to shenanigans in the coat room, "Juke Jail" at dances, and Justice Under God (JUG) instead of detention, Helen and Eilish rehash the Catholic school rules in a slightly more lighthearted episode than usual. (Sound from Pixabay and Bensound).

We're wrapping up our last episode on sexual shame and boy oh boy do we get into it! We discuss Shiny Happy People and Helen's vaginismus. In the second part of this episode we're giving our listeners a gift (you're welcome)— join us on a journey down memory lane about our pandemic road trip to the wild wild west, Sometimes a terrible decision ends up being a great story, but we will let you decide.

"Shaming is one of the deepest tools of imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy because shame produces trauma and trauma often produces paralysis." - Bell Hooks. In this episode, Helen walks us through topics surrounding sexual shame and how that plays a role in our relationship with ourselves and others. Sexual shame is called a public health crisis by some mental health professionals due to the impact of psychological distress and mental health symptoms related to shame.

The night of all nights: in a Catholic school basement with neighboring Catholic schools, fewer adults, more kids, and more opportunities for deviant behavior. Will Helen and Eilish remember to save room for Jesus?

This episode is heavy yet hilarious. Tw: racism, physical violence, brief mentions of sexual assault, really everything bad comes up in this episode. Helen recounts horrible racist incidents that were normalized throughout Catholic school. Then, Helen and Eilish recount stories of crazed co-curricular teachers, two of which were violent towards students with no repercussions. If you make it until the very end, there's a huge plot twist. Audio effects from Pixabay.

TW: abortion/rape/sexual shame Pam Stenzel is an abstinence-only, anti-choice Christian nationalist activist whose videos were a key component to our sex ed classes at St. Balthazar. Join the deep dive into Pam's videos, scandal, and participation in the Men's march.

Buckle up, this one is brutally honest. SexEd in Catholic school was everything but informative so it's not shocking that our understanding of it all was absolutely LACKING. It really did us no favors down the line, but we're (still) figuring it out! In this episode we'll be unpacking the Fully Alive curriculum and providing honest opinions about the stigma + shame surrounding sex in the Catholic Church.