LU 054: Amy Pence Brown – Taking a badass stand for radical self-acceptance & body image healing.

Download Episode! Hey there, lovely radicals... podcast time! This week on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, I get to talk to Amy Pence-Brown from Boise, Idaho. Amy describes herself as a fat feminist mother who believes in opening her mouth and her heart. From both of these places she tells stories – as a writer on her blog and other local & national publications, as a historian giving tours for Preservation Idaho, and as a visual artist creating subversive stitchings and performance pieces. She has a Master in Art & Architectural History, she has worked at many museums and has juried and curated numerous exhibitions. You might know Amy from her radical stand for self-love at the Capital City Public Market on August 29, 2015, in Boise, Idaho, or from her TED talk. Amy's message of self-love and the value of all bodies, no matter their size, went viral and has been written about by countless media outlets. You’ll hear Amy talk about: – How she remembers feeling about her body as a kid – How her chubbiness was perceived at different stages of childhood – Why she considers herself lucky in terms of how her parents related to food and bodies – Where the bullying about her body came from – What her parent’s ideas were about "beauty" and "being a woman" – What she describes as her "first defiant feminist act" – Why she got pulled in the direction of feminism – How her experience with boys and their reaction to her body influenced her view of herself – Why books and education were (and still are) key to her body positive attitude – How early she started drawing attention to the public body image crisis – When she first experienced online trolling and what that did to her – Why she created the "Boise Rad Fat Collective" – Why feminism and a positive attitude about bodies must go together – Why feminism is not a concept "against men", but including men – Why we all get hurt when we get put in societally predefined boxes of what "masculinity" and "femininity" are supposed to look like – Why women are often other women’s harshest critics, and thereby reinforcing the very limitations that they would like to free themselves from – How her famous "stand for self-love" came about and subsequently went viral – What she experienced in those 50 minutes of standing half-naked and blindfolded in the middle of a public square in Boise, Idaho – How men engaged with her during her stand – Why she wore a blindfold – How the media shapes our culture’s assumptions about bodies and how different it would be if there were adequate representation of those people who are happy with their bigger bodies (instead of the usual, dehumanizing depiction) – Why it is crucial to feel secure and confident enough in your own body positivity to do such a thing – How, after her video went viral, lots of women started speaking up – How each one of us can find ways to send a powerful message to the world – Why stepping out of our comfort zone is leading us to live fuller lives – What she does in her "Radcamps"... ... And so much more! Check out Amy’s website: www.amypencebrown.com Here’s one of the video’s of Amy’s famous "Stand for Self-Love": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n50KVLgwlY&index;=4&list;=PLXsBK-DbXmku30EaoWD4AZxBdbAo2mt3a Here’s the link to Amy’s TED talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTLFlQ419s Please consider supporting the podcast by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted If you want this sort of badassery to come to your phone automatically, please DO subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refi; ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/