#3: Can I vaccinate my child against beauty sickness?
with Renee Engeln, PhD
In this episode we discuss:
the phenomenon of women depleting their time, energy, and emotional resources on an all-consuming quest for beauty
why beauty sickness is not a failure of intelligence
the source of beauty sickness - our culture teaching women that their appearance is their most important attribute
how gender impacts cultural pressure around appearance, and why boys are more protected
depression, anxiety, and eating disorders as possible consequences of beauty sickness
young people left without time or space to develop their other passions or interests
what to do about the beauty behaviors we actually enjoy
the evolutionary science behind our brain’s sensitivity to beauty
how parents can use the climate in their household to fight beauty sickness
how beauty sickness is manifested in cultures around the world
how In the united states we spend more on beauty and diet products than on education and social services combined
helping young people move toward activism
asking your teenager “who benefits from making you feel this way?”
how to help children articulate their values and develop parts of themselves that have nothing to do with how they look
Body image researcher and author Dr. Engeln breaks down the cultural obsession with appearance she calls beauty sickness, and what body-positive parents can do to help children escape it.
Get our guide to body-positive parenting, including the page for this podcast episode.
Dr. Renee Engeln, Ph.D. is an award-winning professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, where she directs the Body and Media Lab. She is the author of Beauty Sick: How the Cultural Obsession with Appearance Hurts Girls and Women. Her work has appeared in numerous academic journals, and her TEDx talk has more than half a million views on Youtube. Dr. Engeln’s lab conducts research on issues surrounding women’s body image, including objectification theory, fat talk, and idealized media images.
Connect with Dr. Engeln on Instagram, Facebook, and Psychology Today.
Read her book Beauty Sick: How the Cultural Obsession with Appearance Hurts Girls and Women.