What "concern trolling" is for those of you who don't know is, let's say you have a woman, in particular is normally a woman, a larger woman who is posting a picture of herself. I feel like people are getting meaner and more judgmental 'cause they've got more time on their hands to bully other people. It's really prevalent and it's becoming worse as the days are going by, almost especially during lockdown. And she talked to me a lot about "concern trolling", which I think is a growing problem that drives me mad in this day and age. Later on in life, she talks about how society treats her as a larger woman, especially as a larger black woman. She told me all about her childhood, some of which was abusive, and she talked about how that manifested in her physically.
She really got personal with me in this episode and she pulled no punches. She has books like "Bad Feminist" and "Hunger", both of which I beg of you to read because they're such a fascinating take on society and on our inner demons and how we cope with them. Her name is Roxane Gay and she is a phenomenal writer and speaker and role model to my generation, especially someone who has been through a lot of trauma in my childhood and struggled with body image. So I, my sort of inner beg friend just jumped out. I'm such a big fan and I'd never had the chance to meet her before. I'm also very intimidated by her, which I hope doesn't come across too much in this episode. She's one of the truly great writers of our time. She talks about diet culture brilliantly and fat phobia. I think today's guest is the perfect person in particular for the subject.
ROXANE GAY PARTNER HOW TO
Anything is better than going down, just falling down the long, endless dark well, that is an eating disorder which you can easily slip into via these methods of quick fix and being told how to manage your diet and fitness by idiots online who are just greedy assholes. And however you have to do that even if it's reading a doctor's book or going to a GP or saving up the money to go and see a nutritionist.
ROXANE GAY PARTNER PROFESSIONAL
Please don't take advice from Tik Tokers or celebrities or actors or models or, or anyone other than a certified healthcare professional when it comes to changing your body or nutrition. They target us to starve ourselves without being monitored by any kind of health care professional. And I find it very, very offensive and dangerous to encourage young people in particular because they really target young people and women especially. It's every fifteen seconds and the adverts are always for young slim girls, and they try and make it sound like a fun game, like fasting, starving yourself is a fun game, compete with your friends, do it as a group. I don't know if you are noticing this, but it's like they have gone tenfold. But I have been getting pissed off at diet and detox and fasting apps that seem to be coming at us thick and fast on social media. So I do not have much to report from this week because nothing is happening. I don't think it goes in by the other holes.
And I hope that everyone is gonna be very safe when they go back out into the world and very protective and aware that there can be a second wave.
So, yeah, I feel very deeply concerned for myself and for others, but excited for society to resume some sort of normality. It's gonna be like a wild zoo animal just released into the public. I think I think I've lost any socializing training I have built up over the last 30 years. How are we going to wear heels ever again? Can you imagine what that's going to look like? All of us in our jeans and our heels covered in makeup, just miserable because we've finally found freedom as adults. I don't know if I feel ready for lockdown to be lifted for me exclusively, very happy for everyone else to be set free, but I am an antisocial introvert and I don't like loud noises or funny smells or people or crowds or strangers. I myself am fine to the point where I'm actually, I'm actually slightly concerned I might be doing too OK in all of this. IWEIGH-006-20200427-ACv01-DYN.mp3 JAMEELA JAMIL Hello and welcome to "I Weigh" with Jameela Jamil.