Comparing

HW57: BEST OF 2016, YEAR IN REVIEW

Valerie and Reggie talk NYE, surgery, and share clips from some of their favorite episodes of 2016: bathroom etiquette, imposter syndrome, settling (with guest Wyatt Tall), comparison, and vulnerability (with guest Lauren Cohen of Hope and Humor Therapy) and polyamory (with guest Jessica Taylor). Plus buttery nipples and dirty hospital floors. 

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CHILDLESSNESS

Is choosing a childless life selfish? How are we supposed to deal with shame or societal pressures? And do men feel pressure to have kids too? Valerie and Reggie talk about the reasons people choose to not have children with another childless soul: Justin Dehn. Plus Reggie celebrated her birthday by watching the sexual assault documentary Audrey and Daisy. After months of asking strangers about whether or not she should, Valerie finally cut bangs. This episode sponsored by Faux Kids, the monthly subscription service that transforms single, childless professionals into parents, but only while they're at work. For just $9 a month, Faux Kids will equip you with all the props necessary to fake out your coworkers and convince them you have children.

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BEAUTY & CRAPPY REALITIES AND MISCONCEPTIONS SURROUNDING ATTRACTIVENESS

What do we consider beautiful and why does it matter? If you're a woman you should definitely be pretty if you want to get ahead in your job. But not too pretty because then you might get fired. In the name of beauty Valerie has done some ridiculous things like buying face creams from a kiosk salesman named Antonio. Her Achilles heel is expensive face serums. And Italian men named Antonio. Regina tried a packaged food diet. Symmetry, good skin, full lips, and a square jaw are scientifically proven traits that make someone pretty. People are basically jerks because we assume the people who are symmetrical also exercise good judgement and are smart and great in every other way beyond good genes. Although you can't control whether or not you're symmetrical, you do have powerl over grooming, which is apparently accounts for 85% of attractiveness* so keep your nose clippers and eyelash curler nearby. Plus V&R talk expensive salads, cigarette diets, Elephant Man, and MFKing The Beatles.

*Not an actual fact-based statistic.

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BODY IMAGE ISSUES & DISORDERED EATING w/CARISSA McATEE

Radio host, comedy performer, dancer, and blogger Carissa McAtee (aka Carissa Jade/Jaded), joins Regina and Valerie to talk openly about body image issues and her experiences with disordered eating. She talks about being preoccupied with her own body image starting from a young age as a dancer, describes how eating disorders became a bonding activity between her friends, and shares about her weight fluctuation through the years, nearly making it on Biggest Loser, and what therapies worked for her to feel healthy about her own body (such as dialetical behaviorial therapy and radical acceptance).

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COMPARING

Comparing yourself to other people has never been easier now that Becky cn post all day long about her good hair on social media. Even the healthiest people are apt to compare themselves when we're constantly viewing feeds of successes. But life's not a race or a competition or what have you. Regina has tips for avoiding comparisons and tells us all about her new phone and the Best Buy metalhead who sold it to her. Valerie shares about procrastinating and a bad psychic who farts a lot. Plus, Keanu, and a short synopsis of the movie Single White Female.

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