The Women Disrupted Podcast

Fast vs slow fashion. Do you know the difference? Fast fashion = a large amount of cheap poor quality clothing produced at a large rate, on the backs of black and brown folks, in order to keep us consuming and feeding our capitalist society. Slow fashion = smaller amounts of clothing produced at a smaller rate. It respects human rights and better for the environment and is better quality so that it lasts longer and can be reused. Today, I bring on Courtney Figler from The Kindness Closet to discuss fast and slow fashion and why we, as a society should start to embrace slower, more sustainable fashion. Courtney is a Social Worker by day and a vintage and preloved clothing slinger by night. Courtney has been intrigued by and involved in political and activist circles for 10+ years, with a particular interest in modern day slavery (in its various forms). It has been a long-time goal of Courtney’s to operate a social enterprise that would provide education and employment to those with barriers, and in early 2021, she launched the Kindness Closet – a size inclusive online shop selling preloved clothing for accessible and affordable prices. The Kindness Closet is currently in fundraising mode, with educational workshops and other community initiatives launching in the coming months. In this episode, we talk about the nuances and complexity of moving away from fast fashion and all the different ways we can make change together. Let's take a hard look at our privilege and how consuming fast fashion can lead to the suffering of others. Get the show notes -> HERE

"If you can't communicate your boundary, than how is anyone else going to know how to respect what you want/need or keep the space you want? Sometimes you even need to set boundaries for yourself. The best way to practice respecting boundaries is by respecting your own. It's a practice" - Amanda  On this episode, I bring on my good friend and past guest, Lisa to discuss the need for us to set our own boundaries and the complexities that come from it. We share how we recognize and visualize our own boundaries. We dive into how boundaries can be malleable and how it's good to think about why and how that allows you to let people in… We talk about how when it comes to boundaries setting, we are only responsible for ourselves and not about how others feel about our boundaries. We talk about understanding that by having stronger boundaries, that people WILL try to push it, because of their own desires or not fully understanding new boundaries. Remember in the moment, it may be hard, but you set boundaries for a reason.

As a woman, have you ever been dismissed by a doctor on your pain, medical concerns or symptoms? I have heard numerous stories of women being dismissed or brushed off on their medical concerns. Some have been even refused to be physically examined or to do any further testing. In today's episode, I bring on Jeniffer Fougere to share her story and the long lasting repercussion of neglectful and unfair treatment/ dismissal by an OB. Jennifer got news of abnormalities and a hard mass during an exam. They ended up being fibroids though she didn’t learn much besides that she had them and that they grow in the uterus… every few months she ago to the office to essentially watch them grow but her doctor never laid out a treatment plan… This prevented her from getting pregnant at the young age of 29-33 and was eventually told the only treatment was a hysterectomy. Jennifer didn't accept this news and fought for herself. Tune in to hear what she did so that you can be inspired to be your own advocate. Are our doctors as up to date in their knowledge in up to date treatments and procedures to best advise or treat you? How are they held responsible for lack of care? These are all good questions to ask. Full show notes HERE

In this episode, I bring on my co-founder of The Real Diet Story Project, Roni Davis. It's an audio recording of an Instagram Live Roni and I did on our Real Diet Story Projects Instagram page (that we co-founded together). The Real Diet story's mission is to dismantle diet culture and its long term harmful affects in our society, by sharing REAL stories. On today's episode, we are focusing on navigating our body changes - in our wardrobe. Maybe your body has changed coming out of the pandemic... Maybe you avoid dressing rooms or your closet like the plague... Maybe the clothes you want to wear no longer fit... Maybe clothes in general triggers shame, guilt or frustration... Then this episode is for you. In this episode, I share 5 ways to prepare yourself when trying on clothes for a more positive and gentler experience. Full show notes HERE

“We are not made for outside consumption, were actually made for our own consumption and then we share that to the outside world... to who we choose to.” ~ Serena So...I hired a sex coach. I've been having sex for decades and it took me this long to finally dive deeper into intimacy, my own pleasure and desire. It does NOT mean that I am broken, that I don't like sex, that my sex life is broken or that my relationship with my husband is broken. I grew up in a time where sex was not talked about. I did not grow up in a sex positive community or culture and it has impacted me on a deep level. I know that I am not alone. So today, I bring on my sex coach Serena Haines to talk about how to foster a deeper intimacy with ourselves. Full sow notes HERE

On todays episode, I bring on Jaclyn Reinhart, musician, friend and past client. Today, we are doing a cross over episode, as this will also be airing on Jaclyn's podcast. After styling Jaclyn for her new upcoming album cover, I bring her on to share about what I call her "radical acceptance journey". She shares about what she learned from working with me (a Style Coach) and how she was shocked by how much her self-expression (through her clothes) was connected with her past and beliefs. Jaclyn shares how she was able to move past some limiting beliefs about her body and wardrobe so that she could authentically express herself with more confidence. Jaclyn also shares about her struggles of pursuing her career, co-parenting and realizing she had surrounded herself with toxic people and a toxic environment. Jaclyn shares what lead up to deciding to put herself first and to start treating herself with love and kindness. Once big change she made in her life, was deciding to give up drinking alcohol and smoking. We also talk about the universal struggle of finding the healthy mix of getting external validation while not NEEDING it. Plus having a healthy amount internal validation, but not to the point of  adding to too much internal pressure. PLUS! Jaclyn shares about her exciting news on her upcoming new music album. Get full show notes HERE

I am trying something new today on the podcast. I am sharing my first episode in what I am going to call my "mini disruptions" (I may change this, haha!) I will use them to dive in deeper on a certain topic, thought or idea that has been percolating in my brain. So, here goes the first one on the idea that "your appearance is not the currency of your worth". In a society that values beauty, youth and thinness. There’s really only a few who get to benefit from it. And even if you do, it’s still fleeting. So we get stuck in a never ending pursuit of chasing flawless skin, a thinner body or hiding the natural aging process by any means necessary. Even if it makes you miserable and unhappy. You think that it’s the price of admission to acceptance, validation or self-worth....

Today my guest, Jan Gootjes, is aiming to set precedent with a human rights violation case against a local summer camp that discriminate against her gender diverse son. I brought Jan on to share her unique and important perspectives on raising a gender non-conforming child. We discuss many important aspects of how gender is perceived by ourselves and others, as well as her sons experience transitioning at a young age. She shares an amazing story (that brought me to tears) on how he began to embrace who he actually is rather than what others and society put onto him from birth. We also share about how boys and girls are both seen differently in the world. How the impacts us on an individual level, on a societal level and how it influences cultural norms, like clothes, sports, hobbies, and even ways of acting. Jan's shares WHAT normalized micro transphobia is and how cis heterosexual people can help trans people feel more comfortable/ normal in the world and in their own skin. Jan also highlights the important difference between acceptance and affirmation. Lastly, the two discuss why the normalization of sharing our pronouns can help gender diverse, non-binary and trans people feel better in everyday life and in the world. Cause should't the world be SAFE for everyone? No matter their gender, sexuality, skin colour or body size?

In this episode, I bring on my best friend and past podcast guest (S1 Ep:3) who is also named Amanda back onto the podcast to drink some gin with me and to me  20 personal questions! I did not know the questions ahead of time. Before we dive into the questions, my guest Amanda and I do a deep dive into her new found joy in Tiktok and how she found a community of people (the "new coming out" lesbians community) that she can relate to. It's helped her to learn more about the community and herself as a late coming out lesbian. Then we dive into the 20 questions. I share what I've learned about being a wife, my biggest fears, my biggest lesson as a parent and then we BOTH share what we have learned about raising neurodivergent kids. This is a fun one! Get the full show notes HERE

In today's episode, I'm introducing a new series that you will be see throughout Season 2 where I share inspirational women and their lessons in life. So, to kick off this series, I bring on a friend Cassandra Blackmore, who is running for City Council in Fredericton, NB. However, I first met her when she wanted to start her own Wardrobe Consulting business. Cassandra worked in wardrobe consulting for awhile, but followed her passion to become the Executive Director of Fredricton's Community Kitchens (making and giving food to people who need it). PLUS taking her undergrad in Political Science. All at the age of 27!! She's got a lot on her plate and has a lot to share about lessons she's learned on her way to this point... I wanted to bring on Cassandra because she is a POWERHOUSE and part of the next generation that is going to make big changes in the world and I needed her voice to be heard. In today's episode: Cassandra shares about how working a lot of solo careers, she got more in touch with what she REALLY desired to do. Her desire led her to volunteer with the Fredericton Community Kitchens where she, rather quickly, became the Executive Director. She describes her lessons learned when she had to figure out how to continue delivering food to people who need it during the pandemic shortly after obtaining her directorial position. She shares the many life lessons that shaped how she maintained a successful leadership position. She also shares the positive and negatives of being completely homeschooled in her youth... Full show notes HERE