You know what I love? Besides Girl Boners, Oprah and dogs?
How did I know you’d guess those…?
Spectacular people who are passionate about making a positive difference in the world—even those I semi-terrify at first encounter. Kidding (mostly!) about that last bit.
Before asking me to get a bit vulnerable for her viewers, Kendra, the host of Real, Raw and Related, had to allow the same for herself. (You’ll see what I mean when you watch the video below.) Her willingness to do so is just one of her attributes. Since overcoming bulimia, Kendra left a promising corporate career, setting out on a journey to discover, she says, what really turns her on. She now coaches other women on living more authentically.
Awesomeness, all over the place.
In our chat, she asked insightful questions about my food and body image battles, how sexual embracement helped me heal and how we can all better embrace our bodies, sexuality and selves. I shared parts of my story I’ve never shared publicly before, including the time I was nearly arrested (whoops…), and factors other than control that contribute to disordered eating. As daunting as these issues can be, we managed to have a lot of fun.
I hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did gabbing!
What did you think of our chat? How has sexual embracement, or a lack thereof, affected your body image or vice versa? I love hearing from you.
**After prepping this, I learned that Lynn Greffe, the long-time president and CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, died of cancer. This post is dedicated to her legacy, which is too beautiful for words. May she rest in peace!
I can’t wait to watch this, August! I’m saving it for the weekend after I hit my deadline!
That means so much, Emmie. Thank you! Happy deadline-hitting!
This is an exceptional video, August! It is like GB August gets raw, not that she holds anything back on her broadcasts ;)!. It is just that the emphasis is different in that you are being interviewed, and we get a glimpse of you reflecting on your life, now so different from what was. As always, it is inspiring and it is practical, not to mention there are some great anecdotes. I look forward to the GB interview of Kendra; there is a real connection between the two of you. As always, a thoughtful post.
Karen
Thanks so much for tuning in, and for the lovely feedback, Karen! It was a treat to turn the tables. I’m looking forward to having her on GB as well.
This was such an awesome interview!!! Both of you are amazing! Kendra is such an amazing woman, I feel grateful for knowing her and always love ‘google hanging out’ with her. And you, August, what an awesome person you are. I loved you interview, your passion shines through all the way, your story is empowering and gave me a lot to chew on. Growing up in Hungary, sex was certainly not a taboo as in the US, yet still kept way too technical. It wasn’t shameful to have sex as a teen…it was more shameful not to (and I still carry part of this shame that I didn’t lose my virginity at 14, 15, 16 as I was ‘expected to’ by magazines, peers and society). We didn’t talk about the clitoris, or perhaps in biology class learning about ‘girl parts’, but we didn’t learn about its function. The pleasure of sex wasn’t spoken about. It was commonly understood that you will have sex at one point, likely will use your virginity as a teenager and you will enjoy it. See, you will enjoy it…as in you have to, of course you will, but noone spoke about how to enjoy it. Magazines – known and encouraged by our moms too – spoke about toys, lubrication and condoms, but not sexuality, sensuality, love-making and love. Moving to the US was more confusing, because though based on TV shows it seemed like “all American kids” were doing it, turned out it is conservative, a taboo, not spoken about and kids were doing it in their cars as result. Then I joined a track team, where sexual jokes and such were common, no real talk, but constant joking, joking about sex and making fun of virgins. Taking a Human Sexuality (Psychology) course was awesome, interesting to speak about it more openly – but I certainly didn’t get as crazy about it as you did In the end, sex is still something not spoken about…never really spoken with friends. If you are in a relationship or dating, you are having sex and if you are not, you probably want to. When you have it you must like it. Yet, it seems like below this surface so many are struggling, not having sex and not enjoying it. What is sexuality, what is sensuality, what is sex, what is love-making…what are these things are things are still not spoken about. I love that you are speaking about it so passionately!
You make such wonderful points here. Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness! No one should ever be shamed for embracing her sexuality as she sees fit — it’s a natural part of being human, and a beautiful part at that.
This interview is so YOU August. You are speaking out taboos which shouldn’t be hidden. You are talking about these important things with all your dedication and passion. I loved the interview. Thanks for sharing it.
And of course I understand you dedicated the interview to the memory of Lynne Greffe. You are very considerate. But I knew that already.
Thank you for this my friend!
xoxo
Thanks so much, Aurora! I really appreciate the time you took to tune in and your ongoing support. Grateful for you, too!
I can’t wait to hear it, August, and I already know it will be more than meaningful! I’m hoping I might get to it tonight … if I make the deadline I’m heading towards now …
Good luck with that deadline, Patricia! Thanks for the rockstar support.