Trigger Warning: This episode contains mentions of self-harm and violence against women. Listener discretion is advised.

Actress and activist Jameela Jamil joins Shana to talk about body positivity, the “experiment” of social media, how the diet industry preys on women’s insecurities around body image and Jameela’s own struggles with beauty standards. They also talk about “female perfectionism”, a paradigm that locks women of all ages in the belief that perfectionism is the only standard of success. Anything less is failure. Jameela sees herself as a “feminist in progress” and she accepts her mistakes, openly admits them and shows herself compassion. Another big topic they hit upon is toxic masculinity, how we got here and the role and responsibility women have to help men do better. Shana and Jameela do not see eye to eye on this, but this is a podcast that gives space to a range of feminisms.   

Follow us on Instagram @herkajalwontsmudge and check out our website www.herkajalwontsmudge.com.

Follow @jameelajamil on Instagram.

CREDITS:

Host and Creative Director: Shana 

Head of Visual Design: Minal Jadeja

Visual Designers: Akshat Agarwal, Shaumik Kanvinde

This is a Maed in India production

Head of Production: Mae Mariyam Thomas

Project Manager: Shaun Fanthome

Producer: Ruchi Sawardekar

Junior Producer: Quoyina Ghosh

Sound Editor & Mix Engineer: Kartik Kulkarni, Lakshman Parsuram, Nihar Temkar