Your Body Was Never The Problem | For Mannerless Women

What if the shame you carry about your body was never yours to begin with?

In this episode of For Mannerless Women, Adelle sits down with Connie Tipis, clinical psychologist and Co-Founder & CEO of Double Dee’s Lingerie Kenya & Uganda for a conversation about body shame, body confidence and learning to come home to ourselves. Connie shares how growing up fuller-busted changed the way she moved through the world. She stopped swimming, covered her body and learnt very early that having breasts could attract judgement, assumptions and shame.

That experience would eventually lead her to co-found Double Dee’s and spend the next decade having intimate conversations with women about our bodies from inside fitting rooms across East Africa. Adelle and Connie talk about the ways girls learn to hide their bodies, the striking differences Connie has observed between Kenyan and Ugandan women, wearing beautiful underwear for yourself, mirror work, taking pictures of the body you have today, and why caring for your body can look very different when the goal becomes health and longevity rather than making yourself acceptable to other people.

IN THIS EPISODE:
– How body shame begins for African girls
– Growing up fuller-busted and being sexualised early
– Why body shame can stop girls from participating in sports
– How our upbringing shapes our relationship with our bodies
– What Connie has observed about women in Kenya vs Uganda
– African traditions around women’s bodies, sexuality and pleasure
– Wearing lingerie for yourself, not somebody else
– Mirror work and learning to actually look at your body
– Why you should take pictures of yourself now
– Choosing strength, health and longevity over appearance
– Connie’s reminder to become a “selfless, selfish woman”

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Double Dee’s Lingerie — Kenya & Uganda
https://doubledees.co.ke/
The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
https://www.darkoathewriter.com/sex-lives-of-african-women
Seeking Sexual Freedom by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
https://www.darkoathewriter.com/seeking-sexual-freedom

Share this episode with a mannerless or almost-mannerless woman in your life.
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