Ep 102: Who Controls Our Bodies? A Look at Oppression and Liberation

In this episode, we explore the striking parallels between historical civil rights movements and today's fight for trans and nonbinary rights. From the women’s suffrage movement to the civil rights era, the LGBTQ+ movement of the 1980s, and today's ongoing battle for bodily autonomy, each fight has centered around who gets to control bodies and who is deemed worthy of rights and respect. As we challenge diet culture and fatphobia, we must also recognize the broader fight against patriarchal and oppressive systems. Tune in to learn how history informs the present and why body liberation is an act of resistance.

Episode Highlights:

• The Women’s Suffrage Movement: How women fought for the right to vote and the opposition they faced.
• The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s: The struggle for racial equality and the violent backlash.
• The LGBTQ+ Movement in the 1980s: The AIDS crisis, activism, and government neglect.
• Today’s Fight for Trans and Nonbinary Rights: The ongoing battle for legal protections and bodily autonomy.
• The Connection to Body Liberation: How societal control over bodies extends to fatphobia, diet culture, and the pushback against body diversity.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement (National Women’s History Museum) – https://www.womenshistory.org/
• The Civil Rights Movement (National Museum of African American History & Culture) – https://nmaahc.si.edu/
• ACT UP and the Fight Against AIDS (ACT UP NY) – https://actupny.com/
• ACLU Resources on Trans Rights – https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights
• The Connection Between Body Liberation and Social Justice (Body Positive Fitness Alliance) – https://www.bodypositivefitness.org/

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