September is Alopecia Awareness Month. For me, this is very timely because I have recently had a ‘blip’ in my confidence about facing the world as a person with no hair. I was interested to explore why this might be. So we decided to record ourselves having a conversation where we discuss this issue, and wider thoughts on how easy, yet unhelpful, it is to worry about what others think.
“Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner” ~ The Caregiver’s Tao Te Ching, William and Nancy Martin
A New Adventure
This is our very first ever ‘podcast’, which we found to be both scary and exciting! I was interested to reflect on one aspect of the conversation, where I touch on how we might measure ‘femininity’. It is a testament to the power of social conditioning that my immediate thoughts on this were to see external things like make-up and jewellery as feminine markers and I was pleased to check myself on this front. I don’t think this at all! Isn’t it incredible how sub-conscious thoughts can influence our conscious mind. The most powerful lesson for me as a result of this audio experiment is to understand that it is ok, and indeed vital, to stick with my true values about the importance of character over appearance. It is this conviction which has helped me to develop a sense of strength since losing my hair, and to come back to that place of strength in wobbly moments.
“No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
We very much hope you enjoy listening to our ramblings. If you have a moment to let us have any feedback (no matter how ‘constructive’!), that would really help us with any additional audio offerings.
Thank you, and until the next time…! 🙂
Show Notes:
For more about Henry Fraser and his inspirational story, check out his website here.
Bald as Brass 
Good one, great idea to talk like that about the subject!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ute. We always enjoy our lengthy chats and so we thought we would experiment by recording one of them. Happy to report there will be a part two issued later this week.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What amazing ladies you are! Good to hear your podcast discussion. What I find interesting is that boundaries between femininity and masculinity are shifting. So does the question become what makes us feel beautiful or most true to ourselves? Recently my daughter set me a quizz. She showed me about 20 photos of Korean singing icons, and then asked me to guess which ones were male and which ones were female. I managed to make 15 correct guesses but it was very hard to decide. All of the singers, whether they were males dressed as females or vice-versa, or just dressed as themselves, were very attractive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! That is so interesting. I think your question of what makes us beautiful or most true to ourselves is very thought provoking.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 🙂 and thank you for provoking my thoughts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such an interesting discussion! Confidence seems to be the key, doesn’t it? My younger daughter suffers from social anxiety (as well as other types of anxiety) and not only does she hate to be in crowds but she also believes that she is being watched and judged all the time. In actual fact, (as you said in the podcast, Rachel) most people look for a couple of seconds then move on. They are nearly always more concerned about themselves, what they are doing and what people think of them, than wanting to spend time analysing other people.
Once our confidence is shaken we begin to doubt ourselves and any decisions we have made. Sometimes it is easy to recover our equanimity; a good night’s sleep or a chat with a friend, but often it is more difficult, especially if we have stresses in our lives that won’t go away.
I think you have both been amazingly honest with yourselves and with each other and I am very grateful that you have been kind and brave enough to share this with us!
LikeLike