Read, Shake, Appreciate #6
Welcome to Read, Shake, Appreciate! This is your weekly round-up of words that made me feel inspired, songs that made me shake my ass, and people who I think deserve some spotlight.
This week I’m reading:
Stronger: Changing Everything I Knew About Women’s Strength by Poorna Bell
I started Stronger expecting it to be a welcome addition to my small collection of books that speak about fitness from an inclusive, anti-diet culture framework. And whilst I got that (Poorna is size inclusive, diet culture aware, and cautious of eating disorders throughout), I got a whole lot more as well. From exploring the connection between mental health resilience and fitness, to calling out colourism in South Asian communities and how it discourages girls building healthy relationships with outside sports, this book covers a whole load of bases. I especially enjoyed the last chapter, which is filled with examples of badass older women in sport and leaves ageist stereotypes about movement in shreds. Did it make me want to become a competitive power lifter (as Poorna has done on her journey to reclaiming strength)? … Not totally, but I’m more open to it than I was before reading the book.
Here’s a great excerpt:
‘Women are strong’ is a message I’ve had my entire life and I’ve been privileged to know and be surrounded by strong women. But female strength is almost always exclusively used as shorthand for emotional and mental strength. Rather than the miles they have run, the lengths they can swim, the weights they can stack, women’s strength is measured in survival of trauma: lost husbands and children, escaping violent partners, beating the legal system, surviving sexual assault, battling illness. Of course surviving that is strength but it is also endurance, and women’s strength is much more than that.
Strong female role models – and by that I don’t mean just women who are emotionally strong, but women who physically look strong – are important if we are to change the notion that physical strength belongs exclusively to one gender.
This week I’m shaking to:
Okay Okay by Alessia Cara
A catchy, uplifting tune about someone who’s usually self-critical convincing themselves they’re actually the shit? Add it to the self love playlist.
This week I’m appreciating:
Climate justice activist, podcaster and queen of sustainable pink outfits, Mikaela’s passion and authenticity are such a beautiful addition to the internet. Whether she’s campaigning for the government to take action on climate change (she’s currently taking the UK government to court which is undeniably badass), or encouraging her followers to have a balanced social media relationship, the purity of her intentions shines through. A real earth angel.
Find her Instagram here
Her podcast here
And more information about the Paid To Pollute court case here
That’s all for this week loves! Looking forward to hitting your inbox next week with Is It Just Me Or… and if you’ve kindly signed up to gift me $5 this month, I’ll catch you mid-week with a One Minute Reminder. 🥰