Don't make comments about my body | Alysha and Ahlam on plus-size body positivity and representation

Transcript:
Speaker1: [00:00:11] Hello, everyone. Welcome to our third episode of From the
Roundabout, our monthly podcast programming about personal journeys and identities.
And today we have the pleasure to have our friend Alysha and Ahlam here to talk about
body image. And good morning, everyone.
Speaker2: [00:00:37] Hey. This is your normal co-host Dee. Alysha.
Speaker3: [00:00:42] Hi, I'm Alysha.
Speaker4: [00:00:45] Hello. I'm Ahlam.
Speaker1: [00:00:47] And a programming note is that we actually have three dogs here
today. Usually we have WiFi and Henry here. And today we also have Marty the pug.
So it's a full house today.
Speaker2: [00:01:05] Marty will not be interviewed.
Speaker1: [00:01:07] Marty will not be interviewed.
Speaker2: [00:01:10] I'm sure he has opinions about body image, and we respect them.
Speaker1: [00:01:13] He's very confident, though. Cool. So let's kick it off. Why don't we
kind of explain the roundabout idea real quick to our guests. And so we named the
podcast From the Roundabout because every person is like a roundabout island and
there are many roads and ways that lead to the roundabout and that kind of like is how
we shape up as a person as well. There are kind of like longer roads, sometimes there
are shorter roads, some roads are wider, some roads are narrower. But regardless,
because of the complexity of the roads that lead to the roundabout shapes the person
who we are today. And our roundabouts may change and evolve, but we want to be
present and talk about our own roundabouts.
Speaker2: [00:02:09] So the different roads to your roundabout might be different facets
of your identity, right? Or different labels that you're currently identifying with or different.
Like for me, one road to my Roundabout right now has a lot to do with family and being
a daughter and having to think about growing responsibilities in terms of caring for
elders in my family. So that's something that's really informing my lived experience and
in turn sort of reshaping my understanding of myself as a member of my family and as
an adult in my family. And so that's like in a road that has appeared in recent years that
definitely did not exist before. So just to give you an example, and so usually we start off
by asking you to talk about some of the wider roads to your roundabouts right now by
way of introduction.
Speaker4: [00:03:11] Yeah, I can jump in. So I come from a pretty...
Speaker2: [00:03:17] Excuse you, Henry.
Speaker4: [00:03:18] Henry just burped... Well, so I come from a very big family. I have
ten siblings and I'm one of.. I'm the second youngest. And then I also have a twin
brother, too. So I value family a lot. Like my family always comes first. And so I think my
values are tied to my identity for sure. And I also value education, which comes from my
family to my older siblings. Right now I'm a student at Portland State University. I'm
supposed to be graduating in the spring with a major in community development. So
that's also another one of another one of my values: community. Since I was 15, 16, I've
tried to find ways where I can do community organizing and like as an adult, like I want
to continue doing community organizing. And, you know, with my current job, I work with
a nonprofit organization that specifically serves Somalis and Somali youth. So me
working with youth is kind of like me thinking like, okay, like let me repay back, like as a
way of like giving back because I want to be a mentor to young people because I've
always had mentors growing up, whether that was like my siblings or through like the
different organizations that I was a part of. So yeah, so youth, voice, community, family,
education, those are all my values. I guess in terms of my identity. I feel like in the last I
don't know, I feel like every five years, like I'm kind of rethinking about my identity and
trying to find ways to, like, be authentic as possible, like wherever I am, whatever that is.
Speaker4: [00:05:28] You know, like at school or my job or like at home. And I don't
know, something that I'm still, like, constantly grappling with. Me and Alysha always talk
about identity and, and like, sometimes you make jokes about it and stuff. I think me
being like a Portlander and like, living here my whole life, being raised here, I'm noticing
that I like. I take on a lot of like, the mannerisms of like what Portlanders like, you know,
based off of, like, the way I dress or like the way I talk about things and things like that.
So, so yeah, like there's that. And then I'm also Somali, you know, or yeah, I'm a black
woman. I as a, as a young Somali woman, I feel like sometimes my community or like
people like. I know I don't I don't necessarily feel outcast, but I've been called like
different and stuff and like, I don't know if that's like a good or bad thing, but I don't
know, like growing up, like in high school, like I should be called like the white girl and,
and things like that. So I feel like that kind of.. I don't know. That was that was just kind
of weird. But like, now, like as a college student and as a 21 year old, I feel very more
like, very much grounded in my identity. And I don't know, I try not to like, let others and
like, like communities, like perceptions of me get to me. I'm constantly just trying to stay
grounded, and I.
Speaker2: [00:07:16] Totally hear that.
Speaker1: [00:07:18] That's great. Alysha?
Speaker3: [00:07:22] Oh yeah. Much like Ahlam. I am from a large family. I am the
youngest of seven. But unlike some people with a lot of siblings, I kind of grew up as an
only child. So I grew up with my mother and a lot of my values that I start kind of like
Ahlam said how I kind of like every every few years, you kind of like, reevaluate what's
important to you and your values. And recently, something that has become really
important to me has been health. Growing up with a plus size mother who wasn't really
healthy. And, you know, my mother was a black woman. And so a lot of the health
disparities that affect black people and black women in particular in America and just
poor people in general, we don't have like a lot of access to healthy, affordable foods.

And so my whole life I grew up eating like just fried anything. I didn't really have a lot of
healthy habits. And my mother passed away a year ago because of health
complications that are correlated to food and an unhealthy diet. And as someone who
always kind of been on like the chunkier spectrum in my age group, like in my age
group, I was never like, slimmer or like, you know, so I was always like, I'm like, like, you
know, you kind of chubby for your age. And so because of my mother's passing due to,
like, health complications, it kind of made me so much more aware of my health. And
just like the health of the people around me and I did a few jobs in like in health, working
with older people. I was a caregiver for a time. I worked at a retirement home. And just
the reality of getting older in like taking care of your body now, just like, hit me. I was
like, oh my God.
Speaker3: [00:09:37] So yeah, I would say the past few years are something that I
value immensely, is just health and being of my community and just like the and just like
minorities in general. And also being a religious person, I have a lot of values and. Just
trying to like better myself and how I can be a good human being in this society and,
you know, just, um. This is kind of like giving back to my community, kind of similar to
her (Ahlam) as a Somali woman, to me as an African American woman, just trying to be
an example for my nieces and nephews and let them know that there's an escape to
poverty or like, you know, like we can always. Better self in health and so. So yeah,
that's kind of like my little roundabout being a black woman, caring about health, being
religious, and kind of having being a younger sibling, but like also being a like, single.
I'm an only child and that in a different dynamic of growing up.
Speaker2: [00:11:00] thank you for sharing that.
Speaker1: [00:11:03] Yeah, thank you for sharing. And I think this is actually a pretty
good point to bring up our first question. So today we are discussing body image as a
very complex and has so much impact in our society still these days. So inviting Alysha
and Ahlam to share their personal experience as a black person and growing up as
black woman. Yeah, around body image.
Speaker4: [00:11:36] Yeah. I've actually been really interested in this topic because I
last year I took a class on it was a public health class on fat phobia, and we learned a
lot about like body image and like the diet culture and all of that. And I took that class

because I personally have always struggled with my body image, I think since like
forever since like, I don't know, like, I don't know since I was a kid, you know, I've always
I've never been skinny. Like Alicia said, I've always been a bigger person or like, plus
size. And my mom also is has always been a plus sized woman as well. And I think that
a lot of her a lot of her own body image, perception of herself and like the internalized
like fatphobia kind of transferred over to me growing up. And it's interesting because
half of my family is like super skinny because they take on my dad's genes and then half
of us are, you know, like chubbier or like, like big boned, you know, taking on my mom's
side. And yeah, I was, I don't know. I've always I think I've always just worried about,
like, my weight, you know, like at the party...
Speaker2: [00:13:03] The pugs snoring in the background. Marty, thanks for
participating where you are.
Speaker4: [00:13:10] But yeah, like, even, like, thinking about, like, the health care
system they use, like the BMI, which I learned in my fat phobia class. That's not really
an accurate like, that's not an accurate way to determine how healthy someone is
because it's a really old method and it was based off of like an average the average
white guy or whatever. So yeah, like at the you know, I hated going to like my
appointments and stuff because like, the doctor would always say like, oh, like you're
over your BMI. Even though I was put into like sports and I was physically active as, you
know, like a middle schooler, my BMI still was always like really high. And so that made
me think like, oh, like, like I'm never going to have a like, I'm never going to be like, I
don't know, healthy enough even if I'm like, physically active and stuff. So, yeah, like I
think throughout middle school and high school, I just hated my body. I had a really low
self esteem. I was always very like just like self conscious and not really the most
confident person. But I think transitioning like, I think when I was like 17 or 18, I kind of
like got into the whole like, like the Body Positive movement. I think that's kind of like,
you know, like came up and I just like started following more like plus sized people on
Instagram and just like learning about, I don't know how to be like, proud of your body
regardless of like your weight. And I think now, like as a 21 year old woman, I think. I'm
definitely at a place in my life where I'm like, I saw sometimes struggle with like, body
dysmorphia and like negative body image. I don't know if it'll ever go away. I'm trying to
move towards body neutrality and, like, see my body as like this. Like. Living thing that

helps me. That provides for me like. Yeah, like, as, like, not really attaching it to, I don't
know, like, beauty and like, things like that.
Speaker2: [00:15:34] And, like, integrating with your body. I feel like it can be so easy to
because of the way society trains us to be this sort of external analyzer or analyst of our
bodies. It can be so easy to see like, Oh, my body is not part of me. My body should be
judged to these external standards versus just like seeing, Oh, my body is me and I love
me no matter what. Great. Like, I don't know why it's become well, I know it's why, like
our culture and all the -isms that we deal with, like it's just divorced us from this
relationship with our bodies, Right? Yeah. It's really it's sad.
Speaker4: [00:16:19] Yeah, definitely. And I think like media and like social media and,
you know, like the movies and stuff that we watch has a like such a huge influence on,
like, just how we see ourselves, especially like as black women, like the media portrayal
of black women is always very like negative. And there's a very specific like body type
that our bodies or yeah, like body standard that you have to have as a black woman. So
I think that like, I don't know I have to constantly like. Make sure that I'm not being
influenced by that. But it's so hard when it's like in your face, like I'm a huge social
media user and I use Instagram to TikTok and I try my best to follow people who, like,
look like me. Yeah. Just like people who look like me and represent me.
Speaker2: [00:17:18] It's interesting, you know, there's such a potentially negative
impact that you can get from being on Instagram or whatever it apps all the time. But
you mentioned actually being able to access more like body positive movement content
via Instagram. Yeah, right. So there's also the, the plus side there of being able to find
that content. But I'm wondering, do you think overall would folks be healthier if they
were not on social media or is the value of being able to find these communities or body
positive content? Does that override the negative?
Speaker4: [00:18:07] I know that's kind of a hard question, right. I don't know the
answer. Think about it. No. Yeah, no, that's actually a really great question.
Speaker3: [00:18:14] Well, in my little research about the history of like body image, I
think people have been obsessed with their bodies for centuries. Like, the human body
has been a spectacle, like sculptures, paintings even before, like pictures and movies.

Like, there were like, people were always obsessed with like, body. And I think there are
always, like, trends, not like, you know, from what my research like in ancient Greece,
there was always like the body that was most desirable, but like it didn't necessarily
demonize other bodies like, and, and usually the bodies that were most desirable at the
time. There are always like realistic bodies and there's always like bodies that, like, like
I'm using for like a glance of like a woman, like a desirable body for a woman. And like,
ancient Greece was like if she had like a pudgy stomach or like, if she had like, wide
hips, because that means like, it was linked. It's like childbearing, right? Like what was
desirable for a woman. And in like, in some parts of Asia, Africa, if you were like bigger,
that was, that was the desired body because that meant you have you had money and
like, you know, you had money to eat, you know, that means, oh, that person is wealthy
because they're because they're bigger. But I think in since like the turn of like
industrialism and like capitalism and just like the mass production of media, like
magazines and movies that kind of like and just like a colonization, I think like Western
culture, definitely like, like made kind of like, popularized the thin look because like, you
know, like immigrants, you know, like malnourishment and particularly for women, like if
you were like, skinny and like, even like you can even date this back, like the image of,
like Jesus, like he's always, like, frail or like even angels and like Renaissance
paintings.
Speaker3: [00:20:12] They're all skinny and frail and like, they look sickly. And so and
so just from like, those pictures and, like, just from, like starvation, basically the frail look
and like, the tiny look kind of became very popular in Western culture and like, you
know, colonization that kind of like moved to America. And because like, like media, like
superstars and magazines, they all were thin. And so that was kind of like, like the turn
of like the 19th and 20th century. That was like the turn of, like, diet culture and like the
rise of, like, cosmetics and plastic surgery because, like, they were exposed to all these
real life people who were like paper thin. It's like, Oh, I need to look like that. So like
voluntary starvation. Because back then people weren't just like, willing to just not eat
like, you know, because like, like you had to eat. But like in the rise of the media, it was
literally like people wanting to not eat. And that was like the first time and like ever
because, you know, people were poor. Like, it wasn't like, you're going to turn down a
meal. But like in this day and age, people, like, willingly will, like, starve themselves. And
that is like, that's. Is very different from like centuries before.

Speaker2: [00:21:24] And so unless you're doing it for religious purposes.
Speaker3: [00:21:27] Oh, yeah. Yeah. True. True. Yeah. Sorry, I didn't include that, but
yeah, definitely. But that was. Yeah, but like, for people who just for not, not religious
purposes but just for like to look a certain in like...
Speaker2: [00:21:39] Right. And when you describe it that way it's like that's ridiculous.
Speaker4: [00:21:45] Yeah.
Speaker2: [00:21:46] But it's such the norm now. But what has social media served Like
how has it influenced your experience of your body and my body?
Speaker3: [00:21:57] I always thought that my body was very unprofessional because I
have a larger chest and a narrower bottom. And so like, I wasn't I don't have, like,
voluptuous hips or anything. And so like, in media, having a body having an hourglass
look, I always thought that like, well, like my body is kind of like. I don't really see a lot of
people with my shape in particular, especially having a larger chest. And I developed a
big chest in, like, middle school. Like, I was like, you know, like I was not a stick,
because I was still rather chubby, but like, I was like a fourth grader with, like, pimples
who kind of looks like a boy, but like a double chest. So, like, it was like I looked so
awkward. And so I always was like, oh, my God, these like, my chest. And people are
like, Oh, like, that's attractive. Like, I never felt attractive in my body. And I still feel like
sometimes in the media, I don't really see people who have my body like everyone has.
Like if you're like, considered curvy, you have like hips and like a big butt or so I was
like, okay, like, am I curvy because I don't have hips, but like, I kind of have like a lower
half, but not really. So it's kind of like, I don't know where I kind of fit in like the stretching
because like, I always thought that my body was kind of like, kind of unusual or like a lot
of people didn't look like me and the way my body looked, but. Yeah. The media. It
definitely. It does give me a little bit of confidence to see a lot of plus size women and
mid size women find love, but that was like a main insecurity of mine. It's like, will I be
loved because of the way my body looks? Well, because I don't have like, the hourglass
look necessarily, would I? Would I be considered beautiful? So that was my main
insecurity is like, who's going to love me with the way I look? But it was really
encouraging to see all these women who have these different bodies super thin, who

are plus size, who are like kind of in the middle like me, and they have love and they
have healthy relationships.
Speaker3: [00:24:30] So that aspect kind of like reassures me that, like, I can find love
no matter what I look like. There's someone out there, there's seven, almost 8 billion
people probably now in the world, and it's like someone going to love you. So. So yeah,
I would say social media definitely has its downfalls. Like some people like the
comments will still call you fat, or whatever. But like there are the pluses of like you can
kind of get a snippet into other people's lives about like in it's more transparent because
like I think people didn't talk about like. Their body are like their insecurities because
those taboo. So I definitely feel. But like how people are more comfortable talking about
their experiences with their bodies and and love and etc..
Speaker1: [00:25:19] Thank you for sharing. I know you both work with youth and
young people or younger people, and I'm curious to learn about if you have noticed any
changes like mindset change or behavioral changes in the youth community, how
people see themselves and how people.. what kind of role models they choose these
days. So around body image and kind of like self confidence, things like that.
Speaker4: [00:25:53] Well, so a lot of the girls, the youth girls that I work with, I know a
lot of them aren't comfortable with like pictures, like you're taking pictures of them. If
we're going to, like, post it like on social, like on our organization's page. And I don't
think I notice like. From the time that I've been working there, or I don't think I've really
observed what how they feel about their bodies.
Speaker1: [00:26:18] Maybe we need another episode.
Speaker4: [00:26:23] Yeah, once we have more. Like I do more activities and stuff with
them because.

Speaker2: [00:26:28] When you were saying before, like finding about finding out about
body positivity and that helping you like I wonder if folks who are a part of you, even
younger generation are growing up more immersed in body positivity from the first
place. Like, yeah, and if that influences, I'm sure they still have struggles with body
image, but it'd be interesting.

Speaker4: [00:26:50] So I do have a niece. She's I think she's ten or she's about to turn
ten, but I spend a lot of time with her. She's my only. I have another niece, but she's only
eight months. I don't know much about her, but. But, my ten year old niece, we spend a
lot of time together. And I do find that, like, sometimes she is self conscious about her
body and and like, her weight and stuff. I think and I think I started noticing it when she
was like. I don't know, like five or six. She was like, Oh, like, like I have to eat a salad.
Like, to be healthy or, like, sometimes I should be like, Oh, like I can't eat too much. And
so I'm seeing, like, some of that, which kind of reminds me of like, my childhood too. So
I'm wondering, like, I don't know, like, like I as an aunt, I like when I hear that from her, I
get really sad because it reminds me of my childhood and I try my best as her aunt to
be kind of like a role model. And she really looks up to me. She calls me the bougie
aunt, like, she always wants me to, like, take her out thrifting. And like, I know she like,
looks up to me a lot. So I try my best not to like, say things about my body or like, like
just negative things about the way I look around her.
Speaker4: [00:28:18] I mean, I don't really say it around other people in general, but
like, I try to remind like, try to instill confidence in her, you know, like, not just on based
on the way she looks also like her, like her education to like I know she's not she's kind
of struggles a bit with like reading and like math and stuff. But like, I try to tell her not to
tie her worth to like, you know, school and stuff and, and like encourage her to like,
learn and to just be curious and things like that. Because she is a very curious person.
She's always asking a million questions. So, you know, so I know she does on TikTok a
lot. I feel like that might have an influence on the way she sees herself. She probably
shouldn't be on TikTok because she's really young. And but yeah, I don't I don't know,
maybe. I mean, I know my sisters. Sometimes, like say things about their bodies and
stuff too. And I'm sure, like, she hears it and I'm pretty sure she is like getting a lot of
these messages from, like, our own family now that I think about it. Yeah, that's kind of
like now that I'm thinking about it, it's kind of sad.
Speaker2: [00:29:38] Yeah. Some things don't change.
Speaker4: [00:29:40] Yeah, yeah.

Speaker1: [00:29:42] Yeah. I have some experience around that, too. You know, like
growing up, my mom always really paid attention to the way I look, like how I look and
what I eat. The one thing about my mom or my parents or many, I think Asian parents, is
that they want to feed you like all the time. Then they also say you shouldn't eat so
much like at the same time. Yeah. So I definitely grew up with that impression that if...
Diet culture was encouraged as well in China, at least as far as I know. So I think maybe
in a way this is universal, but just kind of shows up in different ways. But I resonate with
that, like how your family member interact with you as a young person, as a child, and
you know, the language they use or the way they look at you. Like my mom would
comment on my photo and say, you look fat. Like she would just straight up say that
sometimes. So yeah. So I thank you for sharing that.
Speaker2: [00:30:56] I wanted to go back to something, Alysha, that you are saying
about how helpful it has been to see media portrayals of plus-size women finding love.
Right. And I think that's so interesting because usually the, the change that we're
advocating for is just representation, period. But actually, I think it is so much it's so
much more important to go beyond just representation and talk about, well, what is
happening in that representation. It's not just a person on the screen, it's a person being
shown being loved. So I think that's an awesome thing to advocate for. And I'm
wondering like what else? What other types of representations or changes would you
want to see to help foster more body positivity and self love for folks?
Speaker3: [00:31:59] Um. Well. I think what I would like to see more of is just like plus
size people doing everyday things. I think like we see a lot of plus size. People like their
whole identity is about being plus size and like they have roundabouts about
themselves too. So I like I would want to see like in, like the rise of like vlogs, like a day
in my life or like, just even like rom-com films. Like, just like. Like just like a girl in New
York City finding love and like, her race or weight has nothing to do with the plot. So I
would really love to see just plus size people doing everyday things like going to work.
You know, just like an everyday person and like their whole identity are like the whole
purpose of like their vlog isn't really about their weight. Um, yeah, I think kind of just like,
normalizes them and like, it doesn't make every topic so kind of, kind of about like, like
black films. If a movie has the majority of the cast being black, the movie is going to
have the movie is going to talk about the whole movie is going to be about black
blackness. It's like, why can't we just have a film kind of like like the rom coms, like the

main character is a white person, Like they never bring up her whiteness. It's just about
her. Like this pretty girl in New York, right? She is a writer somewhere, and she just
finds like, why can't that same woman be black or be Asian or be plus size? And like,
that has nothing and it doesn't even be brought up in the plot, Right?
Speaker3: [00:33:37] Right. Yeah. Like, just let them be human and they have other
interests. Like what if, like, they, they are like, interested in, like, sci fi. Ah, like they have
so many other different revenus about themselves. But the one thing you focus on is
they're like person, like what they look like. So that's what I would love to see is just plus
size people just being regular, you know?
Speaker4: [00:33:59] Yeah, yeah. Basically everything that Alysha said, I think also like,
like there's this kind of like body standard for plus sized people. Like they're, it's usually
the ones that you do see represented are like a size 12 or 14. And like on the smaller
side.

Speaker3: [00:34:17] And they still have a small waist.
Speaker4: [00:34:18] Yeah. Like.
Speaker3: [00:34:20] Like their waist is still tiny. Yeah.
Speaker1: [00:34:21] Talking about proportion.
Speaker3: [00:34:23] Yeah. Proportion. Yeah.
Speaker4: [00:34:24] Yeah. So I think seeing even like larger larger bodies in media
and in terms of like representation would be ideal to feel like we have a long way to go
because it took so long just to get like size like 10, 12, 14 represented, you know.
Speaker3: [00:34:45] So yeah, yeah. Kind of to piggyback off what Ahlam said, there
definitely is a body standard even for plus size people. Yeah. Like, the plus size people
that you see that are models are like just in media, they all have the same type of plus
size body. They are like that hourglass look and their stomachs still are rather thin
compared to the rest of their body. But like we can see kind of like someone who's still

plus size but like is not necessarily in that category. We can say, as Lizzo and she has
been getting so much hate compared to other like plus size people who are in the
spotlight, you know, like Ashley Graham or like other like but they don't get to say much.
Hey, as like Lizzo because she is plus size, but she doesn't necessarily fit that plus size,
the desirable plus size.
Speaker1: [00:35:39] It's a very good example.
Speaker2: [00:35:41] So if you were you're standing on your identity roundabout and
the world is going by and if you could put a sign on your roundabout for like that's giving
people directions on how you like to be or need to be treated or interacted with, like
what would be on your sign. So I can give you an example. Like for me, I'm a mixed
race person or I'm biracial and something that I really wish people would move away
from is talking about mixed race people in terms of fractions like, Oh, she's half this, half
that, or when like for me I'm 100%, I'm not half anything, right, because I don't like
thinking about my identity in terms of fractions. So that would be on my sign is like stop
talking about us in terms of fractions.
Speaker4: [00:36:38] I think for me would probably be I don't know how to word it
specifically, but I'm personally, I always consider myself multifaceted, like I'm not just a
black woman or, you know, a young person like, you know, and I have so many like
different interests, Like there's like a lot of what makes me me isn't just tied to my
identity is also tied to like the things I like to do for fun. So like, you know, I like to I love
being outdoors. I consider myself like an environmentalist and an environmental justice
advocate. I like to, you know, I'm really interested in like, fashion and like, representing
myself through, like, the way I dress because I have a hard time expressing myself
verbally sometimes. So the way I dress is usually a like a depiction of how I'm feeling
and stuff. So, you know, I love to read. I love going to like different restaurants and
coffee shops. I love coffee and Matcha. Yes, I'm a cat, you know, I'm a cat lady. I have a
bunch of cats. I also do like modeling, too. Like I'm a model and I feel and I don't usually
like telling people that because I feel like people like I don't know. Like, might think like,
oh, like you're not you don't seem like a model or like, I don't know, like people, like, are
just always surprised for that. And, you know, I'm a Portlanders and I love I love living
here. And so there are just so many parts of me that makes me that isn't just the way I

look or like. Um, how people would perceive a black or a young black woman or a
young Somali woman. So yeah.
Speaker3: [00:38:26] Yeah, yeah. My, I would say kind of like, well, what Ahlam said,
like, there are a lot of aspects to me. And one thing I guess that I would say on, on my
picket sign is that I hate being like. Like. I don't like it when people make comments
about my body, like even when they say, Oh, you got skinnier. I'm like, you're perceiving
like...
Speaker3: [00:38:56] Yes. Like I don't even like it when people say you're skinnier. So
just like what my sign would say is just don't make comments about my body at all,
right? Yeah, just like because it makes me I'm already super hyper aware of how how I
look. And so, like, when when I get any external comments about my body, I'm
automatically like, Oh my God. So they're like, looking at my body like. Like, you know.
So, like, like, did they perceive me? They're calling me skinny now. So like, they thought
I was fat before. Like, I'm just like, yeah, So just, I don't like any comments about my
body in general, but so that would be on my sign.
Speaker2: [00:39:36] Yeah. Plus, yeah, I would totally have that sign as well. Just stop
talking about our appearance. Like it's not, it's not productive for anybody.
Speaker1: [00:39:48] No, it's not. Because it's like we all here sitting here, we all have a
brain and our brains are also pretty amazing. So why don't we talk about that? Yeah. So
thank you all very much. Ahlam, you mentioned your modeling career, so I wanted to
add one thing. If you both, either of you would like to share where people can find you
or support you, follow you, etc..
Speaker4: [00:40:16] Yeah. So I have an Instagram. It's at Ahlam. Dot, dot.
Speaker3: [00:40:25] Jpeg.
Speaker4: [00:40:25] Yeah. Dot, jpeg.
Speaker2: [00:40:27] Peg.

Speaker1: [00:40:29] We'll add that to the show. Yes. Edit Transcript.
Speaker3: [00:40:33] You can follow him on Instagram as well at Alysha, which is a l y.
Y. S. H. A. A.

Speaker2: [00:40:41] A.
Speaker1: [00:40:43] Cool. We'll add both to the transcript with that. Once again, all
three dogs. Well, for the first time, all three dogs are sleeping right now.
Speaker2: [00:40:55] Oh, this is an awesome conversation. Really appreciate you
coming and sharing. And yeah, it's important to you.
Speaker3: [00:41:03] Thanks for having us.
Speaker1: [00:41:04] Yeah, Thank you. We are out.
Show Note: Ahlam’s Instagram is @ahlam.jpeg and Alysha’s Instagram is @alyyshaaa