Ep. 89: Rage, Predatory Men, and How Beauty Standards Condition Women to Surrender Their Power

Age Like a Badass Mother · Feb 24, 2026 · 15m

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By the time Lauren Bernick was six years old, two different women had already told her she was "fat as a house." They weren't seeing her; they were projecting their own inherited fear and shame, expecting her to swallow it and pass it on. That's how the cycle works.

In this mini episode, Lauren traces that conditioning to its roots: beauty standards largely set by men with a vested interest in keeping women chasing an impossible ideal: the body of a teenage girl. The media and…