Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Happy Hour #131: Coming of Age
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. Welcome to stuff I've
- 0:07Speaker 1: never told you, but actually I heard you.
- 0:18Speaker 2: And welcome to a happy hour where I'm just gonna
- 0:21Speaker 2: be unhappy. We'll call it a and wine, but I
- 0:24Speaker 2: don't have a wine and noother do just Anie, Oh,
- 0:27Speaker 2: but on wine a little bit, uh, and we're gonna
- 0:30Speaker 2: do all the things, uh Anie. Before we start, are
- 0:34Speaker 2: you partaking of anything refreshing?
- 0:37Speaker 1: I am taking. I am drinking a light beer, as
- 0:43Speaker 1: you called it, a warm beer, because we've been in
- 0:45Speaker 1: here recording for a minute. But it's still it's still
- 0:48Speaker 1: got its temperature. It's still got its temperature.
- 0:55Speaker 2: It's got a temperature.
- 0:57Speaker 1: It's cool, it's not warm.
- 1:03Speaker 2: I am drinking on some bubbly water because we are
- 1:07Speaker 2: frantically trying to get a lot of recordings, a peek
- 1:10Speaker 2: behind the curtain before we head out to do a panel,
- 1:14Speaker 2: actually getting out there in the world and reminding people
- 1:17Speaker 2: that we exist in the podcasting world, which is a
- 1:20Speaker 2: whole thing, and honestly it is a catalyst to what
- 1:23Speaker 2: we're talking about today. So if you are particular of anything,
- 1:27Speaker 2: please do so responsibly. You know what we mean by that.
- 1:30Speaker 2: We are not currently being sponsored by anything we are
- 1:33Speaker 2: necessarily talking about, but just as an FYI, if you
- 1:36Speaker 2: happen to be in DC and participating in a podcast movement,
- 1:40Speaker 2: we're gonna be there.
- 1:42Speaker 1: Yay.
- 1:43Speaker 2: The last time we went to do this was pre pandemic,
- 1:47Speaker 2: So this is gonna be like a reminder of what
- 1:49Speaker 2: we used to be like, except for the fact that
- 1:51Speaker 2: I have and I think any you would probably agree,
- 1:55Speaker 2: become a more introverted and awkward. And I'm assuming you
- 2:01Speaker 2: were kind of there with me.
- 2:03Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we were. I mean, honestly, we were
- 2:09Speaker 1: pretty awkward at the last one, but that was just
- 2:12Speaker 1: our vibe.
- 2:13Speaker 2: This is.
- 2:15Speaker 1: Because you were what that dance you kept doing?
- 2:22Speaker 2: What is wrong with me?
- 2:23Speaker 1: I was doing that the entire time, wasn't I You
- 2:25Speaker 1: were and I we were just I remember when they
- 2:27Speaker 1: kept people would come over to us and it was
- 2:29Speaker 1: clear they were trying to make conversation and we would
- 2:31Speaker 1: just kind of stare at them awkwardly. Yes, so I
- 2:34Speaker 1: feel like we were awkward, but we were better than
- 2:38Speaker 1: this what we're going to be now.
- 2:40Speaker 2: Yes, so yeah, so we are getting prepared to do that.
- 2:44Speaker 2: So we are not doing a Sex and the City
- 2:47Speaker 2: viewing today. Apologies it will be back, and y'all know
- 2:51Speaker 2: once again as a reminder, we're trying to find a guest,
- 2:54Speaker 2: one of you amazing listeners to come and hang out
- 2:57Speaker 2: with us. We've got several names, but if you want
- 2:59Speaker 2: to your name to this list of possibilities to join us,
- 3:04Speaker 2: please do so. We'll tell you at the end of
- 3:05Speaker 2: this episode how to do that. All you need is
- 3:08Speaker 2: really a good internet connection and or okay internet connection
- 3:13Speaker 2: and maybe headphones and then an email to talk to
- 3:17Speaker 2: a producer who does amazing things. All of that to
- 3:21Speaker 2: say it is coming back, But for now, I'm going
- 3:24Speaker 2: to talk about how anxious I am about making appearances
- 3:28Speaker 2: once again, especially feeling like I have aged a lot
- 3:32Speaker 2: in the past two years. And I say this as
- 3:34Speaker 2: a person who is truly trying to accept aging. I
- 3:40Speaker 2: really didn't think I would be one of those people
- 3:42Speaker 2: who would get hit into panic mode. But I kind
- 3:45Speaker 2: of have hit that panic mode to the point. As
- 3:48Speaker 2: we've talked about when it comes to self esteem, weight,
- 3:52Speaker 2: just looks in general, and not my not being white,
- 3:55Speaker 2: all of those things. Being Asian, there's so much panic
- 3:59Speaker 2: that I feel like I'm having right now in prepping
- 4:02Speaker 2: not only being in front of people, which we're not
- 4:05Speaker 2: going to have that many people that we're talking to, Like, honestly,
- 4:09Speaker 2: we're anticipating a little crowd, not much of a crowd.
- 4:12Speaker 2: But the nervousness in just thinking about it, being seen,
- 4:17Speaker 2: being judged, being looked at is really really unnerving, to
- 4:21Speaker 2: the point that I have been grinding my teeth extra
- 4:24Speaker 2: hard and trying to find quick solutions to change myself,
- 4:28Speaker 2: which is really really really anti feminist in my mind,
- 4:33Speaker 2: you know, like this level of conversation that we've had
- 4:35Speaker 2: about are we feminist? Is is bad feminism? I am
- 4:39Speaker 2: I a hypocrite for doing these things I've looked at
- 4:42Speaker 2: looking at anti aging things because I don't know what
- 4:45Speaker 2: has happened. Again, it could be the pandemic, It could
- 4:48Speaker 2: just be in my mind. I don't think it is,
- 4:51Speaker 2: but like so many things that I wish I could
- 4:52Speaker 2: fix or turn back in so many ways. And it
- 4:55Speaker 2: also has to do with my body image. It also
- 4:58Speaker 2: has to do with again, like I feel like I'm
- 5:00Speaker 2: starting to get these bags, these SAgs. It's not cute.
- 5:04Speaker 2: And I swore up and down what five years ago,
- 5:07Speaker 2: I would never be this person, this would not be me.
- 5:10Speaker 2: I will not be the person who will look into
- 5:12Speaker 2: spending extra money to change myself because society right wrong.
- 5:22Speaker 2: Like that's the best way I can say it. There's
- 5:24Speaker 2: so much pressure I feel like in being the perfect
- 5:28Speaker 2: feminists and being the perfect woman, in being the perfect intersectionalist,
- 5:33Speaker 2: and being the perfect Asian person in order to represent
- 5:38Speaker 2: these things that is really really a mindful like I
- 5:43Speaker 2: can't describe it as anything else, and wanting to do
- 5:47Speaker 2: a good job in not only representing those marginalized people
- 5:53Speaker 2: who are in the same categories I'll say it that
- 5:56Speaker 2: way as I am, but also trying to do this
- 6:00Speaker 2: in a way that I'm like, i am a healthy
- 6:02Speaker 2: individual with great confidence, but I'm not too confident that
- 6:07Speaker 2: I'm narcissistic and ecocentric. Look at me, I am humble enough,
- 6:11Speaker 2: Like those are the titles that I feel like in
- 6:13Speaker 2: order to represent anything that we have to have, And
- 6:17Speaker 2: so I am really struggling right now and trying to
- 6:20Speaker 2: bypass that into them, which is what I was really
- 6:24Speaker 2: hoping that I would jump into. Getting older, Like there's
- 6:27Speaker 2: parts of my personality that I am Yes this, I
- 6:30Speaker 2: am too old for this, So trying to measure and
- 6:33Speaker 2: balance those and at the same time trying to treat
- 6:36Speaker 2: myself okay, that I'm not going to have a full
- 6:39Speaker 2: fledged panic attack, which I have already contacted physicians, and
- 6:43Speaker 2: being like I need medication, give me as a person
- 6:50Speaker 2: who doesn't typically take medications, I like, no, I need it.
- 6:54Speaker 2: I need it immediately because I am in anxiety mode
- 6:59Speaker 2: for some pay of these things and any I've already
- 7:11Speaker 2: gone to get my facial and I have not gotten
- 7:15Speaker 2: the answers that I want. There's so many things that
- 7:17Speaker 2: I'm trying to figure out that I can do that
- 7:19Speaker 2: doesn't feel like I'm crossing my own boundaries or maybe
- 7:23Speaker 2: and again this is we've talked about this before, but
- 7:26Speaker 2: like why can't we if it gives us more confidence
- 7:30Speaker 2: or if it's healthy for us, like we're doing it
- 7:32Speaker 2: in a healthy manner, but it still feels like we're
- 7:34Speaker 2: being hypocrites, you know what I'm saying. So like, I
- 7:38Speaker 2: have never done botox, I have never done any type
- 7:41Speaker 2: of surgical stuff. I have never like I actually did
- 7:44Speaker 2: try to do a survey about whether or not I
- 7:46Speaker 2: would be interested. I have never been the type of
- 7:49Speaker 2: person who would spend money on that stuff. Have I
- 7:51Speaker 2: spent money on topical things? Yes, way too much money.
- 7:57Speaker 2: Like I'm scared to look at if I were to
- 7:59Speaker 2: sit down to write how many products that I have
- 8:02Speaker 2: bought in the last three years, Like, I have a
- 8:05Speaker 2: feeling that would put me in a shame spiral. So
- 8:07Speaker 2: I can't. I can't do that to myself because there
- 8:10Speaker 2: are so many things that I'm like believing on TikTok.
- 8:14Speaker 2: It's not TikTok's fault, is my self esteem of like
- 8:17Speaker 2: these will fix these things I've heard like Gauasha and
- 8:20Speaker 2: all these things, and I have tried all these things.
- 8:22Speaker 2: Some of this just makes my feel like face feel better,
- 8:24Speaker 2: So I'm like, yeah, I'll do that. But like I
- 8:27Speaker 2: have realized that I have fallen into the trap of
- 8:31Speaker 2: spending so much money in corporate world for these products,
- 8:36Speaker 2: hoping to change and have an outcome that will change
- 8:39Speaker 2: things that are just natural. But it's hard to accept
- 8:42Speaker 2: it as natural. And again this is compounded by the
- 8:48Speaker 2: guilt of wanting this a that I can't naturally be this,
- 8:52Speaker 2: uh be feeling like that if I don't try something
- 8:56Speaker 2: like this, and if I don't succeed in something like this,
- 8:58Speaker 2: I'm going to be judged for it. See, if I
- 9:01Speaker 2: do succeed in something like this, and if I'm not honest,
- 9:04Speaker 2: then I'm a hypocrite. D If I am honest is
- 9:09Speaker 2: succeeding in these things, I'm a hypocrite. You know, Like
- 9:14Speaker 2: all of these things feel like such a layered part
- 9:19Speaker 2: of our conversation and aging as women, aging as a
- 9:22Speaker 2: marginalized person, aging in an industry that you are seen,
- 9:28Speaker 2: like you have to be seen, whether or not I
- 9:30Speaker 2: would don't Like I have come upon the realization that
- 9:37Speaker 2: as a kid, when I wanted to be a star,
- 9:40Speaker 2: like I really thought I could be an acting or singing,
- 9:43Speaker 2: to this point of realizing, I would have not survived
- 9:46Speaker 2: that industry because the level of criticism, the level of trolls,
- 9:53Speaker 2: the level of people. No matter what you do, what
- 9:56Speaker 2: opinion you made, if you were a blank slate, you're
- 10:00Speaker 2: always going to be judged, and even more so when
- 10:03Speaker 2: you have compounding layers of being a marginalized person. So
- 10:08Speaker 2: this level of like being seen now, which I'm not
- 10:13Speaker 2: even really we're not even not to undermine all the
- 10:17Speaker 2: work that's happened, but you know, we're not number one
- 10:21Speaker 2: category of women's podcasting. Let's be very very honest. We
- 10:26Speaker 2: work hard, we try to get great information, we try
- 10:29Speaker 2: to be as entertaining as possible, and we try to
- 10:31Speaker 2: be accurate and informative. But that doesn't necessarily mean that
- 10:35Speaker 2: we are the most famous podcasters, you know what I mean? Like, so,
- 10:40Speaker 2: like I'm not writing in that, but just being seen
- 10:42Speaker 2: by the few people who we love and who we
- 10:46Speaker 2: are connected with is amazing. But that also comes the
- 10:49Speaker 2: realization we are seen that people see us, and I'm like,
- 10:54Speaker 2: oh god, what does that mean? Yeah? You know, So
- 10:59Speaker 2: with that responsibility of people with good information, correct information,
- 11:06Speaker 2: being as honest as we can be and vulnerable as
- 11:09Speaker 2: we can be within our own healthy limits, it's really
- 11:16Speaker 2: hard to find those boundaries and not question all of
- 11:21Speaker 2: these things that I have and like going back and
- 11:24Speaker 2: forth of like, Okay, if I do this thing, am
- 11:27Speaker 2: I hypocrite? Okay? If I do these things? Am I
- 11:32Speaker 2: being anti feminists?
- 11:34Speaker 1: Okay?
- 11:35Speaker 2: If I think these things or change things these things
- 11:38Speaker 2: about me? Am I hating myself? Or am I calling?
- 11:43Speaker 2: Am I being fat phobic? Am I being agist? Am
- 11:46Speaker 2: I being anti Asian? Like There's so many things that
- 11:50Speaker 2: feel like come into play when it's just a simple
- 11:54Speaker 2: panel that we're going for thirty minutes, y'all thirty minutes long,
- 12:01Speaker 2: and like coming out and having this as a catalyst,
- 12:05Speaker 2: and also there's a couple of other things that may
- 12:07Speaker 2: be projects in the future having me break down, because
- 12:11Speaker 2: that means I have to be seen and I can't
- 12:14Speaker 2: just sit in my hole, slash my house and never leave.
- 12:18Speaker 2: Like but when I see the mirror and see myself
- 12:23Speaker 2: and see myself aging and changing, which is completely natural,
- 12:30Speaker 2: but realizing I don't love aging and I don't love
- 12:38Speaker 2: the sagging, and I laugh because I don't want to cry.
- 12:43Speaker 2: But there are so many things like is do I
- 12:46Speaker 2: do something about it? Or maybe it is a psychological
- 12:50Speaker 2: thing that I need to go back to therapy about
- 12:52Speaker 2: because I need to undo these ideas about myself. You know,
- 12:55Speaker 2: there's like that could be just the underlying thing, but
- 12:58Speaker 2: there's so many pieces to this that as I ramble on,
- 13:04Speaker 2: it feels hard to undo and it feels hard to
- 13:07Speaker 2: reconnect all these things in a healthy manner.
- 13:11Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it is. That's That's one of the
- 13:16Speaker 1: I have found hardest things about being an intersexual feminist
- 13:23Speaker 1: is those questions you always have to interrogate, Okay, why
- 13:28Speaker 1: am I doing this? Maybe it is like not the
- 13:32Speaker 1: most feminist thing, but no one can be the perfect feminist.
- 13:37Speaker 1: And then you're weighing that, and then because we're on
- 13:40Speaker 1: this show, you feel even more like, well, I can't
- 13:45Speaker 1: be preaching this and then off the side doing this,
- 13:49Speaker 1: and so then you have to be open about it.
- 13:52Speaker 1: You don't have to, but I feel like it should
- 13:53Speaker 1: be generally right unless it's like a real strict boundary.
- 13:58Speaker 1: It's difficult. It's difficult when it's because we all grew
- 14:07Speaker 1: up with these experiences wherever you grew up. It's hard
- 14:12Speaker 1: to untangle what is just a negative thing that you've
- 14:17Speaker 1: been taught versus something you might just want, versus like,
- 14:23Speaker 1: maybe it was a negative behavior you've been taught, but
- 14:27Speaker 1: this will make you feel better. And at the end
- 14:30Speaker 1: of the day, there are worse things, you know what
- 14:33Speaker 1: I mean?
- 14:35Speaker 2: I know, I feel like we live in a society
- 14:38Speaker 2: where we have to choose the lesser evil and in comparison,
- 14:44Speaker 2: but also fails cross too.
- 14:46Speaker 1: It does, it does. I've had stances where I've thought
- 15:02Speaker 1: of doing something I very briefly thought about a long
- 15:06Speaker 1: time ago, getting a liposection. Yeah, and I the reason
- 15:10Speaker 1: I didn't is because one we've talked about this. I'm
- 15:13Speaker 1: terrified at being put under and I'm terrified people take
- 15:17Speaker 1: a video of me. Yeah, But two, I was like,
- 15:20Speaker 1: if that comes out and I want to feminish show
- 15:23Speaker 1: brush in that's.
- 15:24Speaker 2: The end of us. Like we've talked about some things
- 15:26Speaker 2: when we were writing books and like we can't have
- 15:28Speaker 2: this or that will just be like the controversy in this.
- 15:32Speaker 2: We've had so many conversations because there's so much layered
- 15:35Speaker 2: responsibility and we don't take that lightly. And I think
- 15:38Speaker 2: that's the other big part to this is like we
- 15:41Speaker 2: I don't know, maybe it's a Libra in me, but
- 15:43Speaker 2: I have to be balanced and honest, like I cannot
- 15:47Speaker 2: not do it, which is odd because I think growing
- 15:49Speaker 2: up I was probably a reactive attachment, which is all
- 15:52Speaker 2: about trying to look like you're completely independent but also
- 15:55Speaker 2: getting what you want, so kind of in that level.
- 15:59Speaker 2: But now that I've kind of let that go and
- 16:02Speaker 2: went through all the therapies and trying to find a
- 16:04Speaker 2: balance and healthy attachments and all of that, I come
- 16:08Speaker 2: to gum to the other end of like I want
- 16:09Speaker 2: to be truly honest, like I really want it's going
- 16:13Speaker 2: to always be in the back of my head that
- 16:15Speaker 2: I'm a liar, or that I'm the hypocrite like I
- 16:17Speaker 2: will I will punish myself or I will judge myself
- 16:21Speaker 2: more than others in reality and respect. But again it's
- 16:26Speaker 2: because and I think this is just like is the
- 16:31Speaker 2: value of our listeners. They can read us really well,
- 16:36Speaker 2: so I think in that and I think they would
- 16:38Speaker 2: know if we were dishonest, if we were being hypocritical.
- 16:43Speaker 2: And to that point again, because we have very smart listeners,
- 16:47Speaker 2: and that's part of that reality. You and I from
- 16:51Speaker 2: Jump and I'm pretty sure you probably were firm even
- 16:54Speaker 2: before we understood what we wanted to be in this
- 16:58Speaker 2: podcast is honest and upfront and real and realistic. Like
- 17:03Speaker 2: that's that other part because in all fairness, humanity is flawed,
- 17:09Speaker 2: which is why so many bad things have happened. But
- 17:12Speaker 2: we also want to be the ones that are a
- 17:16Speaker 2: part of fixing it, correcting it, and bettering it. I mean,
- 17:20Speaker 2: that was the intent in my job in general, like
- 17:24Speaker 2: like in general. But I can still also look back
- 17:26Speaker 2: on that time and knowing all the mistakes that I've made,
- 17:29Speaker 2: and there's a lot of guilt and thinking that I
- 17:32Speaker 2: was making good decisions, that I was making choices that
- 17:35Speaker 2: were for the better, you know, so that this is
- 17:38Speaker 2: just like underlying panic of all of this. And yes,
- 17:43Speaker 2: again this is partially triggered by the fact that I'm
- 17:46Speaker 2: going to be in public. Like I can't tell you,
- 17:51Speaker 2: like it's significant for us, but for in reality it's
- 17:54Speaker 2: not that big of a deal. But it has made
- 17:57Speaker 2: me go onto this panic, which you and I were like,
- 18:03Speaker 2: and I think I'm the one who was like, we
- 18:04Speaker 2: need to get out there more. I don't want to.
- 18:09Speaker 1: You were I was like really, I mean, you were right,
- 18:13Speaker 1: but it was I was like, oh, okay.
- 18:18Speaker 2: Oh, so these were all the things that I'm like untying,
- 18:24Speaker 2: I guess and rifling through as we are approaching very
- 18:28Speaker 2: quickly again y'all, so you'll be listening to this if
- 18:32Speaker 2: you listen to this on the day of the release,
- 18:34Speaker 2: it is that following Monday. This following Monday that we
- 18:37Speaker 2: will be going. So today we're recording it being released
- 18:40Speaker 2: on August fifteenth of twenty twenty four, that following Monday
- 18:43Speaker 2: will be in DC. If y'all are around, let us know,
- 18:46Speaker 2: I'll at us. But trying to make ourselves known and
- 18:50Speaker 2: hopefully give good advice for others. Who want to be
- 18:54Speaker 2: in podcasting, and you know, we love bringing people into
- 18:57Speaker 2: the podcasting world. The more women the better, the more
- 19:00Speaker 2: or marginalized people the better. We need all of the
- 19:03Speaker 2: voices to make this intersectional and this medium is still
- 19:07Speaker 2: going strong and that's something important. So oh, for those
- 19:14Speaker 2: of y'all who think that you've got to handle on
- 19:18Speaker 2: things that I am talking about, send me some advice
- 19:22Speaker 2: because I'm struggling.
- 19:26Speaker 1: Yes, yea of me too. Also, as always, I feel
- 19:33Speaker 1: like we talked about this in are Are We Bad Feminists?
- 19:41Speaker 1: We did it multiple times, but we've talked about it
- 19:43Speaker 1: in several episodes. Anyway, it can look different ways whatever.
- 19:50Speaker 1: It's the choice that matters and the whether or not
- 19:54Speaker 1: you're doing it. But I do think asking why you're
- 19:56Speaker 1: doing something is important. So you're that's a good You're there, somemtha.
- 20:01Speaker 1: You're starting the question, yeah, which I think is very
- 20:05Speaker 1: very important and like why are you doing something? I
- 20:08Speaker 1: think it's important. So, yes, listeners, if you have any
- 20:12Speaker 1: thoughts about this, If any of you do are at
- 20:15Speaker 1: podcast movement, reach out, come to our panel Tuesday the
- 20:19Speaker 1: twentieth at three ish three thirty ish. It's called Better
- 20:24Speaker 1: Banter our friend Eves is gonna be there. It's her
- 20:27Speaker 1: idea from female First, so it'll be really good. It's
- 20:30Speaker 1: about having a good conversation with your co host, So yeah,
- 20:35Speaker 1: come check that out if you happen to be there,
- 20:38Speaker 1: and if you have any thoughts about this, please enter
- 20:42Speaker 1: our Sex and the City contest if you're interested. We're
- 20:45Speaker 1: hoping to do that soon. You can do that in
- 20:49Speaker 1: many ways. You can emails Stepanie mom stuff at iHeartMedia
- 20:52Speaker 1: dot com. You can find us on Twitter at mostap podcast,
- 20:55Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when Never Told You.
- 20:57Speaker 1: We're also on YouTube. We have a Tapolist store and
- 20:59Speaker 1: we have a book you can get wherever you get
- 21:01Speaker 1: your books. Thanks as always too, our super producer Christina,
- 21:04Speaker 1: Executiveroducer May and our contruder Joey. Thank you and thanks
- 21:07Speaker 1: see you for listening. Steffan Never Told You is protection
- 21:09Speaker 1: of my Heart Radio. For more podcast from my Heart Radio,
- 21:10Speaker 1: you can check out the Heart Radio, Apple podcast or
- 21:12Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.