Heather Widdows: Pretty Privilege Is Real

Heather Widdows: Pretty Privilege Is Real

Author: Kollo Media, Caitlin Schiller September 14, 2026 Duration: 56:46
When did "I resolve to be a better person" get replaced with "I resolve to tone my arms" in the register of resolutions?For a long time, philosophy treated caring about how you look as proof you weren't serious. Heather Widdows, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, thinks philosophy was simply wrong. In Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal, she argues that beauty has stopped being a matter of taste and become a moral framework—a thing around which we build our days, measure our worth, and feel we've failed at, morally, when we fall short. The self became the body.In this episode, Caitlin and Heather get into the four ingredients of the global beauty ideal, why so much talk about beauty "diversity" is fluff on top of a narrowing mean, and how a beautification practice goes from optional to invisible to required. Caitlin also pushes back. Pretty privilege is real—and so is the sixteen-year-old who believes being perfect would fix everything actually wrong? Heather's answer is more honest than comforting, and it takes a detour through Emily Ratajkowski's memoir. They're refreshingly candid about why the way we look matters and what it means to not make the normie cut. ResourcesHeather's Book: Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal by Heather Widdows Ben's Rec: Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom Caitlin's Rec: "I Wish I Could Have a Body in Private" by Amy Key, from her Substack So Glad I'm MeHeather's campaign: #EverydayLookism Heather's website: heatherwiddows.com Coming soon: Selfie Culture by Heather WiddowsAlso mentioned: My Body by Emily Ratajkowski; What's Wrong with Lookism? by Andrew Mason; Jia Tolentino's New Yorker essay on "Instagram face,” Trick Mirror by Jia TolentinoMore from Simplify on this topic: our episodes with Amy Key (Arrangements in Blue) and Elise Hu (Flawless) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hosted by Ben Schuman-Stoler, the Blinkist Podcast is a series of conversations that feel more like a focused chat than a formal interview. The premise is straightforward: take the expansive concepts from psychology, business strategy, and personal development and translate them into practical, personal terms. Each episode sits down with a thought leader or entrepreneur, not just to recap their ideas, but to unpack the real-world application behind them. You’ll hear how these principles actually function outside of a book or a theory, focusing on the lessons that can be directly applied to your own growth and daily challenges. The discussions naturally weave through topics like productivity systems, the psychology of decision-making, and the nuanced realities of building a business. This isn't about abstract inspiration; it's about finding actionable insight. By making big ideas personal, the podcast serves as a companion for anyone looking to cut through the noise and extract meaningful, usable knowledge from today's leading minds. Tune in for thoughtful dialogues that prioritize depth and clarity, offering a tangible takeaway from every conversation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Simplify
Podcast Episodes
NEW FORMAT EP1: Nobody Calls a Horse Ugly for Being Large [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:41
What if the fastest way out of the beauty standard is deciding you're a horse?This is the first of a new thing. On the weeks there's no interview, Caitlin and Ben take turns bringing each other one idea they found out in…
Joanna Walsh: Amateurs Made The Internet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:39
What did you make on the internet, back before anyone was paying you to?This time around, Ben takes the interview chair. He's talking with Joanna Walsh, writer, artist, arts activist, author of twelve books, several of t…
Nicola Guess: How To Tell What's BS in Wellness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:52
What if almost everything you're doing to "optimize" your health is, at best, doing nothing at all?Caitlin sits down with Dr. Nicola Guess—dietitian, Oxford nutrition scientist, and quite possibly the best BS detector in…
Christine Armstrong: AI is Messier Than You're Told [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:50
AI replacing our colleagues, feeling lonelier than ever despite enforced physical presense at the office. What is going on with the workplace?Caitlin sits down with Christine Armstrong, researcher, author, and founder of…
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff: There Is No Ideal Weight [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:50
Diets fail us all the time, and yet we usually blame ourselves. This physician says that neither the blame nor the failure are necessary.In the episode, Caitlin sits down with Dr. Yoni Freedhoff—Canadian physician, obesi…
Amy Morin: 50 Plays for Your Worst Day at Work [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:56
What if the thing standing between you and a better day at work isn't a new habit—but just knowing which play to run?Amy Morin is the psychotherapist behind the 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do series, which has…
Deb Caulet: Essential Leadership Skills for the Age of AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:36
What happens in the gap between updating your LinkedIn title and actually knowing how to do the job? Caitlin sits down with Deborah Caulet—leadership coach, former VP of People at Blinkist, and someone who's spent 15 yea…
Deb Caulet: Essential Leadership Skills for the Age of AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:56
What happens in the gap between updating your LinkedIn title and actually knowing how to do the job? Caitlin sits down with Deborah Caulet—leadership coach, former VP of People at Blinkist, and someone who's spent 15 yea…
Dr. Arielle Schwartz: Your Body Knows Before Your Brain Does [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:46
What if the part of you that knows what's actually wrong isn't your brain? This week on Simplify, Caitlin sits down with Dr. Arielle Schwartz—clinical psychologist, somatic therapy expert, and author of more books than s…