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

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Podcast Episodes
Amy Key: Romance Isn't Everything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:57
In 1971, Joni Mitchell released Blue, an album teeming with stories of a life shaped by romance, desire, longing, and the default path of sharing life with another person. The ideal might persist to this day, but what ha…
Amy Key: Romance Isn't Everything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:56
In 1971, Joni Mitchell released Blue, an album teeming with stories of a life shaped by romance, desire, longing, and the default path of sharing life with another person. The ideal might persist to this day, but what ha…
Steven Petrow: Get Old With Grace [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:43
We might say that “age is just a number,” but if we're really honest with ourselves, a lot of us still think of “old” people as stubborn hoarders who eat dinner (too) early and are forever talking about their aches and p…
Katherine Morgan Schafler: Perfectionism is a Gift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:31
What do people mean when they say, 'I'm a perfectionist'? The colloquial and widespread opinion would sound like this: A perfectionist is someone who desires everything to be perfect at all times and becomes upset when t…
Katherine Morgan Schafler: Perfectionism is a Gift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:31
What do people mean when they say, 'I'm a perfectionist'? The colloquial and widespread opinion would sound like this: A perfectionist is someone who desires everything to be perfect at all times and becomes upset when t…
Minaa B: Heal Through Connection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:19
When we experience a traumatic event or decide to pursue healing, what often follows is the tendency to isolate and hide from the world. Shame, exclusion, and the feeling that no one understands remain intertwined with t…
Minaa B: Heal Through Connection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:19
When we experience a traumatic event or decide to pursue healing, what often follows is the tendency to isolate and hide from the world. Shame, exclusion, and the feeling that no one understands remain intertwined with t…