Should What's Right for You Be What's Right for Me? Episode 28 with Julianna Williams
Today we are joined by Erin’s cousin, the lovely Julianna Williams, who was adopted from Brazil along with her brother by Erin’s aunt when she was 11 years old. After talking about her experience being raised in a white family, Julianna shares how her adopted mom always encouraged her to embrace her heritage and made her feel part of the family from the day one.
The two talk about the fact that some people think it is okay to comment on others’ bodies, how such remarks (whether “good” or “bad”) can impact your body image, and why measuring individuals by the beauty standards of their ethnicity is problematic. On the topic of living up to other people’s expectations, Julianna gets into her frustrations at being pressured to move onto the “next” phase of her life when she is not ready to do so, and Erin shares some words of wisdom about each of us knowing what the right timeline looks like for us. Tuning in, listeners will also hear them discuss the dangerous dynamic that social media introduces to growing up, white privilege, inclusivity, facial hair, veganism and the importance of putting up healthy boundaries.
Our email this week (42:08) is about why the texture of some natural products changes depending on the season.
Call Outs from the Episode:
Key Points From This Episode:
- Erin recalls when Julianna and her brother August came into their family.
- The experience of being welcomed into a white family as a Brazilian girl.
- Julianna shares how she became more aware of cultural differences as she got older.
- Being raised with her mom, who taught her to embrace her Brazilian cultural heritage.
- Having the self-confidence to speak up when she didn’t understand what something meant.
- How body-image struggles often start with someone else saying something about your body.
- The stereotypes that exist around what a beautiful Brazilian woman looks like.
- The difficulty with social media being such a big part of our formative years.
- Julianna talks about keeping her social media accounts private and taking breaks from them.
- Dealing with other people’s expectations of where you should be at certain stages in life.
- The challenge of setting boundaries for the people closest to you.
- The value of asking people whether they want your opinion before offering it.
- Understanding that no one knows what the right timeline for your life is – but you!
- People’s tendency to put pressure on us when they don’t have the full picture.
- Julianna talks about people calling her “too skinny” when she was vegan and "too chubby" when she started eating meat again.
- The issues women have with their facial hair and how it makes them feel less feminine.
- Thoughts on white privilege, inclusivity, representation, and people’s intention of doing better.
- Find out why the texture of many natural products changes depending on the season.
Tweetables:
“I’m the type of person who is good at setting boundaries but I’m not good at doing that as much with family and close people because I don’t want to push anybody away.” — Julianna Williams [0:21:00]
“The challenge is, nobody knows what the right timeline is more than you do.” — @erinsfaces [0:24:25]
“It bugs me when somebody picks on you because of your body, because that is your body. You can work out and be fit but your fit might not be somebody else’s fit.” — Julianna Williams [0:32:45]
Come have fun with us!
Our private Facebook Group: Erin’s Faces Green Beauty Gathering
Instagram: @erinsfaces
Email: questions@beautyfullstories.com
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