Topic Guide
What Is Self advocacy?
Self advocacy is a subject covered in depth across 2 podcast episodes in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.
Key Concepts in Self advocacy
Perimenopause as a flaming hot fire
Glennon Doyle uses this metaphor, represented by a Venn diagram of menopause, fascism, and herself, to describe the intense and overwhelming experience of her symptoms, feeling like her mind, heart, body, and life are "on fire" (00:00, 02:02).
Shriveled apple doll
This is a self-portrait Glennon uses to convey the profound loss of moisture and vitality she feels, both physically and spiritually, during menopause. It represents a shrunken, dried version of her former self, a loss that extends to her soul (11:15).
Menopause as a culling
Spiritually, Glennon views menopause as a process where the "things that never should have had to tolerate are now officially intolerable." It empowers her to shed situations, people, and cultural engagements that are no longer right for her soul (34:49).
The do not care club
Founded by the 'Madame President,' this club offers a collective space for women to consciously decide what they will no longer care about. It's presented as a liberating response to the burdens placed on women, allowing them to reject societal expectations like wearing "stilts" or "hard pants" (51:13).
Skill of discomfort
This refers to the developed ability to comfortably make requests or engage in actions that most people find intimidating or fear rejection from. The episode presents it as a critical skill for overcoming inhibitions and unlocking greater personal and professional opportunities.
Value expansion
This concept describes the process of increasing one's overall worth and potential, which Lewis Howes states is achieved through improving "skill sets," delivering concrete "results," and effectively building one's "personal brand" or the perceived value by others.
What Experts Say About Self advocacy
- 1.Perimenopause and menopause symptoms are often extreme and debilitating, going beyond common understanding, as Glennon describes her mind as a "beehive" and skin as a "colony of fire ants with tiny daggers" at night (03:07).
- 2.The medical system is failing women in midlife, with "75% of women never get any treatment at all" for their symptoms (17:26).
- 3.Many doctors are uneducated about menopause, as "only one-third of residency programs in OBGYN" have standardized menopause training despite it affecting half the population for a third of their lives (37:51).
- 4.Societal values play a role, as culture values pregnant women but disregards menopausal women, viewing them as "becoming useless" (26:39).
- 5.The "Do Not Care Club" offers a spiritual culling, helping women refuse to tolerate things that are no longer right for their souls, like wearing "stilts" or "hard pants" (53:13).
- 6.Women often get menopause information from each other, not doctors, because 75% receive no treatment, leading to a conflation of "normal with acceptable" suffering (38:53).