August 20, 2025 • 38 mins
This week on Locatora Radio, Diosa and Mala discuss how the wellness industrial complex, self-help genres, and capitalism package and sell us a "better" version of ourselves. Women face the pressure to always be optimizing: time, money, and even hobbies! In this episode, Diosa and Mala discuss how easy it is to slip into over consuming as a means to find community, identity and belonging. The duo also review their personal reinventions and how they try to keep it sustainable!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So Yosa, I'm thinking of reinventing my entire style, my
entire life, my entire vibe.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
So are you gonna do a ton of shopping now?
Is that what that means?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I mean, basically, Yeah, that's what that means. I'm reinventing myself.
So that means I'm buying stuff of course, obviously, Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
La la, I'm Theosa and I'm Mala. Today we're talking
about reinvention and what that means for us as individuals
and as people seeking community.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I think reinvention has a lot of different connotations, different applications.
I think it appears in a lot of different modalities
in our lives, and I think primarily especially if you
watch commercials, if you listen to the radio, if you're
on social media. I think reinvention as a concept is
often packaged as a process by which you can buy
(00:56):
more things. You replace the things you have with more
product that help you to feel like you're starting a new,
starting fresh, giving yourself and your life a facelift. But
it requires purchasing.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah, I think that there is this pressure to buy
something new to fix yourself in some ways, and I
think that that's tied of course, to capitalism, to over
consuming everything, and also this really deep seated feeling that
if I buy this thing, like I will be better.
(01:32):
I will be better, my life will be better, everything
around me will get better if I only buy this product.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, I'm going to feel better, I'm going to be happier,
I'm going to look better, I'll be healthier, I'm going
to live longer if I buy this line of supplements
for only fifty nine to ninety nine per month. And
I think that, especially us having grown up in the
nineties and the early two thousands, I feel like the
infomercial was such a big heart of television and of commercials,
(02:03):
and I think that across industries, whether it's fashion, whether
it's like home decor jewelry again, like nutrition, workout stuff.
I feel like that word reinvention, new life, new body,
new you was such a big part of marketing and
how you got sold a dream in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Absolutely you're sold. It's like you're being sold yourself back
to you, but like the better version of you, the
best version, the version that bought this thing, this item,
this beauty product, this slim fast Like I'm thinking about
that as soon as you said nineties and infomercials. I'm
thinking about the slim Fast product, which was this diet
(02:45):
drink that was a supplement for food, Like instead of
having a meal, you're going to drink a slim Fast
and you're going to get slim fast, right. And so
if you have all of these different things, you on
the other side of it is going to be the
best you. And I think that that is one a
really genius but can be nefarious marketing ploy. But also
(03:08):
I think one we're seeing it in a new way
now via social media, via influencers, via TikTok shop, where
there is this pressure to like, get this deal, get
this shop, like buy it right now because it's only
on sale for the next twenty four hours on TikTok shop, right, Yeah,
(03:29):
And that is that energy I feel now on social
media where a lot of the times you're scrolling and
you're not even seeing your real life friends anymore, you're
seeing an influencer pushing a product on you.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yes, and I think it's baked into the you know,
follow me on my skincare journey. Here are the twelve
products that I use, and here is my code that
you can use to help me get paid while you
become the most beautiful version of yourself. And I think
it's it's tough because people we do need products, we
(04:01):
need stuff, you know. And it's not that everything is
a scam right as a ploy or is useless. But
I think what we're talking about is like this very
real concept of refreshing yourself, reinventing yourself that I think
we can do on our own with the tools and
the resources that we have already available to us in
(04:22):
a lot of ways. But I think that we're sort
of sometimes we're led to believe that instead of doing
maybe the inner work, the inner personal work, the at homework,
that we look to other sources, you know. And so
I think sometimes like, well, maybe your skincare doesn't need
(04:43):
like the serums and the creams, the fancy creams and lotions.
Maybe you need to drink more water, you know, Maybe
you need to like put some sunblock on right, get
some sleep, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And also what does it mean if you don't have
access to healthy fresh foods? Yes, also that this skincare
products that you use might not actually be as helpful
for you if you don't have access to healthy foods,
to healthcare, those things are more important than the skincare products, right,
And so when we're thinking about wellness and lifestyle, like
(05:15):
the basics that we need that many of us don't
have is access to healthy food, clean water and healthcare, yeah,
and clean air. And we are led to believe, right
that if we buy this product, the best version of
ourselves is on the other side of it. And I
see that a lot with like TikTok and like hobbies
(05:37):
and typic clear the examples I have are what we
would consider like hobbies that women do. And I don't
want it to feel like I'm just singling out women.
I know that men do this in their own way
and we can Another episode will be about like right
wing men and fitness and like the rabbit hole that
they got down. But for the sake of today and
her audience, I'm thinking about like the Pilates princess and
(06:01):
how that became, Like this term that was coined, and
what did it mean to be a Pilates princess? It
was It's an image of a woman who looks a
certain way. She's probably thin, she's probably white, she has
all of the gear to be a Pilates princess. The
really cute outfits and she goes and does pilates at
(06:22):
five am, right, and there's nothing wrong with that. I
love that if that's part of your lifestyle, your wellness routine.
Love that for you. That's amazing. But it's the way
that I think social media and us as consumers have
coined everything, like everything is an era, everything has like
a name, and it's like if you fall under this identity,
(06:44):
then you like belong And I think that that's where
like I feel that as a society, we're like all
itching to belong to something, and so we fall under
these like if we categorize ourselves really well, whether you're
a Pilates princess or in your runner era you're doing
your hot girl walks, right, what have you?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You're building a dumpy yes.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
And where I feel like the consumerism piece ties in
is that you are then like buying all the things
to achieve the image of the Pilates princess, of the
runner of the tennis girl, you know, yeah, absolutely, And
that's where I feel the overconsumption loops in with the
reinvention piece, Like you're trying something new, so you're going
(07:27):
to reinvent yourself and you're going to be this new
person who does pilates. But in order to achieve that,
you have to like buy everything.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You have to buy every all the accessories.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
All the accessories.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
You are Barbie, this is the dream house. You have
to get all the pieces and the parts.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
When really like put your t shirt on and your
leggings on and go do pilates.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
You don't need it yet, right, even when in our
podcasting courses we tell our students, don't go and buy
tons of equipment.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Start with what you have.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Start with your phone, start with your computer, Start with
the free software that comes with your phone and your computer,
or use this free software or this you know, low
cost software. Because I think that every new hobby, you know,
we go through our honeymoon phase and then we maybe
sometimes fall off and then that stuff starts to collect dust,
(08:18):
it ends up in the garage. Yeah, and we've spent
all this money and it's not actually part of our lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah. Yeah, And I see. I feel like I've seen
on social media folks say, well, if I buy the thing,
it's going to make me do it because I already
invested the money in it. So I have to I
have to run because I bought the really expensive running shoes.
But I don't know if that's something we should be
practicing on like a community wide level, you know, like
(08:45):
buying all the things and then hoping that we do it. Yeah,
because I think that's where the question is, like, well,
why do you want to do it? Is it because
everyone around you is doing it, which is also okay?
But is it because you feel that the best version
of you is on the other side of that purchase
and that identity.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You're gonna You're gonna find your friends, you're going to
find your romantic partner, You're going to find maybe relief
from your depression, you're going to find relief from your anxiety.
And I think it goes back to this idea of accessibility,
like are there accessible third spaces that you don't have.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
To pay like a cover fee?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, or a ticket to get to enter and meet
people in a way, sometimes the products are like the
cover fee, Yeah, they're the ticket, they're the cost of entry.
And that's been a big conversation is we don't have
third spaces. You know, parks maybe if you have like
(09:43):
nice parks in your local community, but in the United States,
everything is so privatized.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yes, that it makes sense that.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We've come to this place that even community belonging exercise
comes at a at a cost cost, at a high cost.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Look is We'll be right back, and we're back with
more of our episode. We're going to talk about our
own personal reinventions. We're going to talk about creative reinvention
and some of our favorite artists. But the consumerism piece,
the TikTok piece. I have noticed in the gym recently,
(10:21):
and I've noticed that all like the cute young girls
in their cute gym fits and their lashes, they all
seem to be doing this one exercise and that's the
hip thrust with the little foam cover. And I see
and it's like a very specific demographic, like I don't
see men doing it. I don't see older women doing it.
It's like the cute Jim gurlies. It's the fitness gurlies.
(10:43):
And I also see that exact workout on TikTok always
connected to how to build a shelf booty, how to
build a dumpy. Come with me to build a dumpy.
This is how I built my dumpy. And they're all
doing the same hip thrust exercise in the same cute
little gym fits and they all use those foam covers,
and then they're selling them online.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I see, Oh, so it's a specific foam cover that's
sold on TikTok and you see them use it at
that gym.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I see, okay, it covers the barbell.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Right to protect your to protect your hips. Yeah, and
so very useful, very smart, good exercise. But I see
a direct correlation between the workout videos the foam cover
on TikTok. And then I go to I'm a Planet
Fitness member, don't judge me. I don't care. They have
all the equipment I need. I go to Planet Fitness
and I see three cute Jim gurlies with the little
(11:37):
foam roller, all doing.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Hip thrust okay with the barbell.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And I think it's great, Like you learn, you're learning
the exercises that you need to achieve the results you want.
But I just see that direct to consumer marketing in
real time happening totally. It's fascinating to observe.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Can I share a humble brand?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Please, I can hip thrust one hundred and eighty five pounds.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Ooh girl, Yes, good do you have the foam cover?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I do not. Okay, I do not.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
How do you do it without?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Or well, I do have a foam cover that the
gym provides.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Oh that's nice.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, but I'm not taking my own.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah. Yeah, these girls are walking in with their own
little foam piece.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Girl. The strap game is strong.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Okay, I love it.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Congrats to you, Thank you so for you. The hip
thrust is that like a personal trainer is that like,
where did that work out come in for you?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah? I have been working with a personal trainer for
about a year and he is a man and he
works with runners, and so he has incorporated that into
my routine because it is a really good way to
touch all of the muscles in the glutes, which is
also good for running because when you're running, actually you're
(12:49):
not working your glutes. You think you are, but you're not.
You're hitting different parts of your muscles, but you need
your glutes because they're the strongest muscle. And so that's
why we incorporate it. But for me, we go through
different cycles. So we haven't done the hit. We just
left the hip thrust cycle and like I got to
my highest weight was one eighty five but that was
(13:10):
why we were using we were doing it. Yeah, but
there are you know women at my gym where they
come in with the cute little outfits, the one pieces,
the unitards. I love that so much. Me the gym,
I'm like, that's the one place I actually don't want
anyone looking at me. It's like I feel so vulnerable
at the gym that I go in t shirt, like
(13:30):
maybe some leggings, of course, leggings, but like I'm not,
I don't go. That's the one place I don't dress
up for. I do when I run, I do when
I play tennis. But the gym, there's something about just
being in a very masculine space where yes, I think
women of course need to take up space. But that's
the one place I'm like, nobody look at me, sure,
don't look at me.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Absolutely, I think that's so powerful. I have been heavily
influenced by Jim Talk, and I love the little unitards, leotards.
I love the little shorts with like the bunching in
the cracktrunch, a little scrunch, can't lie, can't help it.
I love a tight gym fit.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I love that for you.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And that's that's where I've been influenced because that style
I had not seen before, and then suddenly I saw
it all over TikTok, and then I was seeing it
at the Guyjones and at Ross and so I bought
up a ton of the ton of that stuff that
So you know, what I'm saying is like, I'm not
hating on the the girlies who are clearly getting their workouts.
(14:30):
They're not I don't see them working with personal trainers,
you know. And because especially in the summer, high school
students get to work out either for free or super
low cost. And so I know these girls are really
young because I hear them talking about like, oh, I
snitched on this girl because she was smoking in the bathroom,
but I don't care because she's ruining my life, so
why can't I ruin hers? Blah blah blah. And then
they're doing their hip thrust with their phone or alert,
(14:51):
you know what I mean. So I'm like, Okay, I
love you. I think it's fascinating. I'm just like making
the observation and making the observation.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Absolutely go anywhere, lokomotives.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of
our episode.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I think especially for women, there's this pressure to like
always optimize your time, and so I see that with
like the habit stacking. And none of these things are bad,
to be clear, but I think there's this pressure for
women to make the most of their everyday lives, and
so that's habit stacking. That's like the self help books,
(15:31):
and I think statistically women read more self help books
than men. And it's like we're always pressured to be
the best version of ourselves, to always work on ourselves.
And it's like, are we ever tired of working on ourselves?
Do we ever get tired? Like maybe go read some fiction,
(15:51):
you know, like maybe take a pause on the self
help because I just I feel like this pressure to
always be improving is not coming from inside. It's not inward.
It's this external like be the best version of you
so that you can make more money. Yes, it feels
like you're a cog in the machine.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I need to do more. I'm not doing enough. I
need to do better. I need to be prettier, I
need to be thinner. It never ends, And this is
not a new topic. I think that women feminists have
been pinpointing this like self help industrial complex for some time.
I think it comes under different umbrellas, Like it takes
different forms. It's self improvement, it's if you're not learning,
(16:34):
you're not growing. It's reinvention even with your home, you know.
And I think women also feel a lot of pressure
to have a beautiful home that's beautifully decorated, but that
is also like stylish and modern and up to date.
There is also a trend cycle, I think when it
(16:55):
even comes to interior decorating and now the average person's
home could be broadcasted for millions of people to see.
It's not only if you get selected to feature your
living room and better homes and gardens. It can be
for a huge audience on TikTok.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Right, yeah, or on YouTube like the home tours. That
was a really big thing in like the heyday of YouTube.
You know, the home tours, the room tours, all of it.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, and that's very expensive. Interior decorating is very expensive,
or it can be. And there's also this also cycle
of you know you I love thrifting. I still love thrifting.
And you go to a thrift store and you can see,
like when one person has donated a ton of stuff, right, like,
oh my gosh, all this glassware, yes, has definitely come
(17:46):
from one house, like all all this china has definitely
come from one place, And it could happen in a
lot of different ways. Maybe someone has passed away, maybe
someone has moved, maybe someone has just decided to revamp
and get rid of everything. We I think have talked
about like the inverse of that, which is the sort
of like hoarding that Latino families sometimes take place in
(18:08):
where we don't get rid of anything, we keep everything, Yes,
And we also, like you know, have our analysis of that,
and so it can be a good thing to give
your home a facelift and to get rid of things.
But then I start to ask myself, like, oh my god,
am I am I just filling landfills every time I
get rid of clothes? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Am I making space to buy more things? I think
about that every time I clean out my closet.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
The closet is a huge one. It's constant getting rid
of stuff, buying more stuff, getting rid of stuff, buying
more stuff. But we can't wear the same stuff all
the time.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah, It's that sustainability piece that I feel like is
really important in this conversation of like consumerism, and reinvention.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah, is reinvention sustainable?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Well, I think it depends the way we do it right,
Like if you're like, you don't need to actually buy
a bunch of things to reinvent yourself, right, you can
start small and like, using myself as an example, I
have been running now consistently for four years. It took
me four years to buy a garment. It's the watch
that all the runners use, and it's it's expensive. It's
(19:14):
about as expensive as an Apple Watch, depending on the
model you get. And I was like, no, my Apple
watch is working. Fine, I'm not going to buy the garment.
Even though all the runner girls have it, I'm not
doing it. Yeah, So it took me four years to
finally feel like, Okay, my watch stopped working, I'm going
to buy the garment. I'm glad I did. I'm glad
I bought it. It's been a great purchase. It's been
great for training. But I felt I had to put
(19:35):
limits on myself, and I think I'm just more a
little I try to be conscious of like, Okay, yes, self,
it's a really cute you don't eat all of them, like, yes,
like you want to buy a tennis racket start with
the twenty dollars one because what if you don't like
tennis in five months? You know? And I did, and
that's worked for me. And I constantly go through that
like okay, yes, but why do I want to buy
(19:56):
all the things? Is it because I want to find
belong in this? Is it because I feel like I'm
going to do it better? Like? What about it?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
You know?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Do what is it signaling to me if I buy this.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And buying as I need things versus buying as I
want things, you know, buying out of necessity instead of aspirations. Yes, right,
it's oh no, I now my life requires a new
piece of equipment, a new article of clothing to achieve
(20:28):
the task I'm trying to achieve and to meet the
goal that I'm already working on meeting.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Right, and I.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Think it's important for me too. I think about like,
there's no object that is going to motivate me to
do something right more than my own motivation. The garment
is not going to motivate me. Yes, the thing is
not going to motivate me.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
It's a thing. Yeah, you know, it.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Cannot encourage me. It can only help me. It can
only aid me, it's a tool. It's a tool.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, And I think there's some pop culture representations that
I wanted to like briefly discuss that when I was
thinking about this idea of reinvention, and it is definitely
more physicality aesthetic. And one of my favorite films that
documents a bit of reinvention is Princess Diaries.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Yes, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Yes, And I feel like growing up, those were the
types of reinventions we became familiar with or were taught
to us. Right, you reinvent by changing your hair, by
putting on makeup, changing your clothes. They are very physical
things that you can do to reinvent yourself. And of course,
like I was thinking of Clueless, yes right, p Britney Murphy,
(21:41):
but her character goes through a reinvention and og movie
A classic movie is Grease.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yes, yeah, Sandy, Sandy, she went from girl next door
to absolute battie vixen.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And it's in those films in particular, it's the reinvention
is pretty surface level. It's the makeover then changes the girl. Yeah,
and sometimes that can happen. And I think also growing up,
there was a lot of shows what not to wear,
even on the Today Show, they would do like makeovers
(22:17):
for people in the crowd. And I think that those
makeovers and those style halls, at least on camera, at
least in the episode or in the segment, it appeared
to make a difference for the person at the center
of the makeover. They seemed happy about what they saw
in the mirror. And that's not a bad thing. That's
(22:38):
a good thing, you know, the look good, feel good concept, right,
But sometimes that's not always an option for people, you know,
and an extreme makeover like that is professional stylists, professional
makeup artists, a professional hairdresser, someone who's pulling clothes that
are going to like look good on your skin tone
(23:00):
and look good on camera, And it's not necessarily something
that people are going to recreate on a daily basis
for themselves, you know. But sometimes that temporary fix can
be a boost. And I think that's also part of
this too, is like is it a big change to
(23:20):
your life and overall like change to the way you
feel about yourself or is it like a band aid
on a gunshot wound? Right? What are the deeper issues?
Do you have access to a dermatologist, you know, can
you afford like monthly visits to the hair salon, especially now,
you know, when all of those things can be so
expensive and the cost of living is such that I
(23:44):
don't know, it's interesting because we have like still tons
of consumerism in this space, but the cost of living
is also increasing constantly, So I know that I think
about that and struggle with that, Like how do I
justify the beauty purchase and the beauty treatments and the this,
that and the third when there's all these other things
(24:06):
going on? But I like them and they make me
feel nice, you know, but also can I really afford this?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Yeah? Yeah, And that's a real conversation to have with yourself,
you know, is a sustainable long term right, especially when
you get into hobby, like like I've bought so many
running shoes and they're expensive, but you run enough that
you have to switch them out, you know, and so like,
are you ready to make that commitment? You know, because
it's not just a one time thing some some of them,
some of the purchases are right, but some of them
(24:35):
are not. You have can you sustain it?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah? And that's so important too for like your health
and to prevent injury. Yes, Like you need the right
shoes to run as much as you're running. I mean
you're like about to run your second marathon in like
six months.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
You need the right shoes. It do you need the
right shoes or it just it can't happen.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
But that goes back to the shoes are a tool, Yeah,
to help you reach a goal.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yes. I think this is a good segue into like
the personal right, like how do once we have this
new version of ourselves, Like how do we sustain it?
And I think a really big piece of it is
like it's still you, Like it may be like something
that you worked on, but in order for it to
be sustainable, it has to be authentic. Because if it's
(25:20):
if it's phony, if it's not actually you, I don't
think that it's sustainable. And I think that that's part
of the reinvention. It's not that you're making a brand
new you. It's that you're working on things that are
getting you to another version of yourself, but it's still you,
deep in there.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
And I think another piece of this that we also
wanted to talk about is the artistic reinvention and how artists,
how songwriters, how recording artists, people like Madonna Beyonce, Miley Cyrus,
Tina Turner. I think throughout their careers have gone through
(25:57):
huge public and creative reinventions that it's a whole new sound,
it's a whole new look, it's a whole new vibe,
and so there's also a creative piece to it, and
then they like bring us along.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Cowboy Carter for example. Although Beyonce has always had her
country influence in her work and in her music, and
she's always shouted out Texas and Louisiana, Cowboy Carter was
like a really intentional, explicit, in your face, in a
beautiful way country album from Beyonce. And then the show
(26:35):
and the experience and the crowd everybody's following along in
that reinvention and in the look and wearing the cowboy
hats and the boots and the fringe and the denim
in ways that I don't think we saw at previous
Beyonce concerts.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Right, Okay, pushing on that is that part of for
us as fans also, we're falling into that consumerism oh totally.
You know, we're buying into it because like how many
of us are rewaring the cowboy boots, the hats, the
outfits that we bought for Renaissance or we bought for
(27:10):
Cowboy Carter. Yea, you know, there is still I feel
I feel like with concerts right now in particular and
not just with Beyonce, there's like themes for them now,
and so everyone is buying an outfit for them, And
I'm like, when did that happen? Because before it's like
you buy your you show up in your outfit for
your concert. Right, it's still a cute outfit. It's a
concert going outfit, right, maybe it's different than your regular wear.
(27:32):
But now some concerts are thematic and you have to
buy a look for them, you know, or you pull
pieces from your own wardrobe depending on like the what
the theme is. I don't have like cowboy boots. I
don't have fringe. That's just not a part of my
regular aesthetic. So I was like, I'm not buying it.
I'm not because I might not rewear it, right, But
I do think that there is this interesting piece to
(27:54):
what you're saying where the artist is doing a reinvention
and then the fan is like also into it, which
is again not a bad thing, but then there's this
push for like consume over consuming or just consuming.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yeah, art is a product, music is a product, film
is a product, podcaster products. And so Beyonce is a
business woman and she's crafting a product and then making
tons of merch and then launching a hole aesthetic like
that her entire fan base can buy into. I mean
(28:27):
at Rena's. We went to Renaissance. I went on Amazon
and bought an alien costume so that I could be
Alien Superstar. And when we got there, I bought the
silver cowboy hat to complete the look, and I wore
boots and for Cowboy Carter Well, I thrifted a denim jumpsuit.
I will say that I thrifted it, but I also
(28:48):
had purchased, like cowprint, a cowprint look for eedc So
I combined them. But I still had to buy things, yeah,
to fit the vibe and to fit the look that
I wanted to participate in. And so it's true it
is creative, but also marketing is creative. Commercials are creative,
Like absolutely, selling anything involves some level of creativity, and
(29:12):
so this is not separate from the consumerism at all.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
It's just another facet of its It goes into I
think also like wanting to belong because if you're the
only one not in the themed outfit.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Like what are you?
Speaker 2 (29:26):
What are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
What are you been doing here?
Speaker 2 (29:28):
You know? And this is not to say you have
to go out and buy the things, but I feel
like it's that feeling, right, that that anxiety of like, oh,
I'm not dressed up like everybody else, so I have
to dress up like everybody else, you know, because everyone's
going to be in theme. It's like going to a
Halloween party and not being in a costume, you know
what I mean? Like you, it's part of belonging and
like wanting to be a part of it, of that experience,
(29:49):
and so it is so interconnected the buying of the
things and wanting to belong.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Oh, I know if I would have if I showed
up to Cowboy Carter on theme, I would have not
had as much fun. I know myself. I want to participate.
I want the compliments on the look, and I got
I got a.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Lot of them alone.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Amazing, you look so good, and you were giving Selena
at the Beyonce concert.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Selena at the Rodeo.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yeah, yes, precisely.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
And so it's fun and you know, we are we
love to do our analysis, but we're still part We
give the analysis because we participate absolutely, so we know
how it works because we are you know, we get
sold a bill of goods and we buy the stuff,
you know, and we wear it once and then we
(30:39):
never wear it again. I mean, it happens. And so
we're not like.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Above it, no, not above it.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
We're not beyond it. No.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And I think like there is this feeling, this idea
of reinvention, right it also comes from if you feel
like you're stuck in a rut. Yeah, you feel like
I'm bored. I'm bored of things in my life right now.
I'm bored with my look. I'm bored with my style.
I've outgrown it. That's a part of the wanting to
(31:09):
reinvent yourself is you feel like you've outgrown this version
of yourself. And that is not a problem. There's nothing
wrong with that. And so I when thinking about this episode,
I was thinking like, Okay, well we're the moments that
I felt like I was in a rut and I
felt like I'm gonna grow in some way. I need
to push myself in some way. And that was for
me definitely twenty twenty one. That was a year I
(31:29):
started running seriously. That was the year I applied to
grad school, and it was also during my Sadden return,
and so I feel like those were the years that
I like, really like it wasn't a reinvention necessarily, but
I in some ways it was. And in some ways
I feel like it was like tapping into parts of
me that were already there, but bringing them to the
surface and like letting them actually out in the wild,
(31:52):
setting them free.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Yeah, it's like allowing for that that I don't know.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
I don't want to say doper cooler better, but there.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Is just an elevated version of ourselves, yeah, inside waiting
waiting to come out.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, And I think that's all we're getting at here.
It's like those things are already in you. You don't
need the product for it. But I think often we're
sold that we need the product in order to get
that version of ourselves, but that might already be in us.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Absolutely, and both of us.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Having you finishing your grad school journey, I'm still in
my grad school journey, and even a degree being a
type of product that we consume because they cost money
so expensive, they're so expensive, and not just the tuition,
but like the getting to school, the time at school
that you're not working and making money, you know, whatever
(32:47):
computers you need to buy for school and gear and books,
and I mean, it all costs money, and it's good
for us.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Education is good for us.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Education is one of those things that once you have it,
they can't take it away from you, right, That's what
our parents tell us. But to get it, to acquire
it can be so expensive. It's in the United States,
you know, we don't have universal free education, not even
in our public universities. Right, Our public universities are just
(33:18):
as expensive as private universities. And this goes back to accessibility.
This goes back to the question of capitalism and whether
or not there is any ethical consumption under capitalism, and
even something that should be as universal a human right
(33:39):
as education, as learning is not accessible to so many
and has such a big price tag on it, just
like third spaces, right, So inaccessible there is a cost
of entry higher ed there's a cost of entry. And
those countries, like I think the Cuban example is always
(34:00):
brought up about, uh, like the medical school system in
Cuba and how it's relatively accessible, right, But then look
at the state that Cuba is in and the way
the United States in particular has punished Cuba right for
attempting some sort of an egalitarian economic model. It's so
against our values as a country that we put an
(34:24):
embargo on them and and and have really uh put
a chokehold on Cuba economically. Right. But but what's one
of their their ethics is well, education should be free,
you know, and it's so so antithetical to what we
believe as Americans. So yeah, it's it's hard, guys, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
I'm loving the like juxtaposition of Mala's like American history,
American studies like degree showing and then her going It's hard, guys.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's hard, guys.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
It's hard.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That's why people listen to this podcast because we can
do both.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yes, we can do both.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
We can do both. On the reinvention piece, I will
say that one of my little pieces of reinvention came
along with moving into my own place, going to grad school,
but also getting rid of my car. I think this
is one of the only areas in my life where
I have seen reinvention where it had to do with
getting rid of something that cost money. And I have
(35:27):
started taking public transportation, taking the metro, taking the bus.
Because of school, I get to ride for free, and
it's one of the only areas that I can pinpoint
that has required less consumption. That piece and the way
that I move around the world and the way that
I get around. I do take ubers. Of course, sometimes
(35:47):
public transpot is not fast enough. But I do think
that there's ways that we can reinvent ourselves by letting go,
by shedding, by simplifying, by minimizing. It doesn't all have
to be consumption, it doesn't all have to cost money.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
I've been feeling that way about my own closet because
I feel like this year I've been in like a
style rat where I'm like, I don't know what to wear,
but I have a closet full of things, and I'm like, okay,
I'm actually just not getting creative enough, And I'm like,
I don't need to buy anything because I actually have
a lot of things. How do I style it differently?
I rewar things all the time, but when we come
to record, I'm like, well, there's a camera, let me
(36:23):
wear something different, even if it's in my own closet.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
So, also getting comfortable with like be seen in the
same shit, like this was not a thing ten years ago,
and this is just me talking to myself, like, be
comfortable wearing the same thing because it's one it's cute,
two you like it, and three like who cares.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah, we're traumatized. We're traumatized by the Lizzie McGuire movie.
Lizzy McGuire, you're an outfit repeater.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I know. That's when everything's changed.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Ye, that moment, that moment, let it go, y'all.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Okay, I've decided that I am going to embrace being
a cartoon character and just like having outfits that are
just like, yeah, that's my theosa outfit. I'm just gonna
wear that. It's your look, it's my look, it's my look. Yeah,
and so yeah, I agree. I think sometimes it's already
in us, the thing that we're looking for, and it
just needs to be brought to the surface. Whether that
(37:11):
be a physical thing like surging through your closet and
getting creative, whether that be tapping into something that you
loved but forgot about, you know, whether that be a
hobby rereading a book from childhood. I've been like pushing
our book club members to do that because we have
a summer book challenge. I'm like, reread a book from
when you were a kid, and like tell us about it,
(37:32):
And so I feel like there are pieces of reinvention,
like you said, that don't require consumption. So just some
food for thought we are offering to do with that
what you will are offering to you, dear listener.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Well, thank you for listening. This has been another episode
of Lookout Radio.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
We'll catch you next time I see. Look At Radio
is executive produced by Viosa FM and Mala Munios.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
Stephanie Franco is our producer.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Story editing by me viosa.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Creative direction by Me Mala.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Look At Radio is a part of iHeartRadio's Michael Dura
podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
You can listen to Lokata Radio on the iHeartRadio app
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Leave us a review and share with your prima or
share with your homegirl.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
And thank you to our local motives, to our listeners
for tuning in each and every week.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Besitos look Alumi
So Yosa, I'm thinking of reinventing my entire style, my
entire life, my entire vibe.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
So are you gonna do a ton of shopping now?
Is that what that means?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I mean, basically, Yeah, that's what that means. I'm reinventing myself.
So that means I'm buying stuff of course, obviously, Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
La la, I'm Theosa and I'm Mala. Today we're talking
about reinvention and what that means for us as individuals
and as people seeking community.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I think reinvention has a lot of different connotations, different applications.
I think it appears in a lot of different modalities
in our lives, and I think primarily especially if you
watch commercials, if you listen to the radio, if you're
on social media. I think reinvention as a concept is
often packaged as a process by which you can buy
(00:56):
more things. You replace the things you have with more
product that help you to feel like you're starting a new,
starting fresh, giving yourself and your life a facelift. But
it requires purchasing.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah, I think that there is this pressure to buy
something new to fix yourself in some ways, and I
think that that's tied of course, to capitalism, to over
consuming everything, and also this really deep seated feeling that
if I buy this thing, like I will be better.
(01:32):
I will be better, my life will be better, everything
around me will get better if I only buy this product.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, I'm going to feel better, I'm going to be happier,
I'm going to look better, I'll be healthier, I'm going
to live longer if I buy this line of supplements
for only fifty nine to ninety nine per month. And
I think that, especially us having grown up in the
nineties and the early two thousands, I feel like the
infomercial was such a big heart of television and of commercials,
(02:03):
and I think that across industries, whether it's fashion, whether
it's like home decor jewelry again, like nutrition, workout stuff.
I feel like that word reinvention, new life, new body,
new you was such a big part of marketing and
how you got sold a dream in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Absolutely you're sold. It's like you're being sold yourself back
to you, but like the better version of you, the
best version, the version that bought this thing, this item,
this beauty product, this slim fast Like I'm thinking about
that as soon as you said nineties and infomercials. I'm
thinking about the slim Fast product, which was this diet
(02:45):
drink that was a supplement for food, Like instead of
having a meal, you're going to drink a slim Fast
and you're going to get slim fast, right. And so
if you have all of these different things, you on
the other side of it is going to be the
best you. And I think that that is one a
really genius but can be nefarious marketing ploy. But also
(03:08):
I think one we're seeing it in a new way
now via social media, via influencers, via TikTok shop, where
there is this pressure to like, get this deal, get
this shop, like buy it right now because it's only
on sale for the next twenty four hours on TikTok shop, right, Yeah,
(03:29):
And that is that energy I feel now on social
media where a lot of the times you're scrolling and
you're not even seeing your real life friends anymore, you're
seeing an influencer pushing a product on you.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Yes, and I think it's baked into the you know,
follow me on my skincare journey. Here are the twelve
products that I use, and here is my code that
you can use to help me get paid while you
become the most beautiful version of yourself. And I think
it's it's tough because people we do need products, we
(04:01):
need stuff, you know. And it's not that everything is
a scam right as a ploy or is useless. But
I think what we're talking about is like this very
real concept of refreshing yourself, reinventing yourself that I think
we can do on our own with the tools and
the resources that we have already available to us in
(04:22):
a lot of ways. But I think that we're sort
of sometimes we're led to believe that instead of doing
maybe the inner work, the inner personal work, the at homework,
that we look to other sources, you know. And so
I think sometimes like, well, maybe your skincare doesn't need
(04:43):
like the serums and the creams, the fancy creams and lotions.
Maybe you need to drink more water, you know, Maybe
you need to like put some sunblock on right, get
some sleep, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
And also what does it mean if you don't have
access to healthy fresh foods? Yes, also that this skincare
products that you use might not actually be as helpful
for you if you don't have access to healthy foods,
to healthcare, those things are more important than the skincare products, right,
And so when we're thinking about wellness and lifestyle, like
(05:15):
the basics that we need that many of us don't
have is access to healthy food, clean water and healthcare, yeah,
and clean air. And we are led to believe, right
that if we buy this product, the best version of
ourselves is on the other side of it. And I
see that a lot with like TikTok and like hobbies
(05:37):
and typic clear the examples I have are what we
would consider like hobbies that women do. And I don't
want it to feel like I'm just singling out women.
I know that men do this in their own way
and we can Another episode will be about like right
wing men and fitness and like the rabbit hole that
they got down. But for the sake of today and
her audience, I'm thinking about like the Pilates princess and
(06:01):
how that became, Like this term that was coined, and
what did it mean to be a Pilates princess? It
was It's an image of a woman who looks a
certain way. She's probably thin, she's probably white, she has
all of the gear to be a Pilates princess. The
really cute outfits and she goes and does pilates at
(06:22):
five am, right, and there's nothing wrong with that. I
love that if that's part of your lifestyle, your wellness routine.
Love that for you. That's amazing. But it's the way
that I think social media and us as consumers have
coined everything, like everything is an era, everything has like
a name, and it's like if you fall under this identity,
(06:44):
then you like belong And I think that that's where
like I feel that as a society, we're like all
itching to belong to something, and so we fall under
these like if we categorize ourselves really well, whether you're
a Pilates princess or in your runner era you're doing
your hot girl walks, right, what have you?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
You're building a dumpy yes.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
And where I feel like the consumerism piece ties in
is that you are then like buying all the things
to achieve the image of the Pilates princess, of the
runner of the tennis girl, you know, yeah, absolutely, And
that's where I feel the overconsumption loops in with the
reinvention piece, Like you're trying something new, so you're going
(07:27):
to reinvent yourself and you're going to be this new
person who does pilates. But in order to achieve that,
you have to like buy everything.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You have to buy every all the accessories.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
All the accessories.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
You are Barbie, this is the dream house. You have
to get all the pieces and the parts.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
When really like put your t shirt on and your
leggings on and go do pilates.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
You don't need it yet, right, even when in our
podcasting courses we tell our students, don't go and buy
tons of equipment.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Start with what you have.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Start with your phone, start with your computer, Start with
the free software that comes with your phone and your computer,
or use this free software or this you know, low
cost software. Because I think that every new hobby, you know,
we go through our honeymoon phase and then we maybe
sometimes fall off and then that stuff starts to collect dust,
(08:18):
it ends up in the garage. Yeah, and we've spent
all this money and it's not actually part of our lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yeah. Yeah, And I see. I feel like I've seen
on social media folks say, well, if I buy the thing,
it's going to make me do it because I already
invested the money in it. So I have to I
have to run because I bought the really expensive running shoes.
But I don't know if that's something we should be
practicing on like a community wide level, you know, like
(08:45):
buying all the things and then hoping that we do it. Yeah,
because I think that's where the question is, like, well,
why do you want to do it? Is it because
everyone around you is doing it, which is also okay?
But is it because you feel that the best version
of you is on the other side of that purchase
and that identity.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
You're gonna You're gonna find your friends, you're going to
find your romantic partner, You're going to find maybe relief
from your depression, you're going to find relief from your anxiety.
And I think it goes back to this idea of accessibility,
like are there accessible third spaces that you don't have.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
To pay like a cover fee?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, or a ticket to get to enter and meet
people in a way, sometimes the products are like the
cover fee, Yeah, they're the ticket, they're the cost of entry.
And that's been a big conversation is we don't have
third spaces. You know, parks maybe if you have like
(09:43):
nice parks in your local community, but in the United States,
everything is so privatized.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yes, that it makes sense that.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We've come to this place that even community belonging exercise
comes at a at a cost cost, at a high cost.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Look is We'll be right back, and we're back with
more of our episode. We're going to talk about our
own personal reinventions. We're going to talk about creative reinvention
and some of our favorite artists. But the consumerism piece,
the TikTok piece. I have noticed in the gym recently,
(10:21):
and I've noticed that all like the cute young girls
in their cute gym fits and their lashes, they all
seem to be doing this one exercise and that's the
hip thrust with the little foam cover. And I see
and it's like a very specific demographic, like I don't
see men doing it. I don't see older women doing it.
It's like the cute Jim gurlies. It's the fitness gurlies.
(10:43):
And I also see that exact workout on TikTok always
connected to how to build a shelf booty, how to
build a dumpy. Come with me to build a dumpy.
This is how I built my dumpy. And they're all
doing the same hip thrust exercise in the same cute
little gym fits and they all use those foam covers,
and then they're selling them online.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I see, Oh, so it's a specific foam cover that's
sold on TikTok and you see them use it at
that gym.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
I see, okay, it covers the barbell.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Right to protect your to protect your hips. Yeah, and
so very useful, very smart, good exercise. But I see
a direct correlation between the workout videos the foam cover
on TikTok. And then I go to I'm a Planet
Fitness member, don't judge me. I don't care. They have
all the equipment I need. I go to Planet Fitness
and I see three cute Jim gurlies with the little
(11:37):
foam roller, all doing.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Hip thrust okay with the barbell.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And I think it's great, Like you learn, you're learning
the exercises that you need to achieve the results you want.
But I just see that direct to consumer marketing in
real time happening totally. It's fascinating to observe.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Can I share a humble brand?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Please, I can hip thrust one hundred and eighty five pounds.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Ooh girl, Yes, good do you have the foam cover?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I do not. Okay, I do not.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
How do you do it without?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Or well, I do have a foam cover that the
gym provides.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Oh that's nice.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yeah, but I'm not taking my own.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah. Yeah, these girls are walking in with their own
little foam piece.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Girl. The strap game is strong.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Okay, I love it.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Congrats to you, Thank you so for you. The hip
thrust is that like a personal trainer is that like,
where did that work out come in for you?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah? I have been working with a personal trainer for
about a year and he is a man and he
works with runners, and so he has incorporated that into
my routine because it is a really good way to
touch all of the muscles in the glutes, which is
also good for running because when you're running, actually you're
(12:49):
not working your glutes. You think you are, but you're not.
You're hitting different parts of your muscles, but you need
your glutes because they're the strongest muscle. And so that's
why we incorporate it. But for me, we go through
different cycles. So we haven't done the hit. We just
left the hip thrust cycle and like I got to
my highest weight was one eighty five but that was
(13:10):
why we were using we were doing it. Yeah, but
there are you know women at my gym where they
come in with the cute little outfits, the one pieces,
the unitards. I love that so much. Me the gym,
I'm like, that's the one place I actually don't want
anyone looking at me. It's like I feel so vulnerable
at the gym that I go in t shirt, like
(13:30):
maybe some leggings, of course, leggings, but like I'm not,
I don't go. That's the one place I don't dress
up for. I do when I run, I do when
I play tennis. But the gym, there's something about just
being in a very masculine space where yes, I think
women of course need to take up space. But that's
the one place I'm like, nobody look at me, sure,
don't look at me.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Absolutely, I think that's so powerful. I have been heavily
influenced by Jim Talk, and I love the little unitards, leotards.
I love the little shorts with like the bunching in
the cracktrunch, a little scrunch, can't lie, can't help it.
I love a tight gym fit.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I love that for you.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
And that's that's where I've been influenced because that style
I had not seen before, and then suddenly I saw
it all over TikTok, and then I was seeing it
at the Guyjones and at Ross and so I bought
up a ton of the ton of that stuff that
So you know, what I'm saying is like, I'm not
hating on the the girlies who are clearly getting their workouts.
(14:30):
They're not I don't see them working with personal trainers,
you know. And because especially in the summer, high school
students get to work out either for free or super
low cost. And so I know these girls are really
young because I hear them talking about like, oh, I
snitched on this girl because she was smoking in the bathroom,
but I don't care because she's ruining my life, so
why can't I ruin hers? Blah blah blah. And then
they're doing their hip thrust with their phone or alert,
(14:51):
you know what I mean. So I'm like, Okay, I
love you. I think it's fascinating. I'm just like making
the observation and making the observation.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Absolutely go anywhere, lokomotives.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
We'll be right back, and we're back with more of
our episode.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
I think especially for women, there's this pressure to like
always optimize your time, and so I see that with
like the habit stacking. And none of these things are bad,
to be clear, but I think there's this pressure for
women to make the most of their everyday lives, and
so that's habit stacking. That's like the self help books,
(15:31):
and I think statistically women read more self help books
than men. And it's like we're always pressured to be
the best version of ourselves, to always work on ourselves.
And it's like, are we ever tired of working on ourselves?
Do we ever get tired? Like maybe go read some fiction,
(15:51):
you know, like maybe take a pause on the self
help because I just I feel like this pressure to
always be improving is not coming from inside. It's not inward.
It's this external like be the best version of you
so that you can make more money. Yes, it feels
like you're a cog in the machine.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
I need to do more. I'm not doing enough. I
need to do better. I need to be prettier, I
need to be thinner. It never ends, And this is
not a new topic. I think that women feminists have
been pinpointing this like self help industrial complex for some time.
I think it comes under different umbrellas, Like it takes
different forms. It's self improvement, it's if you're not learning,
(16:34):
you're not growing. It's reinvention even with your home, you know.
And I think women also feel a lot of pressure
to have a beautiful home that's beautifully decorated, but that
is also like stylish and modern and up to date.
There is also a trend cycle, I think when it
(16:55):
even comes to interior decorating and now the average person's
home could be broadcasted for millions of people to see.
It's not only if you get selected to feature your
living room and better homes and gardens. It can be
for a huge audience on TikTok.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Right, yeah, or on YouTube like the home tours. That
was a really big thing in like the heyday of YouTube.
You know, the home tours, the room tours, all of it.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, and that's very expensive. Interior decorating is very expensive,
or it can be. And there's also this also cycle
of you know you I love thrifting. I still love thrifting.
And you go to a thrift store and you can see,
like when one person has donated a ton of stuff, right, like,
oh my gosh, all this glassware, yes, has definitely come
(17:46):
from one house, like all all this china has definitely
come from one place, And it could happen in a
lot of different ways. Maybe someone has passed away, maybe
someone has moved, maybe someone has just decided to revamp
and get rid of everything. We I think have talked
about like the inverse of that, which is the sort
of like hoarding that Latino families sometimes take place in
(18:08):
where we don't get rid of anything, we keep everything, Yes,
And we also, like you know, have our analysis of that,
and so it can be a good thing to give
your home a facelift and to get rid of things.
But then I start to ask myself, like, oh my god,
am I am I just filling landfills every time I
get rid of clothes? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Am I making space to buy more things? I think
about that every time I clean out my closet.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
The closet is a huge one. It's constant getting rid
of stuff, buying more stuff, getting rid of stuff, buying
more stuff. But we can't wear the same stuff all
the time.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah, It's that sustainability piece that I feel like is
really important in this conversation of like consumerism, and reinvention.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Yeah, is reinvention sustainable?
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Well, I think it depends the way we do it right,
Like if you're like, you don't need to actually buy
a bunch of things to reinvent yourself, right, you can
start small and like, using myself as an example, I
have been running now consistently for four years. It took
me four years to buy a garment. It's the watch
that all the runners use, and it's it's expensive. It's
(19:14):
about as expensive as an Apple Watch, depending on the
model you get. And I was like, no, my Apple
watch is working. Fine, I'm not going to buy the garment.
Even though all the runner girls have it, I'm not
doing it. Yeah, So it took me four years to
finally feel like, Okay, my watch stopped working, I'm going
to buy the garment. I'm glad I did. I'm glad
I bought it. It's been a great purchase. It's been
great for training. But I felt I had to put
(19:35):
limits on myself, and I think I'm just more a
little I try to be conscious of like, Okay, yes, self,
it's a really cute you don't eat all of them, like, yes,
like you want to buy a tennis racket start with
the twenty dollars one because what if you don't like
tennis in five months? You know? And I did, and
that's worked for me. And I constantly go through that
like okay, yes, but why do I want to buy
(19:56):
all the things? Is it because I want to find
belong in this? Is it because I feel like I'm
going to do it better? Like? What about it?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
You know?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Do what is it signaling to me if I buy this.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
And buying as I need things versus buying as I
want things, you know, buying out of necessity instead of aspirations. Yes, right,
it's oh no, I now my life requires a new
piece of equipment, a new article of clothing to achieve
(20:28):
the task I'm trying to achieve and to meet the
goal that I'm already working on meeting.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
Right, and I.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Think it's important for me too. I think about like,
there's no object that is going to motivate me to
do something right more than my own motivation. The garment
is not going to motivate me. Yes, the thing is
not going to motivate me.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
It's a thing. Yeah, you know, it.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
Cannot encourage me. It can only help me. It can
only aid me, it's a tool. It's a tool.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, And I think there's some pop culture representations that
I wanted to like briefly discuss that when I was
thinking about this idea of reinvention, and it is definitely
more physicality aesthetic. And one of my favorite films that
documents a bit of reinvention is Princess Diaries.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Yes, oh my god.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Yes, And I feel like growing up, those were the
types of reinventions we became familiar with or were taught
to us. Right, you reinvent by changing your hair, by
putting on makeup, changing your clothes. They are very physical
things that you can do to reinvent yourself. And of course,
like I was thinking of Clueless, yes right, p Britney Murphy,
(21:41):
but her character goes through a reinvention and og movie
A classic movie is Grease.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Yes, yeah, Sandy, Sandy, she went from girl next door
to absolute battie vixen.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
And it's in those films in particular, it's the reinvention
is pretty surface level. It's the makeover then changes the girl. Yeah,
and sometimes that can happen. And I think also growing up,
there was a lot of shows what not to wear,
even on the Today Show, they would do like makeovers
(22:17):
for people in the crowd. And I think that those
makeovers and those style halls, at least on camera, at
least in the episode or in the segment, it appeared
to make a difference for the person at the center
of the makeover. They seemed happy about what they saw
in the mirror. And that's not a bad thing. That's
(22:38):
a good thing, you know, the look good, feel good concept, right,
But sometimes that's not always an option for people, you know,
and an extreme makeover like that is professional stylists, professional
makeup artists, a professional hairdresser, someone who's pulling clothes that
are going to like look good on your skin tone
(23:00):
and look good on camera, And it's not necessarily something
that people are going to recreate on a daily basis
for themselves, you know. But sometimes that temporary fix can
be a boost. And I think that's also part of
this too, is like is it a big change to
(23:20):
your life and overall like change to the way you
feel about yourself or is it like a band aid
on a gunshot wound? Right? What are the deeper issues?
Do you have access to a dermatologist, you know, can
you afford like monthly visits to the hair salon, especially now,
you know, when all of those things can be so
expensive and the cost of living is such that I
(23:44):
don't know, it's interesting because we have like still tons
of consumerism in this space, but the cost of living
is also increasing constantly, So I know that I think
about that and struggle with that, Like how do I
justify the beauty purchase and the beauty treatments and the this,
that and the third when there's all these other things
(24:06):
going on? But I like them and they make me
feel nice, you know, but also can I really afford this?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Yeah? Yeah, And that's a real conversation to have with yourself,
you know, is a sustainable long term right, especially when
you get into hobby, like like I've bought so many
running shoes and they're expensive, but you run enough that
you have to switch them out, you know, and so like,
are you ready to make that commitment? You know, because
it's not just a one time thing some some of them,
some of the purchases are right, but some of them
(24:35):
are not. You have can you sustain it?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah? And that's so important too for like your health
and to prevent injury. Yes, Like you need the right
shoes to run as much as you're running. I mean
you're like about to run your second marathon in like
six months.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
You need the right shoes. It do you need the
right shoes or it just it can't happen.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
But that goes back to the shoes are a tool, Yeah,
to help you reach a goal.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yes. I think this is a good segue into like
the personal right, like how do once we have this
new version of ourselves, Like how do we sustain it?
And I think a really big piece of it is
like it's still you, Like it may be like something
that you worked on, but in order for it to
be sustainable, it has to be authentic. Because if it's
(25:20):
if it's phony, if it's not actually you, I don't
think that it's sustainable. And I think that that's part
of the reinvention. It's not that you're making a brand
new you. It's that you're working on things that are
getting you to another version of yourself, but it's still you,
deep in there.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
And I think another piece of this that we also
wanted to talk about is the artistic reinvention and how artists,
how songwriters, how recording artists, people like Madonna Beyonce, Miley Cyrus,
Tina Turner. I think throughout their careers have gone through
(25:57):
huge public and creative reinventions that it's a whole new sound,
it's a whole new look, it's a whole new vibe,
and so there's also a creative piece to it, and
then they like bring us along.
Speaker 3 (26:10):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Cowboy Carter for example. Although Beyonce has always had her
country influence in her work and in her music, and
she's always shouted out Texas and Louisiana, Cowboy Carter was
like a really intentional, explicit, in your face, in a
beautiful way country album from Beyonce. And then the show
(26:35):
and the experience and the crowd everybody's following along in
that reinvention and in the look and wearing the cowboy
hats and the boots and the fringe and the denim
in ways that I don't think we saw at previous
Beyonce concerts.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Right, Okay, pushing on that is that part of for
us as fans also, we're falling into that consumerism oh totally.
You know, we're buying into it because like how many
of us are rewaring the cowboy boots, the hats, the
outfits that we bought for Renaissance or we bought for
(27:10):
Cowboy Carter. Yea, you know, there is still I feel
I feel like with concerts right now in particular and
not just with Beyonce, there's like themes for them now,
and so everyone is buying an outfit for them, And
I'm like, when did that happen? Because before it's like
you buy your you show up in your outfit for
your concert. Right, it's still a cute outfit. It's a
concert going outfit, right, maybe it's different than your regular wear.
(27:32):
But now some concerts are thematic and you have to
buy a look for them, you know, or you pull
pieces from your own wardrobe depending on like the what
the theme is. I don't have like cowboy boots. I
don't have fringe. That's just not a part of my
regular aesthetic. So I was like, I'm not buying it.
I'm not because I might not rewear it, right, But
I do think that there is this interesting piece to
(27:54):
what you're saying where the artist is doing a reinvention
and then the fan is like also into it, which
is again not a bad thing, but then there's this
push for like consume over consuming or just consuming.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Yeah, art is a product, music is a product, film
is a product, podcaster products. And so Beyonce is a
business woman and she's crafting a product and then making
tons of merch and then launching a hole aesthetic like
that her entire fan base can buy into. I mean
(28:27):
at Rena's. We went to Renaissance. I went on Amazon
and bought an alien costume so that I could be
Alien Superstar. And when we got there, I bought the
silver cowboy hat to complete the look, and I wore
boots and for Cowboy Carter Well, I thrifted a denim jumpsuit.
I will say that I thrifted it, but I also
(28:48):
had purchased, like cowprint, a cowprint look for eedc So
I combined them. But I still had to buy things, yeah,
to fit the vibe and to fit the look that
I wanted to participate in. And so it's true it
is creative, but also marketing is creative. Commercials are creative,
Like absolutely, selling anything involves some level of creativity, and
(29:12):
so this is not separate from the consumerism at all.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
It's just another facet of its It goes into I
think also like wanting to belong because if you're the
only one not in the themed outfit.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Like what are you?
Speaker 2 (29:26):
What are you doing here?
Speaker 3 (29:27):
What are you been doing here?
Speaker 2 (29:28):
You know? And this is not to say you have
to go out and buy the things, but I feel
like it's that feeling, right, that that anxiety of like, oh,
I'm not dressed up like everybody else, so I have
to dress up like everybody else, you know, because everyone's
going to be in theme. It's like going to a
Halloween party and not being in a costume, you know
what I mean? Like you, it's part of belonging and
like wanting to be a part of it, of that experience,
(29:49):
and so it is so interconnected the buying of the
things and wanting to belong.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Oh, I know if I would have if I showed
up to Cowboy Carter on theme, I would have not
had as much fun. I know myself. I want to participate.
I want the compliments on the look, and I got
I got a.
Speaker 3 (30:09):
Lot of them alone.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Amazing, you look so good, and you were giving Selena
at the Beyonce concert.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Selena at the Rodeo.
Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yeah, yes, precisely.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
And so it's fun and you know, we are we
love to do our analysis, but we're still part We
give the analysis because we participate absolutely, so we know
how it works because we are you know, we get
sold a bill of goods and we buy the stuff,
you know, and we wear it once and then we
(30:39):
never wear it again. I mean, it happens. And so
we're not like.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Above it, no, not above it.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
We're not beyond it. No.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
And I think like there is this feeling, this idea
of reinvention, right it also comes from if you feel
like you're stuck in a rut. Yeah, you feel like
I'm bored. I'm bored of things in my life right now.
I'm bored with my look. I'm bored with my style.
I've outgrown it. That's a part of the wanting to
(31:09):
reinvent yourself is you feel like you've outgrown this version
of yourself. And that is not a problem. There's nothing
wrong with that. And so I when thinking about this episode,
I was thinking like, Okay, well we're the moments that
I felt like I was in a rut and I
felt like I'm gonna grow in some way. I need
to push myself in some way. And that was for
me definitely twenty twenty one. That was a year I
(31:29):
started running seriously. That was the year I applied to
grad school, and it was also during my Sadden return,
and so I feel like those were the years that
I like, really like it wasn't a reinvention necessarily, but
I in some ways it was. And in some ways
I feel like it was like tapping into parts of
me that were already there, but bringing them to the
surface and like letting them actually out in the wild,
(31:52):
setting them free.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Yeah, it's like allowing for that that I don't know.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
I don't want to say doper cooler better, but there.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
Is just an elevated version of ourselves, yeah, inside waiting
waiting to come out.
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah, And I think that's all we're getting at here.
It's like those things are already in you. You don't
need the product for it. But I think often we're
sold that we need the product in order to get
that version of ourselves, but that might already be in us.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Absolutely, and both of us.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
Having you finishing your grad school journey, I'm still in
my grad school journey, and even a degree being a
type of product that we consume because they cost money
so expensive, they're so expensive, and not just the tuition,
but like the getting to school, the time at school
that you're not working and making money, you know, whatever
(32:47):
computers you need to buy for school and gear and books,
and I mean, it all costs money, and it's good
for us.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Education is good for us.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Education is one of those things that once you have it,
they can't take it away from you, right, That's what
our parents tell us. But to get it, to acquire
it can be so expensive. It's in the United States,
you know, we don't have universal free education, not even
in our public universities. Right, Our public universities are just
(33:18):
as expensive as private universities. And this goes back to accessibility.
This goes back to the question of capitalism and whether
or not there is any ethical consumption under capitalism, and
even something that should be as universal a human right
(33:39):
as education, as learning is not accessible to so many
and has such a big price tag on it, just
like third spaces, right, So inaccessible there is a cost
of entry higher ed there's a cost of entry. And
those countries, like I think the Cuban example is always
(34:00):
brought up about, uh, like the medical school system in
Cuba and how it's relatively accessible, right, But then look
at the state that Cuba is in and the way
the United States in particular has punished Cuba right for
attempting some sort of an egalitarian economic model. It's so
against our values as a country that we put an
(34:24):
embargo on them and and and have really uh put
a chokehold on Cuba economically. Right. But but what's one
of their their ethics is well, education should be free,
you know, and it's so so antithetical to what we
believe as Americans. So yeah, it's it's hard, guys, it's hard.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
I'm loving the like juxtaposition of Mala's like American history,
American studies like degree showing and then her going It's hard, guys.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's hard, guys.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
It's hard.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
That's why people listen to this podcast because we can
do both.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yes, we can do both.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
We can do both. On the reinvention piece, I will
say that one of my little pieces of reinvention came
along with moving into my own place, going to grad school,
but also getting rid of my car. I think this
is one of the only areas in my life where
I have seen reinvention where it had to do with
getting rid of something that cost money. And I have
(35:27):
started taking public transportation, taking the metro, taking the bus.
Because of school, I get to ride for free, and
it's one of the only areas that I can pinpoint
that has required less consumption. That piece and the way
that I move around the world and the way that
I get around. I do take ubers. Of course, sometimes
(35:47):
public transpot is not fast enough. But I do think
that there's ways that we can reinvent ourselves by letting go,
by shedding, by simplifying, by minimizing. It doesn't all have
to be consumption, it doesn't all have to cost money.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
I've been feeling that way about my own closet because
I feel like this year I've been in like a
style rat where I'm like, I don't know what to wear,
but I have a closet full of things, and I'm like, okay,
I'm actually just not getting creative enough, And I'm like,
I don't need to buy anything because I actually have
a lot of things. How do I style it differently?
I rewar things all the time, but when we come
to record, I'm like, well, there's a camera, let me
(36:23):
wear something different, even if it's in my own closet.
Speaker 1 (36:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
So, also getting comfortable with like be seen in the
same shit, like this was not a thing ten years ago,
and this is just me talking to myself, like, be
comfortable wearing the same thing because it's one it's cute,
two you like it, and three like who cares.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah, we're traumatized. We're traumatized by the Lizzie McGuire movie.
Lizzy McGuire, you're an outfit repeater.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I know. That's when everything's changed.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Ye, that moment, that moment, let it go, y'all.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Okay, I've decided that I am going to embrace being
a cartoon character and just like having outfits that are
just like, yeah, that's my theosa outfit. I'm just gonna
wear that. It's your look, it's my look, it's my look. Yeah,
and so yeah, I agree. I think sometimes it's already
in us, the thing that we're looking for, and it
just needs to be brought to the surface. Whether that
(37:11):
be a physical thing like surging through your closet and
getting creative, whether that be tapping into something that you
loved but forgot about, you know, whether that be a
hobby rereading a book from childhood. I've been like pushing
our book club members to do that because we have
a summer book challenge. I'm like, reread a book from
when you were a kid, and like tell us about it,
(37:32):
And so I feel like there are pieces of reinvention,
like you said, that don't require consumption. So just some
food for thought we are offering to do with that
what you will are offering to you, dear listener.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Well, thank you for listening. This has been another episode
of Lookout Radio.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
We'll catch you next time I see. Look At Radio
is executive produced by Viosa FM and Mala Munios.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
Stephanie Franco is our producer.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Story editing by me viosa.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Creative direction by Me Mala.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Look At Radio is a part of iHeartRadio's Michael Dura
podcast Network.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
You can listen to Lokata Radio on the iHeartRadio app
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Leave us a review and share with your prima or
share with your homegirl.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
And thank you to our local motives, to our listeners
for tuning in each and every week.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Besitos look Alumi
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