👋 Oi oi! Thanks for watching. Any more for any more? 👀 ○ The truth about being chubby: ua-cam.com/video/N3WXmpHjzHY/v-deo.html ○ fat people don't belong in magazines: ua-cam.com/video/H6CKUF8f8s8/v-deo.html ○ How I stopped hating being chubby in summer + how u can too: ua-cam.com/video/b7xANIZ2uFE/v-deo.html
I'm only at the beginning of the video but on the gibson girls and edwardian fashion AND the corsets: PLEASE go check out Karolina Żebrowska's video on "How Men Made Us Hate Corsets" and also her videos on Gibson girls AND how these pictures you show featured the earliest form of photoshop: painting over the picture. The myth about corsets is how restrictive and bad and tight they were but they were literally just. Undergarments, like bras today. It was male doctors who started spreading the myth about corsets being dangerous even when women had used them safely for centuries. Otherwise, wonderful video!
Adding to the noise here: big old yes to this comment! Loved the video, and no one has to love corsets, but the hate they get is some patriarchal bullshit. Karolina and Bernadette say it best ❤.
Yes exactly! Not to mention that back then they used several types of padding to achieve the silhouettes that wete fashionable making the illusion of small waists, when that wasn't the focus, the focus was the shape, not how small you were overall.
As someone currently in the 'weight gain' part of anorexia recovery, the thoughts of what my body will look like after quarantine have been a huge battle recently. Trying to gain weight when your head is screaming not to is scary on its own but now there are also thoughts of how noticeable that will be to people who haven't seen me for possibly 3 or more months. That, coupled with the fact that all therapy has been put on pause while the NHS (understandably) redistributes its resources has made for some really difficult intrusive thoughts, especially while isolating on my own! But, as you said, just because you have a thought, doesn't mean you have to act on it! Who gets to decide what a glow up is, anyway?! For me, the body I am working towards, is not the one society has decided is attractive, but the one that is the size that it naturally is without me stepping in and meddling with it. It just takes a little bit of time for my brain to rewire and catch up with what my heart wants. But we're getting there :)
Solidarity! It was a long time ago but I remember being in a similar situation, going from people saying 'you look great!' (as I lost dangerous amounts of weight) to 'you look...well' (as I put weight back on). At the time, I was still so stuck in the mirror-image, and what I thought the world was reflecting back about it, that I forgot to pause and think about how it felt- how the skinny body I'd suffered towards felt alien and painful and unsustainable, Looking back, the dysmorphic relationship I had with my body then was about what I looked like, but also what I felt like- I didn't realise I was yearning to re-learn comfort with the body I'd been born with (and the emo-eating habits that I still have!). There are so many influences on what happens to us, and how we feel (NHS therapy included!) but I wish you a renewed sense of comfort in your body as it changes (change in our bodies is a neverending thing), and enjoyment/peace with eating. Be gentle with yourself. PS you ARE attractive, and you will be, whatever happens- 'society' is much more than the narrow range of bodies projected by magazines etc (and even that's changing, thank heck). Megan Jayne Crabbe seems to talk some sense on this- I wish she'd been around when I was first recovering...good luck!
Congrats!!I work in ED treatment It is definitely hard Society and cultural norms/beliefs gives a skewed perception of what reality is Do what makes you happy ♡
I’m in the same boat! I’ve been recovering for a LONG time now, but seeing the extra weight I’ve gained in isolation is..... uncomfortable? But I’m choosing to just let it be. My body is working so hard for me to have energy to work on school etc, so I’m not going to step in. My body doesn’t need me to step in because it knows what it’s doing. I’m just trying to feed myself properly and nutritiously when I can because that’s what I want to do for it so we can work together. To everyone in a similar boat, I’m wishing you so much strength because I know how hard it is. You’ve already come this far, so I’ll know in my heart you’ll make it through.
The bit about not being able to change your situation and therefore your body not being able to reflect a happier you, and not stopping the binge eating, was so well phrased, and I feel SEEN
Finding this 8 months late, rocking my full-on PCOS beard. The quarantine has made me much more comfortable with my face hair while at home (no one can see it in public with a mask of course) and I'm so happy to see a video that includes PCOS fuzz!
The points you make are so apparent despite being overlooked by all of us in our (more or less) privileged outlooks on life. But it's the way you talk about these delicate issues in an amicable yet assertive way that keeps me coming back to watch your videos. I always feel like I learn something I already knew but ignored or did not know how to piece together. Thank you, once again, for spreading-eagle my way of thinking and viewing the world. You're a gem! xx
Excuse me, 2004? When I was a but an innocent 15-year-old in the Netherlands (man, I wish we'd been friends then!). This is a glorious combination of topics. 👌
I was sincerely concerned!! Powder projects last the longest but that’d be pushing all the limits 😹 would love more revisionist cosplay/GRWM/musings! I’m also on that vintage kick, loving Loepsie and Bernadette Banner, but would love more recs in that genre.
@@leenanorms Please throw away your old make up! I'ts not hygienic - bacteria grows from touching it with your fingers/your brush and you're more likely to get you infections and breakouts when you use it.
@@littlereddragon Also the formula disintegrates! It can become just those different incredients separately which can be bad. Like if it has alcohol or mineral oil or some other chemical that should probably be dissolved to a solution.
My grandma's aunt was a Gibson Girl! She was the coolest. He used her as a model for some drawings (including the one you used in this video of the man turning his head between two women!) and he gave her an original! Always thought it was so cool as a kid!
a small part of the video, but I just had to comment: "the most sustainable makeup you have is the makeup you already own"! yaaas!! say it louder for the people in the back
I love that the final look isn't perfect. I've been struggling with perfectionism and so much of youtube/etc. is as close to perfect as possible. So this really helped me realize my work/I don't have to be perfect.
i'm often compared to my grandmother. according to my dad, she was strong willed, virtuous and a perfectionist slow cooker just like me. my parents are in their 60s and i'm 22 so i didn't get to meet any of my grandparents, but she's the only one i think about. she lived in poverty in a much more disconnected world, and i'm middle class and currently typing to someone i have a parasocial relationship with over the internet. i've disconnected myself from my attempts of assimilating into womanhood to the point where nonbinary is the only identity that makes sense to explain how i truly see myself, but misogyny still very much shapes my life. during this quarantine i haven't binded my chest and haven't had to worry about how others perceive me, i don't feel trapped into any gender performances and feel free to do as i want. it's weird bc identity is both social and individual but who i am socially and who i am alone seem like vastly different people, and i much prefer my genderqueer little existence in my bedroom.
Loved this video, and it's topic is certainly something I struggle with myself! On the s-shaped body of the gibson girl though: it actually didn't have much to do with the actual shape of your body! Corsets were supportive garments (like bra's today) and tight-lacing (cinching the corset tightly to reduce the waist size) was NOT common practice. The s-shape was achieved with multiple undergarments like bust bodices and padding, and it was just the desired silhouette in the period. Karolina Zebrowska has a great video on it!
loved this video! there was something so intimate about seeing everyone's gained weight over the zoom meetings and i didn't understand why but this video is completely right, its cause its a sign of how we're coping/effected. also the idea that kathleen can be shortened to leena instead of kat is REVOLUTIONARY to me
I agree so much that you never know what is impacting someone’s body size. The times in my life when I have been thinnest (and have been congratulated for this by friends, family, colleagues etc) are when I have been suffering from very severe depression. So the culturally informed assumptions people are making at those times that I am happy/healthy/disciplined/successful/whatever could not be more wrong.
Really love how you put things Leena. I never thought of my body as physically representing the history I have been through but that's so true. I love this perspective. Hope everyone is taking care of their mental health during these strange times.
Leena I've had the same thoughts about my grandmother, who passed away before I was born, so I never got to know her. This is a short little poem I wrote a couple years ago: it's 1:48 am and all i can think of is you what the curve of your face must have looked like in the sunlight how your laugh might have left your lips and what you must think of me now
Thank you for your poem. I was named after my Great Great Aunt. She was my mom's favorite person and sadly passed away two years before I was born. I think about her sometimes and what she might have been like. I wish I could have met her.
I never met my grandmother either. She passed away from breast cancer when my mom was only 19. I look back at photos and videos and I am super sad that I never got the opportunity to meet her, but I am grateful that her 3 daughters (one of which is my mom, of course), give me a good idea of what she was like. It's hard and I would have LOVED to meet her, but it's okay, I don't have a choice anyway. The world is cruel :(
First time caller, long time listener. Thank you so much for this Leena! I live in Australia and this was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. 💛
I've now watched this twice. This second round was to remind me to be self compassionate. Beyond the normal stressors of 2020, I've had a number of unrelated family traumas, underwent a huge move from a home I've known for the last decade, finished a graduate program, and been unemployed (but hired twice!) most the year. I am also the heaviest I've ever been. Weirdly at the end of the year, I find myself hyper focused on the weight gain and I'm soooo over it. Thanks for the reminders
I very much appreciate this video. I've had struggles with my weight my whole life and I've only in this year that I've actually cared about myself enough to let myself make the changes needed to make me happier with how I look while also being healthier physically. However being kind to myself during this pandemic looks very different to how it was to be kind to myself before all this started. Both change the way I look but this video has helped me see that the changes themselves arent good or bad. Just a reflection of how I'm treating myself. And both are kind but both have different results. Thankyou leena
Thank you Lena for this video. It's very powerful! 😊 I have a completely flipped view on the weight topic. I come from the fashion industry. I studied for four years in an extremely toxic environment when it comes to weight. Because of the quarantine, stress drives me to not eat, and my weight has melted away. I'm realising how poisoned my mind has become too enjoying looking skeletal. It makes me so angry to enjoy weight that is unhealthy. However, the beauty industry has a very long way to go to change in a deeper way, and not just use acceptance as a marketing tool. And I love the belle epoch so much, despite the tight-lacing. This really makes we want to make a male version of the 1910's Edwardian walking skirt. Male version as in drafted for a my male body.
So much wisdoms and compassion in this video - it really spoke to me in my situation and I’m looking forward to be gentler on myself while I strive to change things in my life that don’t serve me x
Loved this video! I have already been through this -- during the australian summer we were engulfed in smoke from the bushfires so couldn't go out for most of the summer. I'm not normally big on exercising but I couldn't do my daily walk and I put on weight. I have been trying to forgive myself for that. I love that you have articulated it here -- I need to forgive my body for holding the history that we had a summer of smoke. As for now, we are allowed out for daily exercise so I think I'll be okay. But definitely allowing myself to comfort eat :)
Finally came around to watching this and I’m so glad that I did. Many “gosh, that’s so true - how come I haven’t thought of that?!”-moments. Thanks a bunch!
Woah I love the wee shoulder cape!! It’s absolutely adorable! I wasn’t anticipating the volume of soup I have been consuming but there’s something comforting in the routine of it now I guess
This is the first video I've watched of and somehow it's really nice to feel represented in some ways. What you said about make up at the beginning is something I really think about a lot, cause I tend to overthink wearing make up and are always a bit afraid about what it says. And I also experience the emotional eating and am afraid that I'm gonna gain a lot of weight in quarantine, even though I'm at the moment on a healthy weight so it shouldn't really matter. And then to put the cherry on top I also relate to having PCOS and for me its just been all my acne popping up again. Truly thank you for making this video!
The way that you think and present concepts is amazing! You have compelling thoughts that you share and they make me think as well. I honestly think you'd be amazing college professor (or Uni professor, sorry, I'm American) in your future! Much appreciation from another Kathleen!
Thank you so so much for this video. I'm finding the lockdown really tough (in many ways but 'body stuff' being one of them) but everything you have said has made me feel comforted and reassured and empowered. Thank you.
This wonderful video made me spontaneously burst singing in : "I want to break freee" Thank you Leena, both that and this videos where just what I needed
Little bit blown away and maybe a little tearful. Such a refreshing video. Never come accross anything like it. So real, and actually an intelligent commentary on life rn. Subscribed. And thanking Google news feed for randomly pointing me in your direction x
Corsets actually werent as bad as the media likes to portray them. They actually provided a lot of back support and were helpful for people with bigger breasts cause they gave fuller support than most bras. They were also tailored to every individual woman. Just interesting facts:)
Being cooped up I actually started exploring exercise videos on UA-cam, which has me wondering why I needed a pandemic to do this, as I enjoy exercise but don't go to the gym as often as I like for so many excuses I can't list them all. Keep up the good spirit!
What people look like is not a picture of what they are, but what they were - what they've been through, not what they are currently going through. Aaaaah, loved this so much, so easy to forget! I see myself in the mirror and I think of all my flaws as my current "issue" or "problem", while they actually are a representation of my past struggles in life. Never thought about it this way. Not A is because B, but A is here now, because B, C, D, E etc happened. Great video! Loved the talk while getting dressed up as a Gibson Girl! :)
I am so so happy that I found your channel! Funny and real and positive, teaching us to forgive ourselves and not feel alone in some of the things we are feeling and thinking. THANK YOU!
Loved this video and the combination of deep thoughts and getting dressed up. It's interesting the pressure when not in a crisis to conform to beauty standards and when in a crisis the derision for caring about them. I also think it's interesting how it's like we switch sides and now we're advocating for it to be okay. Not that you were advocating against it before the pandemic and the point is that it's a choice and everyone should be able to wear or not wear makeup if they want to and that be ok. I really loved what you said about dressing up for a wedding and how you don't have to but it signifies that this is not a normal day, that it is special. I went to my cousins wedding recently and it was strange because I was struggling with the energy and motivation to get ready and I couldn't think of any other reason than that society said this is what you do to dress up and have this celebration. I hadn't thought of it the way that you said and I thought it was really beautiful and reminds me that there is a reason and a relationship outside of society and tradition.
Your conversations around signs and signifiers, as wells as visually differentiating ourselves really resonated with me. It also point towards the western obsession with biology and essentializing physical differences which makes them a signifier for something deeper and more inherent in our minds. I don't know if I want to subvert all notions of that or give into that.
As someone who looked a lot like my paternal grandmother as we are/were both short, curvy, similar colouring and hair type, your poem totally resonated with me. I saw a picture of her at 11 and one of me at the same age and we look just the same! Swimming is the best sport, I agree!
I always love your videos, Leena. I felt like we were having a heartfelt chat and you look fabulous before and after! I'm not about to give you any unsolicited advice, but if you ever want to talk vegan food I'm a super lazy vegan.
I put off watching this till now because I was a bit of a mess when it came out. I wish I had watched it then! Thank you Leena! Oh no. You said corset. That community can get vicious! 🤣corset gatekeeping is real!!🤣 I've started to push back because It very much reminds me of the methods of speech employed by rich white cis women to exclude others in the women's rights movements. They weren't being "mean" they were "educating". Respectability politics, gatekeeping, elitism. I'm rambling, sorry, just wanted to make sure you did not feel invalidated. This video was amazing 💚💚💚
Historical sewing UA-cam is my favourite part of the internet, and has inspired me to attempt my own dressmaking. My concern with quarantine is that I will lose the muscle that I need to keep my knees from dislocating, which has already started to happen two weeks in...
Loved this thanks Leena! I often wondered the secret to that massive hair and now I know. The thing I didn't expect to be doing 3 weeks ago is home schooling my year 7 nephew via video chat everyday! Strange times indeed
Loved the outfit and the conversation! Side note: I also have my grandmother's name which is not something most people know since she passed away when I was young.
I love you! please keep making these videos,you are such a breath of fresh air. i would listen to you speak about anything honestly; you've become my new asmr-type comfort watch on the utube. sending lots of positive vibes and hugs your way!
First and foremost I love that you took that outfit cat sitting 👍 So glad you made this. I am also simultaneously worrying about my body during lockdown and then feeling guilty for falling for the oldest trick in the patriarchal book, trying to stay fit, but not get obsessed with my step count (Oh! 2000 again, great!). Thank you for talking about it, bc body positivity can so easily become another thing we need to be ‘perfect’ at and in times of chaos, my inclination is often to exert control over the things I can control (food, movement etc). Instead I’m going to go and read in the garden and eat some apple crumble 💥
maybe this is not ideal, but focusing on healthy eating and exercise does provide a sense of control that I would otherwise be lacking. my tendency is times of stress is to undereat, so making sure i'm eating healthy food every day, doing at-home pilates and jogging creates a sense of routine and stability in a time that would otherwise make me feel idle and out of control. as coping mechanisms go, you could do much worse than caring about your body
I feel this... I'm very often aware of my privilege and I'm always like "my problems are first world problems" or "others have it so much worse" - but that doesn't make my problem any less valid, people do have it worse but I am struggling with this and that's ok!
I love what you're saying and doing here. Except for the fact that, yeah, that image was made by a man who knew nothing about how corsets work: that shape was achieved by padding!! Bodies then were no different than bodies today, and probably some synched their waists, but most only wore additional padding. And since you said you enjoy watching women sow their way into historical clothing, look up Morgan Donner and Bernadette Banner and Karolina Zebrowska, all amazing women who KNOW what they're doing and how clothing worked back then. Anyway, I love my couch-potato body and I will never stop loving it until I die.
Aside from the insightful and brilliant advice and self love preach you provided- your end result of your outfit looks fabulous and have me in the mind to get my hands on a long flowy skirt (sustainable fashion brands only obviously)
Thank you so much for this 🌻 this is exactly what I needed to hear and what got me out of bed today 🍂 you are beautiful in and out! (This was the first video I watched of yours and im definitely definitely subscribing hah 🤍 thank you again!¡)
Like a commenter below, I'm also pausing at the beginning because of the mention of the edwardian figure. That figure was almost NEVER achieved by tightlacing (lacing the corset in a way which extremely thins the waist). Corsets were just a supportive undergarment, the overall shape of a Gibson Girl was achieved via added padding in the hips and breast, the more waist you had the more padding you added to make the proportions right. Many photographs that make the waist look tiny were "photoshopped", i.e. painted or markered over to make the waist look thinner. Karolina Zebrowska has a whole video on it, its hilarious and wonderful. I just ALWAYs need to pop in to mention that corsets, when worn properly (and 99.9% of the time they were) were not restrictive, but actually beneficial to people wearing them. Working women would not have worn them otherwise.
Lockdown is also extremely hard for people in ED recovery if you’ve got nothing to distract you from intrusive thoughts and body image issues, plus without structured “eating” times like what happens at workplaces it’s easy to slip into destructive habits with nobody around to keep you accountable
This situation is causing me ED struggles which I thought I was over... I've been treated for disordered eating specifically around an obsession with achieving daily nutritional perfection (for each micro and macro nutrient) and using as little food as possible to do this. Before my recovery, this impacted my life terribly: I refused to eat certain foods, or any food which I hadn't prepared myself from scratch, and I would spend a huge amount of time and energy tirelessly calculating potential meals and the minutia of everything I consumed. If it was ever necessary to break my rules, it was an insanely stressful experience. But in this lockdown, preserving food and eating as nutritionally well as possible seem really important?? I can feel myself calculating again, but I can't tell what is reasonable and what is disordered...
The reason I clicked on this video is because I am worried about weight gain during quarantine. I have slowly but surely been losing weight since November and have dropped 2 dress sizes, very nearly three and I hope to continue losing weight. However all throughout March, I kept ordering takeaways, which hasn't been great for my waistline or my bank account! Luckily I still lost a tiny bit of weight but not as much as I wanted. Seeing as I have already began my weightloss journey, I intend to try to continue with a healthy lifestyle but limit takeaways to once a month, and to have a cheat day once a week. I stress eat too, but honestly following on from last month I have now realised that I feel better in the long run by resisting junk food, than when I do not. I think people should do what makes them happy, but possibly resisting the urge to eat loads of junk will hopefully make most people happier and healthier following on from this lockdown. Plus there are loads of healthier alternatives to junk food like veggie burgers to make at home. But it is to be expected to put on a bit of weight during quarantine due to stress eating and boredom, but don't let it get out of control as I was doing!
The fashionable women from the gibson girl era didn't just use corsets, they also used a lot of padding in their undergarments and clothes. But that beauty ideal was created and perpetuated by men (and the women who wore those fashions). I like your updated version of the "gibson girl"!
Shortly before quarantine and through most of it I was semi-obsessed with eating clean and losing weight. My weight is fine but I thought I could stand to lose a few pounds. I basically denied myself the foods that make quarantine and life in general more bearable. I'm mostly over it, I love my body now and I don't think I'm a fat fuck anymore. Now I'm starting to think it wouldn't hurt if I put on a few pounds! Thank you for this video.
👋 Oi oi! Thanks for watching. Any more for any more? 👀
○ The truth about being chubby: ua-cam.com/video/N3WXmpHjzHY/v-deo.html
○ fat people don't belong in magazines: ua-cam.com/video/H6CKUF8f8s8/v-deo.html
○ How I stopped hating being chubby in summer + how u can too: ua-cam.com/video/b7xANIZ2uFE/v-deo.html
"your body is going to look like you've been in quarantine for three months." anyone else watching this in quarantine ten months later?
“During times of crisis this channel becomes a beauty channel. Don’t question it, just accept it.” Lol Leena 😂😂
exactly, video is a joke, she takes life to seriously
I'm only at the beginning of the video but on the gibson girls and edwardian fashion AND the corsets: PLEASE go check out Karolina Żebrowska's video on "How Men Made Us Hate Corsets" and also her videos on Gibson girls AND how these pictures you show featured the earliest form of photoshop: painting over the picture. The myth about corsets is how restrictive and bad and tight they were but they were literally just. Undergarments, like bras today. It was male doctors who started spreading the myth about corsets being dangerous even when women had used them safely for centuries.
Otherwise, wonderful video!
Yes! I came down to the comments to say exactly this. Both great videos!
I came to the comments searching for a comment like this THANK YOU.
Bernadette Banner also has some great videos on corsets as well as videos on the making of Edwardian undergarments
Adding to the noise here: big old yes to this comment! Loved the video, and no one has to love corsets, but the hate they get is some patriarchal bullshit. Karolina and Bernadette say it best ❤.
Yes exactly! Not to mention that back then they used several types of padding to achieve the silhouettes that wete fashionable making the illusion of small waists, when that wasn't the focus, the focus was the shape, not how small you were overall.
Describing our bodies as historical records of who we have been and who we are is so beautiful.
"I am very embarrassed by my existence on this planet"
I've never related to someone more
As someone currently in the 'weight gain' part of anorexia recovery, the thoughts of what my body will look like after quarantine have been a huge battle recently. Trying to gain weight when your head is screaming not to is scary on its own but now there are also thoughts of how noticeable that will be to people who haven't seen me for possibly 3 or more months. That, coupled with the fact that all therapy has been put on pause while the NHS (understandably) redistributes its resources has made for some really difficult intrusive thoughts, especially while isolating on my own! But, as you said, just because you have a thought, doesn't mean you have to act on it!
Who gets to decide what a glow up is, anyway?! For me, the body I am working towards, is not the one society has decided is attractive, but the one that is the size that it naturally is without me stepping in and meddling with it. It just takes a little bit of time for my brain to rewire and catch up with what my heart wants. But we're getting there :)
Solidarity! It was a long time ago but I remember being in a similar situation, going from people saying 'you look great!' (as I lost dangerous amounts of weight) to 'you look...well' (as I put weight back on). At the time, I was still so stuck in the mirror-image, and what I thought the world was reflecting back about it, that I forgot to pause and think about how it felt- how the skinny body I'd suffered towards felt alien and painful and unsustainable, Looking back, the dysmorphic relationship I had with my body then was about what I looked like, but also what I felt like- I didn't realise I was yearning to re-learn comfort with the body I'd been born with (and the emo-eating habits that I still have!). There are so many influences on what happens to us, and how we feel (NHS therapy included!) but I wish you a renewed sense of comfort in your body as it changes (change in our bodies is a neverending thing), and enjoyment/peace with eating. Be gentle with yourself. PS you ARE attractive, and you will be, whatever happens- 'society' is much more than the narrow range of bodies projected by magazines etc (and even that's changing, thank heck). Megan Jayne Crabbe seems to talk some sense on this- I wish she'd been around when I was first recovering...good luck!
@C’est la vie So true! Worth it though! 🧡💪🏼
@@claspring Thank you! Always so lovely to hear from people who have gone through your journey and see the light and freedom on the other side! 🧡
Congrats!!I work in ED treatment
It is definitely hard
Society and cultural norms/beliefs gives a skewed perception of what reality is
Do what makes you happy ♡
I’m in the same boat! I’ve been recovering for a LONG time now, but seeing the extra weight I’ve gained in isolation is..... uncomfortable? But I’m choosing to just let it be. My body is working so hard for me to have energy to work on school etc, so I’m not going to step in. My body doesn’t need me to step in because it knows what it’s doing. I’m just trying to feed myself properly and nutritiously when I can because that’s what I want to do for it so we can work together. To everyone in a similar boat, I’m wishing you so much strength because I know how hard it is. You’ve already come this far, so I’ll know in my heart you’ll make it through.
Watching this in 2021 is a bit sad...but still relevant. When you said 'when we leave quarantine in 3 months' i was like oh man I wish
The bit about not being able to change your situation and therefore your body not being able to reflect a happier you, and not stopping the binge eating, was so well phrased, and I feel SEEN
💜💜💜
Finding this 8 months late, rocking my full-on PCOS beard. The quarantine has made me much more comfortable with my face hair while at home (no one can see it in public with a mask of course) and I'm so happy to see a video that includes PCOS fuzz!
The points you make are so apparent despite being overlooked by all of us in our (more or less) privileged outlooks on life. But it's the way you talk about these delicate issues in an amicable yet assertive way that keeps me coming back to watch your videos. I always feel like I learn something I already knew but ignored or did not know how to piece together. Thank you, once again, for spreading-eagle my way of thinking and viewing the world. You're a gem! xx
thank you that's lovely of you to say
Excuse me, 2004? When I was a but an innocent 15-year-old in the Netherlands (man, I wish we'd been friends then!).
This is a glorious combination of topics. 👌
HHaha I think I must have meant 2014 but ITS A GREAT HIGHLIGHTER, THANK YOU AGAIN!
I was sincerely concerned!! Powder projects last the longest but that’d be pushing all the limits 😹 would love more revisionist cosplay/GRWM/musings! I’m also on that vintage kick, loving Loepsie and Bernadette Banner, but would love more recs in that genre.
@@leenanorms Please throw away your old make up! I'ts not hygienic - bacteria grows from touching it with your fingers/your brush and you're more likely to get you infections and breakouts when you use it.
@@littlereddragon Also the formula disintegrates! It can become just those different incredients separately which can be bad. Like if it has alcohol or mineral oil or some other chemical that should probably be dissolved to a solution.
My grandma's aunt was a Gibson Girl! She was the coolest. He used her as a model for some drawings (including the one you used in this video of the man turning his head between two women!) and he gave her an original! Always thought it was so cool as a kid!
That's so cool! Does your family still have the original?
@@morwennaforatenner604 Yes! My aunt has it! Definitely a family heirloom!
a small part of the video, but I just had to comment: "the most sustainable makeup you have is the makeup you already own"! yaaas!! say it louder for the people in the back
I love that the final look isn't perfect. I've been struggling with perfectionism and so much of youtube/etc. is as close to perfect as possible. So this really helped me realize my work/I don't have to be perfect.
i'm often compared to my grandmother. according to my dad, she was strong willed, virtuous and a perfectionist slow cooker just like me. my parents are in their 60s and i'm 22 so i didn't get to meet any of my grandparents, but she's the only one i think about. she lived in poverty in a much more disconnected world, and i'm middle class and currently typing to someone i have a parasocial relationship with over the internet. i've disconnected myself from my attempts of assimilating into womanhood to the point where nonbinary is the only identity that makes sense to explain how i truly see myself, but misogyny still very much shapes my life. during this quarantine i haven't binded my chest and haven't had to worry about how others perceive me, i don't feel trapped into any gender performances and feel free to do as i want. it's weird bc identity is both social and individual but who i am socially and who i am alone seem like vastly different people, and i much prefer my genderqueer little existence in my bedroom.
"I want a glow up for the mental health" - love it!
Loved this video, and it's topic is certainly something I struggle with myself! On the s-shaped body of the gibson girl though: it actually didn't have much to do with the actual shape of your body! Corsets were supportive garments (like bra's today) and tight-lacing (cinching the corset tightly to reduce the waist size) was NOT common practice. The s-shape was achieved with multiple undergarments like bust bodices and padding, and it was just the desired silhouette in the period. Karolina Zebrowska has a great video on it!
loved this video! there was something so intimate about seeing everyone's gained weight over the zoom meetings and i didn't understand why but this video is completely right, its cause its a sign of how we're coping/effected.
also the idea that kathleen can be shortened to leena instead of kat is REVOLUTIONARY to me
I agree so much that you never know what is impacting someone’s body size. The times in my life when I have been thinnest (and have been congratulated for this by friends, family, colleagues etc) are when I have been suffering from very severe depression. So the culturally informed assumptions people are making at those times that I am happy/healthy/disciplined/successful/whatever could not be more wrong.
Yes! It always made me feel very uncomfortable when people complimented me on that
Really love how you put things Leena. I never thought of my body as physically representing the history I have been through but that's so true. I love this perspective.
Hope everyone is taking care of their mental health during these strange times.
Leena I've had the same thoughts about my grandmother, who passed away before I was born, so I never got to know her. This is a short little poem I wrote a couple years ago:
it's 1:48 am and all i can think of is you
what the curve of your face must have looked like in the sunlight
how your laugh might have left your lips
and what you must think of me now
Thank you for your poem. I was named after my Great Great Aunt. She was my mom's favorite person and sadly passed away two years before I was born. I think about her sometimes and what she might have been like. I wish I could have met her.
I never met my grandmother either. She passed away from breast cancer when my mom was only 19.
I look back at photos and videos and I am super sad that I never got the opportunity to meet her, but I am grateful that her 3 daughters (one of which is my mom, of course), give me a good idea of what she was like. It's hard and I would have LOVED to meet her, but it's okay, I don't have a choice anyway. The world is cruel :(
Thanks for the poem!
First time caller, long time listener. Thank you so much for this Leena! I live in Australia and this was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. 💛
I've now watched this twice. This second round was to remind me to be self compassionate. Beyond the normal stressors of 2020, I've had a number of unrelated family traumas, underwent a huge move from a home I've known for the last decade, finished a graduate program, and been unemployed (but hired twice!) most the year. I am also the heaviest I've ever been. Weirdly at the end of the year, I find myself hyper focused on the weight gain and I'm soooo over it. Thanks for the reminders
I very much appreciate this video. I've had struggles with my weight my whole life and I've only in this year that I've actually cared about myself enough to let myself make the changes needed to make me happier with how I look while also being healthier physically. However being kind to myself during this pandemic looks very different to how it was to be kind to myself before all this started. Both change the way I look but this video has helped me see that the changes themselves arent good or bad. Just a reflection of how I'm treating myself. And both are kind but both have different results. Thankyou leena
Thank you for consistently making me feel more okay with my humanity.
I loved this video! The sentiment about how our bodies are a physical representation of our history is beautiful and I love love love it. 💜💜
Thank you Lena for this video. It's very powerful! 😊
I have a completely flipped view on the weight topic. I come from the fashion industry. I studied for four years in an extremely toxic environment when it comes to weight. Because of the quarantine, stress drives me to not eat, and my weight has melted away. I'm realising how poisoned my mind has become too enjoying looking skeletal. It makes me so angry to enjoy weight that is unhealthy.
However, the beauty industry has a very long way to go to change in a deeper way, and not just use acceptance as a marketing tool.
And I love the belle epoch so much, despite the tight-lacing. This really makes we want to make a male version of the 1910's Edwardian walking skirt. Male version as in drafted for a my male body.
So much wisdoms and compassion in this video - it really spoke to me in my situation and I’m looking forward to be gentler on myself while I strive to change things in my life that don’t serve me x
Hahhaa so you didnt bring a hair brush but did bring a 1900's dress. That's amazing!
Loved this video! I have already been through this -- during the australian summer we were engulfed in smoke from the bushfires so couldn't go out for most of the summer. I'm not normally big on exercising but I couldn't do my daily walk and I put on weight. I have been trying to forgive myself for that. I love that you have articulated it here -- I need to forgive my body for holding the history that we had a summer of smoke.
As for now, we are allowed out for daily exercise so I think I'll be okay. But definitely allowing myself to comfort eat :)
Finally came around to watching this and I’m so glad that I did. Many “gosh, that’s so true - how come I haven’t thought of that?!”-moments. Thanks a bunch!
Woah I love the wee shoulder cape!! It’s absolutely adorable! I wasn’t anticipating the volume of soup I have been consuming but there’s something comforting in the routine of it now I guess
This is the first video I've watched of and somehow it's really nice to feel represented in some ways. What you said about make up at the beginning is something I really think about a lot, cause I tend to overthink wearing make up and are always a bit afraid about what it says. And I also experience the emotional eating and am afraid that I'm gonna gain a lot of weight in quarantine, even though I'm at the moment on a healthy weight so it shouldn't really matter. And then to put the cherry on top I also relate to having PCOS and for me its just been all my acne popping up again. Truly thank you for making this video!
When you started singing the les miserables song at that amount of blush I lost my shit 😂
The way that you think and present concepts is amazing! You have compelling thoughts that you share and they make me think as well. I honestly think you'd be amazing college professor (or Uni professor, sorry, I'm American) in your future! Much appreciation from another Kathleen!
Thank you so so much for this video. I'm finding the lockdown really tough (in many ways but 'body stuff' being one of them) but everything you have said has made me feel comforted and reassured and empowered. Thank you.
Your videos bring me so much joy and a jumping off point for the curation of my own perspective. You are appreciated! 🥰
This wonderful video made me spontaneously burst singing in : "I want to break freee"
Thank you Leena, both that and this videos where just what I needed
You are just so great. Thanks for your thoughts - I do find it helpful as someone who is worried about my body in quarantine.
I’m subscribed but this didn’t show up in my subscription feed. I just doubled checked and it’s not there
yeah same, I didn't get a notification and saw it on my discover page
Same. How rude of UA-cam.
Me too!
Same here
same thing happened to me
Little bit blown away and maybe a little tearful. Such a refreshing video. Never come accross anything like it. So real, and actually an intelligent commentary on life rn. Subscribed. And thanking Google news feed for randomly pointing me in your direction x
Corsets actually werent as bad as the media likes to portray them. They actually provided a lot of back support and were helpful for people with bigger breasts cause they gave fuller support than most bras. They were also tailored to every individual woman. Just interesting facts:)
I would love a retrospective on this once lockdown is over
Love this soooo much. You are incredibly funny and I love your outlook on life and our bodies such great ways of thinking.
Being cooped up I actually started exploring exercise videos on UA-cam, which has me wondering why I needed a pandemic to do this, as I enjoy exercise but don't go to the gym as often as I like for so many excuses I can't list them all. Keep up the good spirit!
What people look like is not a picture of what they are, but what they were - what they've been through, not what they are currently going through.
Aaaaah, loved this so much, so easy to forget! I see myself in the mirror and I think of all my flaws as my current "issue" or "problem", while they actually are a representation of my past struggles in life. Never thought about it this way. Not A is because B, but A is here now, because B, C, D, E etc happened.
Great video! Loved the talk while getting dressed up as a Gibson Girl! :)
I am so so happy that I found your channel! Funny and real and positive, teaching us to forgive ourselves and not feel alone in some of the things we are feeling and thinking. THANK YOU!
Loved this video and the combination of deep thoughts and getting dressed up. It's interesting the pressure when not in a crisis to conform to beauty standards and when in a crisis the derision for caring about them. I also think it's interesting how it's like we switch sides and now we're advocating for it to be okay. Not that you were advocating against it before the pandemic and the point is that it's a choice and everyone should be able to wear or not wear makeup if they want to and that be ok. I really loved what you said about dressing up for a wedding and how you don't have to but it signifies that this is not a normal day, that it is special. I went to my cousins wedding recently and it was strange because I was struggling with the energy and motivation to get ready and I couldn't think of any other reason than that society said this is what you do to dress up and have this celebration. I hadn't thought of it the way that you said and I thought it was really beautiful and reminds me that there is a reason and a relationship outside of society and tradition.
I have watched this three times in the last 6 months. Thank you for always providing fun, positivity and reason. 💕
This is everything! (also 2.0 is my FAVOURITE!)
i've only watched three videos and i'm subscribing. you are everything i've been needing xxx
Only just discovered your channel and I love this video! Exactly the sort of content I needed at this time ❤️
Xxx
Your conversations around signs and signifiers, as wells as visually differentiating ourselves really resonated with me. It also point towards the western obsession with biology and essentializing physical differences which makes them a signifier for something deeper and more inherent in our minds. I don't know if I want to subvert all notions of that or give into that.
As someone who looked a lot like my paternal grandmother as we are/were both short, curvy, similar colouring and hair type, your poem totally resonated with me. I saw a picture of her at 11 and one of me at the same age and we look just the same! Swimming is the best sport, I agree!
THIS VIDEO IS GOLD the dark humour, the surprisingly poignant moral, the cheerful failures. Brilliant xxxxx
I always love your videos, Leena. I felt like we were having a heartfelt chat and you look fabulous before and after! I'm not about to give you any unsolicited advice, but if you ever want to talk vegan food I'm a super lazy vegan.
I put off watching this till now because I was a bit of a mess when it came out. I wish I had watched it then! Thank you Leena!
Oh no. You said corset. That community can get vicious! 🤣corset gatekeeping is real!!🤣 I've started to push back because It very much reminds me of the methods of speech employed by rich white cis women to exclude others in the women's rights movements. They weren't being "mean" they were "educating". Respectability politics, gatekeeping, elitism.
I'm rambling, sorry, just wanted to make sure you did not feel invalidated. This video was amazing 💚💚💚
Pretty sure my phone’s FBI agent heard me crying about this last night and suggested this video to me bc they felt bad for me. I’m not mad about it.
Historical sewing UA-cam is my favourite part of the internet, and has inspired me to attempt my own dressmaking. My concern with quarantine is that I will lose the muscle that I need to keep my knees from dislocating, which has already started to happen two weeks in...
EDS? I ask because same but shoulders, because EDS
@@Psychwriteify I don't think so, although it is something I'm looking into - hyper mobile joints, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, high riding knee cap
I'm sharpening and decluttering my pens and pencils and listening to you chat, it's fun
Loved this thanks Leena! I often wondered the secret to that massive hair and now I know. The thing I didn't expect to be doing 3 weeks ago is home schooling my year 7 nephew via video chat everyday! Strange times indeed
loved the chat but also - the ending to this was SO FUN. much needed. thank you!
Loved the outfit and the conversation! Side note: I also have my grandmother's name which is not something most people know since she passed away when I was young.
I love you! please keep making these videos,you are such a breath of fresh air. i would listen to you speak about anything honestly; you've become my new asmr-type comfort watch on the utube. sending lots of positive vibes and hugs your way!
First and foremost I love that you took that outfit cat sitting 👍 So glad you made this. I am also simultaneously worrying about my body during lockdown and then feeling guilty for falling for the oldest trick in the patriarchal book, trying to stay fit, but not get obsessed with my step count (Oh! 2000 again, great!). Thank you for talking about it, bc body positivity can so easily become another thing we need to be ‘perfect’ at and in times of chaos, my inclination is often to exert control over the things I can control (food, movement etc). Instead I’m going to go and read in the garden and eat some apple crumble 💥
This!!! This is exactly why i love you & this channel. You are beautiful inside out. Be kind to yourself everyone. Your body is doing its best for you
I feel like I just recieved an insightful pep talk from the big sister I don't have. Such a wonderful video❤
I almost fell asleep to her voice. It's so calming
i love hearing you process. thanks for the beautiful thoughts
Love that capelet!
Another reason to love Leena , she sings one of your favourite Steps songs 💕
One of the best videos I've seen and it will forever help me to better my relationship with my body
💜💜💜
I don’t know how you do it dear Lena but you seem to always know what I need and make a video out of it. 🌸🌟
maybe this is not ideal, but focusing on healthy eating and exercise does provide a sense of control that I would otherwise be lacking. my tendency is times of stress is to undereat, so making sure i'm eating healthy food every day, doing at-home pilates and jogging creates a sense of routine and stability in a time that would otherwise make me feel idle and out of control. as coping mechanisms go, you could do much worse than caring about your body
I feel this... I'm very often aware of my privilege and I'm always like "my problems are first world problems" or "others have it so much worse" - but that doesn't make my problem any less valid, people do have it worse but I am struggling with this and that's ok!
thanks for always making me smile leena xx
I love what you're saying and doing here. Except for the fact that, yeah, that image was made by a man who knew nothing about how corsets work: that shape was achieved by padding!! Bodies then were no different than bodies today, and probably some synched their waists, but most only wore additional padding. And since you said you enjoy watching women sow their way into historical clothing, look up Morgan Donner and Bernadette Banner and Karolina Zebrowska, all amazing women who KNOW what they're doing and how clothing worked back then.
Anyway, I love my couch-potato body and I will never stop loving it until I die.
I needed this. Also very keen on joining the watch videos of Vintage Girl club xo
I feel soothed but also have gained a sudden and urgent need for a capelet
Loved the content, the vibe in general and the look too! You are a ridiculously charming person x
Aside from the insightful and brilliant advice and self love preach you provided- your end result of your outfit looks fabulous and have me in the mind to get my hands on a long flowy skirt (sustainable fashion brands only obviously)
Thank you so much for this 🌻 this is exactly what I needed to hear and what got me out of bed today 🍂 you are beautiful in and out! (This was the first video I watched of yours and im definitely definitely subscribing hah 🤍 thank you again!¡)
Awesome and insightful as always, Leena!
Like a commenter below, I'm also pausing at the beginning because of the mention of the edwardian figure.
That figure was almost NEVER achieved by tightlacing (lacing the corset in a way which extremely thins the waist). Corsets were just a supportive undergarment, the overall shape of a Gibson Girl was achieved via added padding in the hips and breast, the more waist you had the more padding you added to make the proportions right. Many photographs that make the waist look tiny were "photoshopped", i.e. painted or markered over to make the waist look thinner. Karolina Zebrowska has a whole video on it, its hilarious and wonderful.
I just ALWAYs need to pop in to mention that corsets, when worn properly (and 99.9% of the time they were) were not restrictive, but actually beneficial to people wearing them. Working women would not have worn them otherwise.
I'm unfortunately *LOSING* weight during lockdown and that's on needing a routine to remember to eat
I am with you in the vintage girls sewing clothes! Who are some of your favourites?
I second that! Bernadette Banner is absolutely on top of my list!
Not really a vintage sewer but i really like Rachel Maksy and for victorian and medieval sewing, watch Morgan Donner!
..i agree with you two and add Angela Clayton
I’ve just found your page via the Normal People review. And I love you. Subbed!
Aw thank you! Welcome!
I really liked this. It made me feel nice and warm inside :)
Lockdown is also extremely hard for people in ED recovery if you’ve got nothing to distract you from intrusive thoughts and body image issues, plus without structured “eating” times like what happens at workplaces it’s easy to slip into destructive habits with nobody around to keep you accountable
This situation is causing me ED struggles which I thought I was over...
I've been treated for disordered eating specifically around an obsession with achieving daily nutritional perfection (for each micro and macro nutrient) and using as little food as possible to do this. Before my recovery, this impacted my life terribly: I refused to eat certain foods, or any food which I hadn't prepared myself from scratch, and I would spend a huge amount of time and energy tirelessly calculating potential meals and the minutia of everything I consumed. If it was ever necessary to break my rules, it was an insanely stressful experience.
But in this lockdown, preserving food and eating as nutritionally well as possible seem really important?? I can feel myself calculating again, but I can't tell what is reasonable and what is disordered...
This is the first video I’ve seen of yours and loved it! So refreshing, subbed immediately. Thank you :)
There is a great quote by the amazing Miss Piggy: If you are what you eat, eat what you like and you will like yourself!
The reason I clicked on this video is because I am worried about weight gain during quarantine. I have slowly but surely been losing weight since November and have dropped 2 dress sizes, very nearly three and I hope to continue losing weight. However all throughout March, I kept ordering takeaways, which hasn't been great for my waistline or my bank account! Luckily I still lost a tiny bit of weight but not as much as I wanted. Seeing as I have already began my weightloss journey, I intend to try to continue with a healthy lifestyle but limit takeaways to once a month, and to have a cheat day once a week. I stress eat too, but honestly following on from last month I have now realised that I feel better in the long run by resisting junk food, than when I do not. I think people should do what makes them happy, but possibly resisting the urge to eat loads of junk will hopefully make most people happier and healthier following on from this lockdown. Plus there are loads of healthier alternatives to junk food like veggie burgers to make at home. But it is to be expected to put on a bit of weight during quarantine due to stress eating and boredom, but don't let it get out of control as I was doing!
The fashionable women from the gibson girl era didn't just use corsets, they also used a lot of padding in their undergarments and clothes. But that beauty ideal was created and perpetuated by men (and the women who wore those fashions). I like your updated version of the "gibson girl"!
"I also thought about shaving my chin" 😂😂😂, creased, I feel you petal. Great vid, uplifting. ✌
💜💜💜
This was delightful. Thank you Leena!
This is the exact thing I needed in this quarantine time!
Shortly before quarantine and through most of it I was semi-obsessed with eating clean and losing weight. My weight is fine but I thought I could stand to lose a few pounds. I basically denied myself the foods that make quarantine and life in general more bearable. I'm mostly over it, I love my body now and I don't think I'm a fat fuck anymore. Now I'm starting to think it wouldn't hurt if I put on a few pounds! Thank you for this video.
Love watching you play dress ups Leena
It’s becoming a bit of an accidental series isn’t it?!