Lady Lucia (Activist, Performer, Sex Worker) was raised Buddhist and majored in Gender and Women's studies. Her identity was defined by activism, particularly Climate Justice, and to fund a trip to Germany (as a delegate at the UN Climate Talks) she started exotic dancing--though she had never been in a strip club previously. At the same time, she was burning out from her activism work and experienced a mental breakdown. How did she found empowerment in sex work and burlesque dancing? Listen to this episode! It's a GREAT one and sex work NEEDS to be talked about!
We also discuss
her first time having sex for money,
idealism + disillusionment,
spirituality + witchcraft,
sugar-daddying,
animal liberation,
FOSTA,
sex work stigma and decriminalization,
existential depression,
eating disorders,
general anxiety disorder,
looking outside of capitalism for liberation,
and SO much more!
Thanks so much for listening, friend!
Please rate/review/subscribe on iTunes (and subscribe/rate in whichever app you use)!
Instagram: @feelinweirdpod
Facebook: @feelinweird
Sabrina Benaim (poet/writer) explains how finding a squash-ball-sized tumor in her twenties led to her vocalizing her feelings and mental health struggles through slam poetry. Her first mental breakdown was in tenth grade, but she wasn't diagnosed until she was 24. When she was a kid, she felt like a weirdo, and learned to not talk about her feelings, but now she tours the world, sharing her poems with audiences, breaking down stigma and spreading awareness of mental health. Sabrina and I alternate between laughter and seriousness in this wonderful episode!
We also talk about:
writing as catharsis/therapy,
travelling with mental illness,
depression + anxiety,
panic attacks,
isolation,
positive social media,
dance as therapy,
spirituality + meditation + tarot cards,
synchronicities,
John Mayer,
powerful films,
and MUCH more!
Sabrina is the author of Depression and Other Magic Tricks and can be found on instagram @badass_sab
Thanks so much for listening, friend!
Please rate/review/subscribe on iTunes (and subscribe/rate in whichever app you use)!
Instagram: @feelinweirdpod
Facebook: @feelinweird
BONUS episode! I talk about my tumultuous + toxic love affair with cocaine and what eventually led to a suicide attempt last September. Though suicide is often seen as purely negative, I found this experience to be life-changing and I think it needed to happen to me.
This is not a 'typical' episode because, as you see in the title, I interviewed myself. I thought it would be a funny way to talk about something fairly "heavy". I don't know if it ended up being funny at all... But I think the episode is still very interesting--though I'm very nervous to share it. People open up to me (and thousands of strangers who listen to Feelin Weird) every week about things that scare them, and 75% of guests (not a mathematician...) feel VERY nervous about doing it and are often hesitant to even share their stories, so I think it's important for me to share my WEIRD things as well (so I know what it's like). In my opinion, it's VERY important to talk about suicide (ideations, attempts, and just suicide in general) and I'm happy to share my experience.
TRIGGER WARNING: I talk about suicide, drugs and cutting myself--also, there is mention of blood. Please be cautious if any of those things trigger you! I honestly don't find these things hard to listen to--I LOVE HEARING THESE STORIES--but I know everyone is different.
Thanks so much for listening, friend!
Please rate/review/subscribe on iTunes (and subscribe/rate in whichever app you use)!
Instagram: @feelinweirdpod
Facebook: @feelinweird