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“I really wasn’t speaking a lot about my personal life in my younger years,” Raven-Symoné told Jessica Cruel, editor in chief of Allure and host of the Perspectives podcast. But that’s changing now. Raven details the different pressures she endured as a young woman in the entertainment industry, from close scrutiny of the food she ate to the explicit expectation that she’d conform to a hyper-feminine aesthetic. For her, breasts are intimately connected to body image and weight management; she talks about shopping for hours in a day, afraid to go in the men’s section where she thought she’d find more comfortable options, instead looking for hard-to-find women’s clothes that would fit her breasts and her hips. Raven had two breast reductions before she turned 20, which she now regrets because, she says, “It was hastily done,” adding, “I wish I was stronger to say no.” Now, Raven is done with constraints. Accepting her sexuality, wearing the clothes she feels comfortable in, and surrounding herself with people who keep her from “having to perform,” Raven is creating a life that prioritizes being grounded. When asked about how she thinks about her body currently, Raven celebrates throwing away her fajas for good, doing 100 squats a day, and eating healthy—but still making sure to eat. When she thinks about her younger self, and how she could have guided her through the hard times, she says, “It’s gonna get better later…. You’ll take the brunt of what it looks like to be a thicker person in the industry; other people will come and make it super popular, and you’ll have to just hold the trauma from that time for others…. And if you look at the silver lining in it, it’s the strength, it’s the courage, it’s wisdom for another time.”  And, Raven concludes, “You were right: A toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and tomato and a little bit of salt is delicious. You’ll be able to have it when you get older.” Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics that shape women's lives today with honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Lisa Cassileth is a breast surgeon in Beverly Hills, which, according to her, means encountering “so many bad boob jobs.” But repairing someone else’s questionable handiwork happens to be one of Dr. Cassileth’s specialties, along with innovative reconstructions and other thoughtful surgical developments that prioritize positive patient outcomes and well-being. Dr. Cassileth was the first female chief of plastic surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and has started two practices of her own.  “Women aren’t really getting breast reductions as much as they used to,” Dr. Cassileth tells Jessica Cruel, host of the Perspectives podcast and editor in chief of Allure. That’s largely due to the impact of GLP-1s. “[Patients are] getting breast lifts because after the weight is lost…it’s really now a skin problem.” Breast lifts are aided by an absorbable mesh, which can hold the breast in place while scar tissue and collagen forms to support the newly tightened skin.  Dr. Cassileth discusses this and other trends and technological developments in the breast surgery space, including improved implants, fat transfers for augmentations, the use of peptides for expedited recovery, and the influence of AI. Her office uses AI-enhanced modeling to preview surgical outcomes, but Dr. Cassileth and other cosmetic and medical providers are also facing the reality that patients’ expectations are being skewed by AI-generated images. “Even though I’m a plastic surgeon,” Dr. Cassileth says, “and I have a lot of tools at my disposal, not even natural humans can achieve what AI is achieving.”  Still, a lot can be achieved. Dr. Cassileth talks through the essential steps for safe and sterile breast reconstruction or augmentation, and explains why patients seeking breast reductions are her favorite to work with. She also details the expectations she has for mastectomy surgeons in hospitals, calling out high rates of mastectomy flap necrosis, which happens when skin tissue dies due to lack of blood flow, complicating reconstructions. “You can have plastic surgeons that are fantastic, but if the mastectomy surgeon who removes the breast tissue is still making a big line, or if the overlying skin dies at the time they do the mastectomy, because the skin is thinned out too much, then,” Dr. Cassileth asks, “how does a plastic surgeon do a good job?”  Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics that shape women's lives today with honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ericka Hart is in the next phase of her lifelong sex education. Starting as a curious and resourceful teenager, looking for answers to supplement her abstinence-only sex-ed class, Hart built on her knowledge when she was diagnosed, at 28, with breast cancer. Until her diagnosis, Hart had never really thought about her breasts. “They really felt like they were in service to other people,” she says. That changed post-treatment when she went topless at a music festival in 2016, publicly displaying her mastectomy scars: “I just wanted people…to see me and my scars, and to see what breast cancer looks like in Black, queer, and trans people.” She also wanted to challenge the cultural default that desexualizes cancer survivors. People would tell Hart over and over that she was so inspiring, which was nice, but, she adds, “I’m also pretty hot.”  That next phase of her education arrived when she got pregnant with her partner using IUI (intrauterine insemination) and gave birth. “I feel much different in my body now as a 40-year-old who is three years postpartum than I did after breast cancer,” Hart says. “I think pregnancy and childbirth truly rocked me more than anything I’ve ever experienced.” Now that she’s raising a child, Hart is aware of another change—the feeling that she wants to keep her body to herself, asking, “What’s for me?”  Ericka Hart is a sex educator, activist, and the author of Nasty Work.  Allure’s Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics shaping women's lives today through honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by editor in chief Jessica Cruel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can’t talk about breasts without talking about bras. So Jessica Cruel, Allure’s editor in chief, went to the source: Dr. Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Dr. Steele is a pioneer in the field of fashion studies and that the clothes we wear–and what we wear underneath them–merit serious attention. She’s also the author of a book tracing the cultural history of the corset and how it influenced the development of other shapewear. Cue: the bra. Bras started to show up in the early 20th century as more women joined the workforce and pursued activities that required a broader range of movement and support. From torpedo-like bras to padded bras to more gamine bralettes, they are, according to Dr. Steele, “always in relation to the style of dress” that’s popular at the time and often attempt to balance looking “respectable” with being “sexually attractive.” Women, Dr. Steele notes, have always sought some form of shapewear, even if it's a rejection of the structure (e.g., bra-burning in the '70s). Today, as bra designers focus on balancing comfort with style, Dr. Steele highlights how there is still an impulse to nip, tuck, cinch, and lift the body. Allure’s Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics shaping women's lives today through honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by editor in chief Jessica Cruel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor Olivia Munn is no stranger to the spotlight, but in recent years, after the birth of her first child and a breast cancer diagnosis, things have looked a little different for her—a reality Munn is bravely leaning into. “When I get asked about any part of my health journey,” Munn tells Allure’s editor in chief Jessica Cruel, “it feels like I have purpose now.”  Munn walks Cruel through the physical and emotional challenges that came with the joys of her new motherhood. Munn was determined to breastfeed her son, Malcolm, but after working with multiple lactation consultants and trying acupuncture, supplements, and meditation, she turned to formula. Munn says she had “all of this guilt that ‘breast is best,’” adding that “breast milk is amazing, but that slogan is so difficult for women like myself.” She also wrestled with postpartum anxiety and its physical symptoms—waking up in the middle of the night, chest tight, heart racing—that soon did something “strange” to her brain, intensifying the loss of identity she felt during her postpartum break and financial anxiety about being out of the workforce. Two years later, at the urging of her doctor, Munn took the lifetime risk assessment test for breast cancer, and received a high score. After more testing, Munn was diagnosed with bilateral luminal B breast cancer. She’s had five surgeries since then, including a double mastectomy and reconstruction, and an operation to remove her uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes to reduce the risk of recurrence. “One question I have been asked,” Munn recalls, “is did I ever feel that my body was betraying me. That doesn’t make sense,” she says, because “my body is the thing getting me through this.”  Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool can be found here. Allure’s Perspectives is a new series exploring the topics shaping women's lives today through honest, nuanced, and deeply personal conversations. The first season examines the cultural significance of breasts through intimate accounts and expert interviews, hosted by editor in chief Jessica Cruel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abbott Elementary actress and SELF cover star Sheryl Lee Ralph gives advice to her younger self at key moments in her life: when she was a young woman, during the early days of the AIDS crisis, when she became a mom, the day before she won her Emmy, and when she was about to turn 40.  Read SELF’s March cover profile of Sheryl Get the episode transcript here This podcast was produced by Hayley Fager, Rachel Miller, and Westry Green, and edited by Hayley Fager. Peyton Hayes is our audio production coordinator, Jake Loomis is our audio engineer, and Caitlin Brody and Sergio Kletnoy are our talent bookers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our inaugural episode, soccer star Ali Krieger gives advice to her younger self at four key moments: as a kid, when she was coming out, when she didn’t make the women’s national team, and when she became a mom.  Read SELF’s January cover profile of Ali Get the episode transcript here This podcast was produced by Hayley Fager and Rachel Miller, and edited by Hayley Fager. Peyton Hayes is our audio production coordinator, Jake Lummus is our audio engineer, and Caitlin Brody and Sergio Kletnoy are our talent bookers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, Dr. Mariel Buquè is back, sitting down with Zahra to talk about how to stay more relaxed throughout our workdays. Dr. Buquè talks about why reducing stress can be such a challenge, offering tips and techniques for staying grounded. She then takes us through a guided mindfulness exercise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, we’re continuing our coverage of the COVID-19 vaccines. We revisit a panel that Zahra hosted with David Kaufman, digital director at Architectural Digest, about myths and myth-busting around the vaccines and Black and Latinx communities. Along with experts Dr. Leon McDougle, Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe, and registered nurse Sandra Lindsay, they discuss how to address inequitable vaccine access, the valid questions many people may have about these vaccines, and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our last episode of the season, we hear from Victoria, an archivist who was forced to find answers on her own about her endometriosis. Like many others diagnosed with a chronic illness, she’s faced multiple hurdles while navigating the medical system. Even though she’s learned a lot along the way, she wants to know how to continue to advocate for herself to her doctor—and how she can advocate for others in similar positions as well. Zahra consults Lauren Selfridge, L.M.F.T., a psychotherapist with multiple sclerosis and the host of This Is Not What I Ordered, a podcast about “full-hearted” living with chronic illness. Lauren shares her experience with multiple sclerosis, and how to find empathetic medical professionals who take you seriously, and the power of a good second opinion. You can learn more about Lauren’s work at her website (https://laurenselfridge.com) and you can follow her on Instagram @laurenselfridgeofficical (https://www.instagram.com/laurenselfridgeofficial/?hl=en).  You can listen to her podcast This Is Not What I Ordered wherever you get your podcasts.  Here are some SELF resources and articles about navigating life when you have a chronic illness: Opening Up About Your Chronic Illness (https://www.self.com/story/checking-in-podcast-multiple-sclerosis)  Writing A Chronic Illness Elevator Pitch Has Made My Doctor’s Appointments So Much Easier (https://www.self.com/story/chronic-illness-elevator-pitch) Let’s Talk About Dating and Relationships When You Have a Chronic Illness (https://www.self.com/story/checking-in-podcast-sex-love-sleep-apnea)  For People with Chronic Illness, Social Isolation Is Nothing New (https://www.self.com/story/chronic-illness-social-isolation-coronavirus)  I’m Furious That It Took Almost a Decade to Diagnose My Chronic Pain (https://www.self.com/story/chronic-pain-ankylosing-spondylitis)  If It Isn’t Chronic Lyme, What Is It? (https://www.self.com/story/chronic-lyme) How to Support a Friend Who’s Just Been Diagnosed With a Chronic Illness (https://www.self.com/story/support-friend-chronic-illness) Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Checking In, we hear from Loree, who is unsure about how to navigate dating right now. Online dating could be difficult even before the pandemic. Now, trust is even trickier to establish when it comes to things like vaccination status, caution levels, and boundaries. Not to mention how daunting dating again can be after so much social isolation. To help Loree figure it all out, Zahra first consults SELF senior health editor Patia Braithwaite about what she’s noticed in her coverage of dating life since the pandemic began. Then Zahra chats with Traci Medeiros-Bagan, L.M.F.T., a relationship therapist based out of California. They give advice on how to have these tricky conversations with someone you’re interested in, and how to figure out your own boundaries during this time. You can read Patia’s work at SELF here, and follow her on Twitter @PdorBRaithw8. You can learn more about Traci’s work on their website: http://compassionaterevolt.com/ Check out these SELF articles about dating during this time and the many questions it brings up: Pandemic Dating Is Hard--But Hasn’t It Always Been Difficult? (https://www.self.com/story/dating-during-pandemic)  9 Ways Non-Monogamous People Are Dealing With the Pandemic (https://www.self.com/story/non-monogamous-pandemic-dating)  How To Deal If Being Single Has You Worried About “Biological Clocks” and Timelines (https://www.self.com/story/being-single-stress-about-the-future)  16 Quarantine Date Ideas That Are Actually Really Great (https://www.self.com/story/quarantine-date-ideas)  I Book Club with Bumble Matches--Here’s What I’ve Learned (https://www.self.com/story/bumble-book-club)  Road Test: I Tried Hinge’s Virtual Date Night Kit (https://www.self.com/story/hinge-virtual-date-kit)  Is Your Rebound Relationship Actually Harmful? (https://www.self.com/story/rebound-relationship)  Yes, Your Situationship Breakup Is Real (https://www.self.com/story/situationship-breakup)  16 Intriguing Dating Apps To Try If You Want To Meet Someone New (https://www.self.com/story/16-dating-apps) Everything Isn’t A Red Flag--Here’s How to Tell the Difference (https://www.self.com/story/red-flag-green-and-yellow-flags)  8 Cute Date Ideas to Try If you’re Tired of Staying Inside (https://www.self.com/story/outdoor-date-ideas) Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Checking In, we hear from Jenna, a listener who has a question many of us feel deep down during this time: How can we help ourselves feel better when the world is basically a dumpster fire? Sometimes, adding even just one more thing to your to-do list feels insurmountable. Zahra consults Mariel Buqué, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and holistic mental health expert based in NYC. She’s been helping her clients adjust to pandemic life stressors, particularly by emphasizing the connection between mind, body, and soul. Dr. Buqué offers some practical tips for incorporating gratitude and joy into your life so that you actually feel better—without veering into toxic positivity. After that, Zahra chats with actor and mental health advocate Kristen Bell, who is also SELF’s May digital cover star. They discuss how to set up a personal toolkit to deal with life in an overwhelming world, why Bell is a big fan of gratitude lists, and how she tries to find contentment in her day-to-day life.  You can learn more about Mariel Buqué’s work here, and you can follow her on Instagram @dr.marielbuque. You can follow Kristen Bell on Instagram @kristenanniebell and on Twitter @KristenBell. And here’s SELF’s May digital cover, featuring Bell discussing everything from parenting in a pandemic to how her husband, Dax Shepard, helps her cope with anxiety and depression. For some helpful tips on how to begin a gratitude practice and how to try to find joy even when the world feels pretty awful, check out these articles: The Healing Powers of Gratitude 4 Small Ways to Practice Gratitude Every Day Please Celebrate Yourself—Even During a Pandemic Black Joy Isn’t Frivolous--It’s Necessary In Praise of Black People Laughing What Is Resilience, and Can It Help Us Bounce Back From This? 13 Small but Impactful Ways to Cultivate Resilience And here are some of the resources we mentioned for navigating really tough feelings in a way that goes beyond gratitude and joy: 7 Ways to Find an Actually Affordable Therapist 10 Online Support Groups for Anyone Struggling to Get Through 2020 41 Mental Health Apps That Will Make Life a Little Easier Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we hear from Stasia, a pregnant Black woman who wants to know how to prepare for birth and how to advocate for herself along the way. Zahra chats with Kameelah Phillips, M.D., an ob-gyn and women’s health advocate based in NYC. One of her core interests is health care disparities—and how to help prevent them. Zahra also consults with Latham Thomas, a doula and the founder of Mama Glow who focuses on care along the childbearing continuum. They discuss how to navigate the system as a Black pregnant person and how giving birth looks different during the pandemic.  You can learn more about Dr. Phillips’ work or seek care at www.callawomenshealth.com, and follow her on Instagram @dr.kameelahsays. You can learn more about Mama Glow and its supportive community at www.mamaglow.com, and follow Latham Thomas on Instagram @glowmaven. For resources, information, and a variety of articles on Black maternal mortality, visit SELF’s extensive series on the issue. For other related articles, check out: What It’s Like to Be a Doula Working With Black Pregnant People Right Now There Are Joyful Black Birth Stories--This New Podcast Is Highlighting Them I Got the COVID-19 Vaccine While Pregnant—Here's Why COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe for Pregnant and Breastfeeding People, According to New Study Pregnant And Worried About Coronavirus? You’re Not Alone Some People Are Disclosing Their Pregnancies ‘Early’ Because of the Coronavirus The Deep Loneliness of Having a Baby in a Pandemic What It’s Like to Pause Fertility Treatments Because of Coronavirus How Years of Infertility Prepared Me for Pregnancy During the Coronavirus Crisis Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we hear from Nan, a young woman who is trying to figure out if meditation is right for her. Zahra consults with SELF’s health editor, Carolyn Todd, who has reported extensively on what meditation can and can’t do for your health. Then Zahra speaks with a mindfulness meditation teacher, Kriste Peoples, who walks us through what starting a meditation practice can look like and talks about her work facilitating meditation for people of color.  You can follow Carolyn @CarolynLTodd on Twitter, and read more of her work here: https://www.self.com/contributor/carolyn-todd You can learn more about Kriste’s many roles on her website: https://kristepeoples.com. And you can follow her on Instagram @kristepeoples.  Here are some meditation apps: Liberate is a subscription-based meditation app that includes practices and talks designed for the Black community. According to their website, they have curated content from 40+ teachers of color with a diverse background in lineage, perspective, and approach, so that everyone can find a practice in their voice. Headspace is a subscription-based meditation app with a friendly interface. It helps guide you through meditations, both single mediations and dozens of courses that address anxiety, loneliness, gratitude, and much more.  10 Percent Happier is dedicated to skeptics. You can even connect to a coach that will answer all your questions, and the app has also spun off into a podcast and book you may find helpful. Here are some SELF articles full of information, tips, and resources: How to Meditate When You Have No Idea When to Start The Has Never Been A Better Time to Start Meditating The 15 Best Meditation Apps, According to People Who Actually Meditate What Meditation Can -- and Can’t -- Do For Your Health Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Season 2 of Checking In with our new host, Zahra Barnes, SELF’s interim editor in chief. In this episode, we hear from several listeners with common questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines. Questions like: Where can I get vaccinated? Should I get the vaccine if I have underlying health conditions? What if I’m breastfeeding? How do I manage my anxiety about getting vaccinated? Zahra first consults with epidemiologist and SELF contributor Tara Smith, Ph.D., who takes us through how the vaccine works, why the vast majority of side effects are nothing to worry about, and what you need to know before getting the vaccine. Zahra then talks to SELF’s associate news director, Sarah Jacoby, who has been covering the pandemic and the vaccines extensively. Sarah shares her experience getting her COVID-19 vaccine as well as a glimpse of what life post-vaccination might look like.  To connect with Dr. Smith and Sarah, you can follow them on Twitter @aetiology and @sarah_jacoby, respectively, and read their work for SELF here (https://www.self.com/contributor/tara-smith) and here (https://www.self.com/contributor/sarah-jacoby).  Zahra mentions a March 2021 survey about there being little difference in vaccine hesitancy between Black and white Americans. You can find more information on that here (https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/12/976172586/little-difference-in-vaccine-hesitancy-among-white-and-black-americans-poll-find). And here are several SELF articles on coronavirus vaccines that you may find helpful, including a guide to getting a vaccination appointment:  Here’s How to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine: https://www.self.com/story/how-to-get-covid-vaccine 9 Ways to Prepare for Your COVID-19 Appointment: https://www.self.com/story/prepare-for-covid-19-vaccine-appointment Does It Matter Which COVID-19 Vaccine You Get?: https://www.self.com/story/which-covid-19-vaccine mRNA Coronavirus Vaccines: 9 Questions, Answered: https://www.self.com/story/mrna-coronavirus-vaccine-questions How Much Do You Need To Worry About Coronavirus Variants?: https://www.self.com/story/coronavirus-variants 7 Small Things You Can Do To Help Protect Yourself From Coronavirus Variants: https://www.self.com/story/coronavirus-variant-precautions Don’t miss out on new episodes of Checking In on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Apple Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-apple Spotify: http://listen.self.com/self-spotify Google Podcasts: http://listen.self.com/self-google Don't forget to sign up for the Checking In newsletter here: https://www.self.com/newsletter/checking-in If you have a health or wellness question of your own and want a chance to be featured on the podcast, you can submit it here: https://forms.gle/L7GvikSPPaouASqK9 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices