#74 - Unpacking Diet Culture in the Dance World with Jenna Jozefowski

08/09/23 • 61 min

This week, we’re talking to Jenna Jozefowski about diet culture in dance spaces... and so much more!
Jenna Jozefowski helps active women learn to lift and get strong with equal parts challenge and compassion. She is a certified personal trainer & kettlebell instructor, Trauma Informed Weightlifting coach, dance teacher, yoga teacher, and semi-retired professional dancer. After years of living and working in industries full of diet-culture, she got sick and tired of watching people (including herself) running themselves into the ground trying to uphold the narrow-minded image of what our culture sees as “healthy” and “fit”. But instead of giving it all up, she decided that she'd rather change the game, call out the BS, extract the good, and help others use movement to build themselves up rather than tear themselves down.
We had an amazing conversation with Jenna about...

how the dance world mirrors the weight stigma that exists in the larger world
how she navigated the nuances of being a straight sized person in the real world, but the largest person in the room in the dance world & how she unlearned the body narratives of the dance world
how the exclusive body standards of the dance world can keep people who don't fit those standards out of dance spaces (even just for fun!)
why she chose to stay in the dance & fitness industry as a voice of change
how she navigates the diet culture & body standards of the dance world & plants seeds of change with her dance students
why it's so important for performance-based athletes to properly fuel, train & recover, and why she's always the dance teacher with snacks
the importance of understanding the role of lived experience & genetics in body diversity
why bodies shouldn't be business cards & you can't exercise your way to a "long & lean" body
and the power of strength training for flipping harmful body narratives.

You can connect with Jenna on Instagram @itsjennaj, listen to her podcast Tough Cookie Talks wherever you listen to podcasts, and learn how to work with her at itsjennaj.com.

Stay in touch with the pod on IG @satisfactionfactorpod!
And here's where you can continue to find us:
Sadie Simpson: www.sadiesimpson.com or IG @sadiemsimpson
Naomi Katz: www.happyshapes.co or IG @happyshapesnaomi

how the dance world mirrors the weight stigma that exists in the larger world
how she navigated the nuances of being a straight sized person in the real world, but the largest person in the room in the dance world & how she unlearned the body narratives of the dance world
how the exclusive body standards of the dance world can keep people who don't fit those standards out of dance spaces (even just for fun!)
why she chose to stay in the dance & fitness industry as a voice of change
how she navigates the diet culture & body standards of the dance world & plants seeds of change with her dance students
why it's so important for performance-based athletes to properly fuel, train & recover, and why she's always the dance teacher with snacks
the importance of understanding the role of lived experience & genetics in body diversity
why bodies shouldn't be business cards & you can't exercise your way to a "long & lean" body
and the power of strength training for flipping harmful body narratives.

You can connect with Jenna on Instagram @itsjennaj, listen to her podcast Tough Cookie Talks wherever you listen to podcasts, and learn how to work with her at itsjennaj.com.

Previous Episode

#73 - Embodiment for Fat Folks with Melanie Losacco

This week, we’re talking to Melanie Losacco about embodiment practices for fat folks!
Melanie (she/hers) draws on her lived experience as a fat person as well as her professional background as a trauma informed somatic coach to help fat folx become more embodied. Outside of work she fills her days mom-ing, laughing with friends, binging trashy tv and plotting ways to continue smashing the system.
We had an amazing conversation with Melanie about...

how feminism is often missing the weight stigma lens
the problems with blank slate therapy
what somatic experiencing even is
why being present in your body can be hard
how embodiment was a turning point in her own relationship with her body
why embodiment is different for fat folks & folks in other marginalized bodies
and what providers can do to better support their fat clients.

You can find Melanie on Instagram at @embodiedmelanielosacco, and you can find out more about her services here: https://www.reclaimingbeauty.com/embodiment-coaching.

Next Episode

#75 - What Is Body Diversity & Why Does It Matter?

This week we’re talking all about body diversity! We realized that we use this term frequently, but we’ve never talked about what it is, why it matters, or how you can start cultivating an appreciation for it. So that’s exactly what we’re doing in this episode!

We had a great conversation, including:

What body diversity is (and how bodies are like zucchinis 😂)
How we're conditioned to believe that all bodies are supposed to be the same
The oppressive systems upheld in what we believe about "normal" bodies
The harm done by a lack of body diversity & why accurate representation matters
The intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional benefits of recognizing body diversity
And ways to start unlearning our beliefs about "normal" bodies & cultivating an appreciation for body diversity.

Referenced in this episode:
List of IG Accounts to Follow for Body Diversity
Decolonizing Fitness's Database of Affirming Fitness & Movement Practitioners
Louise Green's Size Inclusive Fitness Specialist Certification
Damali Fraiser's certifications & trainings (personal & professional)