Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We’re living through a strange reversal.
Ten years ago, the body positivity movement was everywhere. The message was simple: your appearance is not the center of who you are. Stop objectifying women. Stop treating beauty as their greatest value. Celebrate bodies instead of ranking them.
And yet, somehow, the conversation has completely flipped.
Beauty is no longer just something to possess. It has become something to leverage for attention, status and opportunity. And in its most extreme form, for income itself.
We were once told, "You're more than your body." Now the message increasingly feels like, "Your body may be your greatest asset."
Few people have watched this shift more closely than Dr. Renee Engeln. One of the world's leading researchers on beauty, body image, and self-objectification, she has spent decades studying the psychological forces shaping how women see themselves.
In 2017, she published Beauty Sick, warning that our obsession with appearance was becoming a public health crisis. Nearly a decade later, many of her predictions have come true.
This conversation isn't just about why women feel trapped by beauty anymore. It's about why, for so many, beauty has come to feel like the only way out.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:13 - The Paradox of Catcalling
5:04 - Why Beauty Is About Power
14:21 - The Origins Of Self-Objectification
24:44 - The Illusion Beauty Is Attainable
40:52 - Your Looks Will Decline (Eventually)
44:54 - Is Showing Off Your Body Empowering?
58:43 - When People Only Love You For Your Beauty
1:09:35 - Grieving The Way The World Is
Related Episodes:
youtu.be/Bm-H3Nhucyo
Join Our Newsletter (The Nine):
mightypursuit.com/thenine
Mighty Pursuit Links:
Website: mightypursuit.com
Instagram: instagram.com/mightypursuit
TikTok: tiktok.com/@mightypursuit
X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Renee Engeln Links:
Instagram: instagram.com/beauty_sick
Google Scholar: https://shorturl.at/xxHWz
Book: amzn.to/4vvkxhE
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com
We’re living through a strange reversal.
Ten years ago, the body positivity movement was everywhere. The message was simple: your appearance is not the center of who you are. Stop objectifying women. Stop treating beauty as their greatest value. Celebrate bodies instead of ranking them.
And yet, somehow, the conversation has completely flipped.
Beauty is no longer just something to possess. It has become something to leverage for attention, status and opportunity. And in its most extreme form, for income itself.
We were once told, "You're more than your body." Now the message increasingly feels like, "Your body may be your greatest asset."
Few people have watched this shift more closely than Dr. Renee Engeln. One of the world's leading researchers on beauty, body image, and self-objectification, she has spent decades studying the psychological forces shaping how women see themselves.
In 2017, she published Beauty Sick, warning that our obsession with appearance was becoming a public health crisis. Nearly a decade later, many of her predictions have come true.
This conversation isn't just about why women feel trapped by beauty anymore. It's about why, for so many, beauty has come to feel like the only way out.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:13 - The Paradox of Catcalling
5:04 - Why Beauty Is About Power
14:21 - The Origins Of Self-Objectification
24:44 - The Illusion Beauty Is Attainable
40:52 - Your Looks Will Decline (Eventually)
44:54 - Is Showing Off Your Body Empowering?
58:43 - When People Only Love You For Your Beauty
1:09:35 - Grieving The Way The World Is
Related Episodes:
youtu.be/Bm-H3Nhucyo
Join Our Newsletter (The Nine):
mightypursuit.com/thenine
Mighty Pursuit Links:
Website: mightypursuit.com
Instagram: instagram.com/mightypursuit
TikTok: tiktok.com/@mightypursuit
X: https://x.com/MightyPursuit
Dr. Renee Engeln Links:
Instagram: instagram.com/beauty_sick
Google Scholar: https://shorturl.at/xxHWz
Book: amzn.to/4vvkxhE
For business inquiries: hello@mightypursuit.com
