Episode Details
Back to Episodes
E53: Beyond Shame and Blame | Leora Tanenbaum on Sexual Citizenship, Dress Codes, and Digital Harm - Advocacy in Action
Description
Today on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by communications director Maria Villegas and student intern Jonas Wahl, along with this week’s guest, author and advocate Leora Tanenbaum. Leora is a pioneering writer on slut shaming, sexual agency, and young women’s rights whose latest book, Sexy Selfie Nation, explores how young people are navigating an increasingly toxic, sexist, and hyper-digital culture.
Leora shares how reading a 1993 report on sexual harassment in schools helped her finally name the abuse she experienced as a teen, and how that “lightbulb moment” led to 30 years of research, interviews, and books amplifying girls’ and women’s stories. She traces the evolution from “slut bashing” in the 1990s to today’s landscape of social media, image-based abuse, and AI-driven deepfakes, explaining why what once felt like a hopeful turning point for change has instead become an era where harassment is constant, portable, and nearly impossible to escape.
Together, the group explores trauma-informed advocacy, internalized slut shaming, and the complicated ways survivors can blame themselves for violence they did not cause, even when they know better. They talk through what genuine allyship from boys, men, and peers can look like—starting with “I believe you, I’m here for you”—and how small shifts in everyday language.
Leora explains the concept of sexual citizenship—everyone’s right to determine if, when, and how sexual encounters occur, and to respect others’ equal rights—and highlights how this core principle is undermined by gendered dress codes, non-consensual sexualization, and victim-blaming narratives.
She and the hosts dig into how societies police girls’ bodies, disproportionately target girls of color, and force young people to see themselves as sexual objects before they may be ready, as well as how students of all genders are organizing to rewrite these policies and reclaim their autonomy.
They close with a call for everyone, especially young people, to own their bodies, their images, and their stories without apology, to challenge non-consensual sexualization wherever they see it, and to stand together in creating schools, families, and online spaces where no one is shamed for simply existing in their own skin.
Leora Tanenbaum - link to: https://www.leoratanenbaum.com/
Sexy Selfie Nation - link to: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538194007/
Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com