Podcast Summary: Out of the Vat with Heather Widdows

Podcast: LSE: Public lectures and events
Episode: Out of the Vat with Heather Widdows
Date: January 31, 2020
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team

Episode Overview

This episode features a wide-ranging conversation with Professor Heather Widdows, John Ferguson Professor of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham. The discussion focuses on her current research into the ethics of beauty, her advocacy work against lookism, and her broader philosophical journey. Widdows reflects on her influential books, new campaigns, and the intersection of ethics, justice, and body image in contemporary life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Current Research: Beauty and Body Positivity

• Focus on Beauty Practices:
  Heather Widdows discusses her continued work on beauty standards, most recently examining body positivity and its limitations:

  "At the moment I'm working on body positivity and why it might not be so positive. So first of all, you feel like a failure because you feel you don't measure up, and then you feel like a failure again because you haven't got the right attitude... this just seems to me the wholly wrong way to go about it." (00:47)

2. Everyday Lookism Campaign

• What Is Everyday Lookism?
  Widdows describes this campaign as a way to confront the social acceptance of body shaming:

  "Instead of saying to people, oh, all bodies are great, when we know and young girls know that that's not true, we are sharing people's lookism stories... to show how deep this cuts." (01:17)

• Historic Parallel:
  She compares today's normalized lookism to the way sexism was once socially acceptable, emphasizing the widespread, often unnoticed harm.
• Campaign Details:
  Stories are shared anonymously to highlight the depth and pervasiveness of look-based discrimination (02:30).

3. Main Arguments from 'Perfect Me'

• Four Central Arguments:
  Widdows summarizes the four key arguments of her book "Perfect Me" (02:51):
  • Beauty as an Ethical Ideal:
    Beauty ideals have become moral demands—people frame behaviors as "good" or "bad" in ethical terms based on adherence to these ideals.

    "It's becoming a moral demand, something that we have to do and something that we feel ashamed of ourselves... when we fail at." (02:51)

  • Globalization of Beauty Standards:
    The widespread nature of current beauty ideals makes modification practices (like body hair removal) appear "natural" when they’re actually constructed, in contrast to older practices like corsetry or foot binding.
  • The Body as Self:
    Today, individuals see their bodies not just as objects but as core to their identity, with beauty being a form of self-actualization distinct from sexual objectification.
  • Old Arguments No Longer Sufficient:
    Traditional feminist or philosophical critiques don't capture the complexity or global reach of contemporary beauty pressures.

4. Finding a Positive Way Forward

• Alternative Futures:
  Widdows insists society is not locked into an increasingly demanding future, but can shape more positive outcomes:

  "We need to find beauty without the beast. The last thing we want is to forget that we're bodies again. We need to inhabit, love and engage... without continuing the critical harmful elements." (05:21)

• Constructive Actions:
  She suggests proactive engagement—using social media for good, reevaluating advertising, and understanding why beauty ideals are powerful, rather than simply telling people (especially girls) to "just resist." (05:21–07:00)

5. Justice and Beauty

• Why Shift from Global Justice to Beauty?
  Widdows explains that body image and beauty are central justice issues, with body anxiety now widespread across demographics:

  "Beauty is utterly full of justice issues. It matters to so many people so much that it is almost defining of identity." (07:09)

• Impact Across Ages and Genders:
  Body image anxiety is now as prevalent among boys and in early childhood, marking beauty as a pressing ethical and justice concern. (07:09–08:11)

6. Philosophical Commitments and Shifts

• Critique of ‘Choice and Consent’ in Ethics:
  Widdows is known for challenging the dominance of individual choice in ethical policy, arguing that “choice is not fairy dust.” (08:15)

  "Nearly every time when we default to choice and consent as the ethical maker, we are failing to do the ethics that we should." (08:15)

• Change in Position:
  She speaks candidly about changing her mind, particularly regarding theories blaming gendered exploitation or stressing individual resistance, having found them inadequate for the complexities of modern beauty standards. (10:00–11:44)

7. Life and Career Reflections

• Literature and Pop Culture:
  Recently reread the Twilight series for her daughter and mentions works like Ink and Vanity Fair. Personally enjoyed "The Shock of the Fall" for its exploration of interiority. (11:47–13:00)
• Television Tastes:
  Enjoys a mix of contemporary and historical drama, from "Killing Eve" to "Borgen" and "I, Claudius." (13:17)
• Early Aspirations:
  Dreamed of careers from dance to NGO work, and even floristry, before "accidentally" landing in philosophy. (14:01–14:31)
• Academic Journey:
  Studied Theology at Edinburgh and later completed a PhD in Moral Philosophy. (15:02)
• Love for Philosophy:
  Expresses deep appreciation for her career:

  "I still can't believe that I get paid to think and write and communicate ideas... it's a truly amazing job." (15:17)

• Critique of Academic Culture:
  Widdows dislikes the lingering competitiveness and desires a more collaborative philosophical community. (15:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Body Positivity's Paradox:

  "Then you feel like a failure again because you haven't got the right attitude, you're not resilient enough, you're not positive enough..." (00:47)

• On Lookism vs. Sexism:

  "It's still normal to do lookism. So we routinely criticise other people's bodies, make nasty comments all the way from the playground to the workplace." (01:17)

• On Beauty’s Ethical Status:

  “It's becoming a moral demand, something that we have to do and something that we feel ashamed of ourselves... when we fail at." (02:51)

• On Choice in Ethics:

  "Choice is not fairy dust." (08:15)

• On Philosophical Privilege:

  "I just cannot believe that I get paid to do this stuff." (15:17)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Research Focus: 00:08–01:17
• Everyday Lookism Campaign: 01:17–02:30
• Main Arguments of "Perfect Me": 02:51–05:12
• Possibilities for the Future: 05:21–07:01
• Justice & Beauty as Ethical Issue: 07:09–08:11
• Controversial Positions in Ethics: 08:15–09:57
• Changing Philosophical Positions: 10:00–11:44
• Personal Reflections (Books, TV): 11:47–13:57
• Career and Philosophy: 14:01–16:43

Conclusion

Heather Widdows offers a rich and nuanced critique of contemporary beauty culture, connecting philosophical analysis with everyday justice concerns. The episode is both intellectually rigorous and personally revealing, illustrating the deep ethical stakes of how we see—and treat—our bodies and ourselves.