Guest curator Olaiya Land talks with Dr. Lindsay Kite about body resilience and her book “More Than a Body.” Click here to register. Registration required.

This series of online talks will examine the ways all of our lives have shifted since the beginning of the pandemic and how we can move towards equity, justice and liberation through meaningful self-care.

Olaiya Land, founder of the online journal and community Lionesse, will be in conversation with authors and activists of diverse backgrounds about their personal journey towards self-acceptance and how their work aims to help others lean into embracing themselves more fully.

These conversations will be centered around reclaiming the concepts of self-care and self-acceptance from the hands of capitalism and mass-marketing and enabling them to retain meaning. The series will especially highlight the experiences of marginalized groups–BIPOC, queer and trans folks, fat people, women, and neurodivergent individuals–as they push back against Western beauty standards, patriarchy and White Supremacy and carve out spaces to feel accepted and whole.

This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Thanks to media sponsor The Seattle Times. This event will be recorded, captioned and then posted on SPL’s YouTube channel after the event.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr. Lindsay Kite is identical twin sisters with Dr. Lexie Kite. They both received PhDs from the University of Utah. Their academic research on media studies and body image inspired them to establish the non-profit Beauty Redefined in 2009 (while concluding their co-written master’s thesis and beginning their doctoral research) to help a greater number of females recognize and reject harmful messages about their bodies, worth, and potential, and redefine the meaning and value of beauty in their lives. Since then, Lexie and Lindsay have become leading experts in body image resilience and media literacy—authors of numerous studies and books have cited their original research—and have been featured in a variety of national media outlets. Today, they continue to build on their academic work and the passion it stoked for helping girls and women through Beauty Redefined’s online Body Image Resilience Program and course facilitator training, blogging, social media activism, and regular speaking engagements for thousands of people of all ages in both secular and religious settings, from universities and high schools to church congregations and community organizations.

Olaiya Land the founder and editor of Lionesse, an online journal and community promoting connection, confidence, sisterhood & self-love. She is the host of the Lionesse podcast. Olaiya also leads retreats and workshops all over the world that help people feel empowered and connect to their creativity. You can learn more about her work at www.wearelionesse.com and @wearelionesse.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Positive body image isn’t believing your body looks good; it is knowing your body is good, regardless of how it looks.

How do you feel about your body? Have you ever stayed home from a social activity or other opportunity because of concern about how you looked? Have you ever passed judgment on someone because of how they looked or dressed? Have you ever had difficulty concentrating on a task because you were self-conscious about your appearance?
Our beauty-obsessed world perpetuates the idea that happiness, health, and ability to be loved are dependent on how we look, but authors Lindsay and Lexie Kite offer an alternative vision. With insights drawn from their extensive body image research, Lindsay and Lexie—PhDs and founders of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined (and also twin sisters!)—lay out an action plan that arms you with the skills you need to reconnect with your whole self and free yourself from the constraints of self-objectification.
From media consumption to health and fitness to self-reflection and self-compassion, Lindsay and Lexie share powerful and practical advice that goes beyond “body positivity” to help readers develop body image resilience—all while cutting through the empty promises sold by media, advertisers, and the beauty and weight-loss industries. In the process, they show how facing your feelings of body shame or embarrassment can become a catalyst for personal growth.

View in Catalog More Than a Body by Lindsay Kite

ADA Accommodations: We can provide accommodations for people with disabilities at Library events. Please contact leap@spl.org at least seven days before the event to request accommodations. Captions are available for all recorded Library programs.