This week on The Spill: Starting afresh, bad parenting and body-shaming

Have you ever had one of those days that screamed for a wine and chats sesh with your girlfriends? Enter Image.ie’s podcast, The Spill. 

The Spill is hosted by our very own self-proclaimed agony aunts Sophie White and Rhona McAuliffe. With a mix of discussion on current affairs, arts and culture and some healthy advice to our listeners, it’s the best place to unwind and deliberate the issues affecting Irish women today.

First up in this week’s The Spill, Sophie and Rhona ask if September is the new January. Back-to-school time is synonymous with turning over a new leaf. Rhona says she makes big decisions every September; from moving to London, to signing up to voluntary work. She also commits to finishing a book. Sophie describes it as “a sudden terror”, in which we realise we only have three months left in the year to accomplish something. She suggests it stems from childhood when back-to-school time carried a sense of purposeful promise. “We carry that through to adulthood”, she says, “because we’re creatures of habit”.

Last time on The Spill: Commodifying feminism and struggles with sexuality

Perhaps it’s the reintroduction of routine that gets us motivated. It’s the end of summer chaos and everyone is back to business. September gives Rhona a big boost in will-power. Sophie, on the other hand, says September is all about fresh starts. She also questions whether we put too much emphasis on ‘resolutions’ and setting goals, rather than living in the moment. Listen in to hear the full chat.

Next, the ladies discuss what it means to be a ‘bad parent’. Rhona reflects on the summer-that-was; including allowing her son to play more than the recommended daily allowance of video games. She also confesses to giving him a lot of money for said-game, as well as paying her children to attend events with her. Sometimes though, a parent’s got to do what a parent’s got to do. Sophie adds in tidbits from her life too; including her child’s tantrum-throwing and how the child may have picked up some bad habits from her.

Lastly, agony aunt Rhona offers advice to a reader who has finally accepted her own image, but her parents keep body shaming her. In this week’s Hit Me Up, a woman explains, “I’ve finally arrived at a place where I’m at peace with my body. I exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet without denying myself any main food groups. But my shape has not changed and I’m no longer trying to change it. I have grown to like my body. The problem is, my family aren’t happy with how I look and openly discuss my weight and what I can do to ‘help’ myself.”

The anonymous reader asks Rhona for advice because she can’t find the words to express herself. To hear the reader’s full letter (as well as the advice she was given) listen to the brand new episode of The Spill podcast below:

If you’re passionate about the female body and all that it represents, then join us for an episode of The Spill Live on Monday, September 24th. Click here to book your place.