Nov. 14, 2025
E16: Why Body Contol Makes You Lonely — And How To Break the Cycle
Why do so many of us feel uncomfortable in our own bodies — and why does it make us lonely? This episode looks at how modern body image culture, diet culture, and the wellness industry quietly shape our fears, routines, and relationships.
Drawing on philosophy, sociology, psychology, and lived experience, I trace how body standards and appearance pressure turn into dogma: moral rules we absorb without ever choosing them. We break down how fitness culture, health trends, beauty standards, and wellness ideology create comparison, self-surveillance, and social isolation — and how those habits slowly separate us from each other.
This isn't about individual willpower. It's about the cultural machinery that turns bodies into projects and belonging into a performance. If you've ever cancelled plans because of how you look, felt judged, or wondered why body image has become such a universal struggle, this episode examines the structural forces behind it — and why the body-control mindset now touches everyone.
Episode exploring loneliness, power, knowledge, and how capitalism shapes our relationship with our bodies.
🎯 Subscribe for bi-weekly inquiries into how capitalism shapes loneliness, identity, and belonging: youtube.com/@thelonelinessindustrypodcast
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Eat the Rules Podcast - Summer Innanen
Beyond the Mirror - Jonny Landels
Men Unscripted - Aaron Flores
The Midlife Feast - Jenn Salib Huber
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
10:25 – Today's Journey: Three Parts on Body Standards and Loneliness
11:58 – Part I: Philosophy - Power, Knowledge and Body Control
21:32 – Dogma's Necessary Archetypes: Good Bodies vs Bad Bodies
25:02 – Case Study: L'Oréal and Beauty Standards
27:18 – The Relationship Between Science and Dogma
34:43 – Part II: Sociology - How We Police Each Other's Bodies
36:30 – A Lived Example of Body Surveillance
39:20 – In-Groups and Out-Groups: Divide and Conquer Through Body Standards
44:29 – Where Sociology Meets Psychology
48:50 – Capitalism's Favorite Mantra: It's All About ME
51:13 – Part III: Psychology - The Internal Impact
52:28 – My Personal Experience Internalizing Body Control Dogma
57:48 – The Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model
1:03:33 – What To Do To Get Out Of The Body Control Trap
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🎓 THINKERS REFERENCED:
Michel Foucault (power/knowledge, panopticon, truth regimes), Thomas Kuhn (paradigm theory), Christopher Lasch (culture of narcissism), René Girard (scapegoating mechanisms), Byung-Chul Han (achievement society), Hannah Arendt (enemy-making logic), Paul Hewitt & Gordon Flett (perfectionism research), Leon Festinger (cognitive dissonance), Karen Horney (idealized self-image), Dr. Stacy Sims (female physiology research), and more.
🎵 Theme music: "The Annihilation Sequence" by Jordan Reyne
#Loneliness #BodyImage #Philosophy #DietCulture #Capitalism #MentalHealth #SocialIsolation #WellnessCulture
Drawing on philosophy, sociology, psychology, and lived experience, I trace how body standards and appearance pressure turn into dogma: moral rules we absorb without ever choosing them. We break down how fitness culture, health trends, beauty standards, and wellness ideology create comparison, self-surveillance, and social isolation — and how those habits slowly separate us from each other.
This isn't about individual willpower. It's about the cultural machinery that turns bodies into projects and belonging into a performance. If you've ever cancelled plans because of how you look, felt judged, or wondered why body image has become such a universal struggle, this episode examines the structural forces behind it — and why the body-control mindset now touches everyone.
Episode exploring loneliness, power, knowledge, and how capitalism shapes our relationship with our bodies.
🎯 Subscribe for bi-weekly inquiries into how capitalism shapes loneliness, identity, and belonging: youtube.com/@thelonelinessindustrypodcast
📚 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Eat the Rules Podcast - Summer Innanen
Beyond the Mirror - Jonny Landels
Men Unscripted - Aaron Flores
The Midlife Feast - Jenn Salib Huber
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
10:25 – Today's Journey: Three Parts on Body Standards and Loneliness
11:58 – Part I: Philosophy - Power, Knowledge and Body Control
21:32 – Dogma's Necessary Archetypes: Good Bodies vs Bad Bodies
25:02 – Case Study: L'Oréal and Beauty Standards
27:18 – The Relationship Between Science and Dogma
34:43 – Part II: Sociology - How We Police Each Other's Bodies
36:30 – A Lived Example of Body Surveillance
39:20 – In-Groups and Out-Groups: Divide and Conquer Through Body Standards
44:29 – Where Sociology Meets Psychology
48:50 – Capitalism's Favorite Mantra: It's All About ME
51:13 – Part III: Psychology - The Internal Impact
52:28 – My Personal Experience Internalizing Body Control Dogma
57:48 – The Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model
1:03:33 – What To Do To Get Out Of The Body Control Trap
---
🎓 THINKERS REFERENCED:
Michel Foucault (power/knowledge, panopticon, truth regimes), Thomas Kuhn (paradigm theory), Christopher Lasch (culture of narcissism), René Girard (scapegoating mechanisms), Byung-Chul Han (achievement society), Hannah Arendt (enemy-making logic), Paul Hewitt & Gordon Flett (perfectionism research), Leon Festinger (cognitive dissonance), Karen Horney (idealized self-image), Dr. Stacy Sims (female physiology research), and more.
🎵 Theme music: "The Annihilation Sequence" by Jordan Reyne
#Loneliness #BodyImage #Philosophy #DietCulture #Capitalism #MentalHealth #SocialIsolation #WellnessCulture