VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH

This week, we overlook our pre-holiday wish list to focus on real-life issues shaping women's lives around the globe in 2025. It's a conversation that unpacks ongoing concerns, including political representation, bodily autonomy, and workplace equity, as well as technology, culture, and the growing influence of women in sports. This episode explores the push and pull between power, resistance, and...

Peggy Sharr is a licensed clinical psychotherapist, author, and survivor whose remarkable life story forms the heart of her book, "Surviving the Family Kingdom." Raised in her mother's cult, a chaotic and abusive environment, Peggy endured years of trauma, spiritual manipulation, and family dysfunction. Despite facing immense adversity, including being denied a basic education, Peggy found the cou...

It’s the last place any woman anticipates ever landing, but far too often, a woman’s shelter is the only haven for mothers and children fleeing abuse at home. Linda Dröfn Gunnarsdóttir is the executive director of the Association for Women's Shelters in Iceland. Linda’s reputation as an innovator and leader landed her on the BBC 100 Women to Watch list — a listing reserved for women around the wor...

Lauren Wellbank admits that she’s one of the lucky ones. She’s a survivor of a near-death experience at the hands of a violent partner. After escaping her abusive relationship and learning that 1 in 4 women live under similar circumstances, Lauren felt compelled to share her story in hopes it would help guide other women who remain lost in toxic love. Lauren’s story illustrates that there is life...

Back in 2005, triggered by her own sexual abuse trauma, Blythe Hill learned about and began paying close attention to the issue of human trafficking. Even though she was overcome by a deep sense of urgency to help, she felt profoundly helpless. Blythe wasn't a lawyer, doctor, or social worker; her interests and talents were in fashion, trend analysis, and blogging. Blythe believed she had nothing...

Darlene Lancer is an author, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and expert in relationships and codependency. Her bestselling books include Dating, Loving, and Leaving a Narcissist, Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You, and Codependency for Dummies. Each reflects her deep understanding of relationships and codependency recovery. Her newest book, Dating, Loving, a...

Aura Martinez is a self-discovery and empowerment coach who guides her people through common pitfalls in their pursuit of happiness. Aura shares her transformative journey from feeling lost and unfulfilled to becoming an empowered coach who helps women find daily fulfillment and certainty in their lives. Aura's personal journey was not without its challenges, and she speaks candidly about the obst...

The history of witches has ancient connections to women as the primary users of magic, which is revered by some and feared by many. The idea of the evil "witch" evolved over time, particularly with the medieval association of witchcraft with Devil worship, which fueled the widespread persecution of women. Today, the image of the witch has transformed. One woman, who is not intimidated or shamed by...

Temi Ajibewa is a Personal Brand Expert, Business Coach for Coaches, Author, Mentor, and Transformational Speaker. However, Temi will tell you herself that she is more than her list of impressive titles. Listen to her speak and you will hear stories of family dysfunction, personal struggle, self-discovery, resilience, and reinvention. From battling chronic people-pleasing syndrome to becoming an A...

When Barbara Stone was a little girl, she only wanted to fit in. However, as a child from an immigrant family, fitting in wasn’t in the cards. So, Barb developed a skill set to make herself irresistible; she became a perfectionist. For 25 years, Barb’s obsession with being flawless helped her compete with the boys in the manufacturing sector as she rose up the corporate ladder to executive vice pr...

Rev. Dr. Xenia Barnes' journey to becoming a leading trauma expert is marked by all the required academic qualifications (BA, M.Ed., Th. D., and PhD Candidate), but her unflinching wisdom was forged through profound personal challenges. The 2017 murder of her nephew and her 2021 diagnosis with pulmonary fibrosis and lupus, terminal illnesses requiring a double lung transplant, forged a life story...

Annie Izmirliyan is heralded as a financial maverick. With over 20 years of experience in wealth management, financial planning, and sales leadership, her true superpower is transforming misplaced trust and betrayal, which left her on the brink of financial disaster, into her greatest asset. From adversity, Annie created a unique approach that focuses on guiding people through tough times while ac...

Walker Kimberly Brandt is an actress, author, and coach, but in conversation, she is a compelling and compassionate human being. Career-wise, as an actress, her resume includes appearances on screen with Hollywood legends like Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton in "Dante's Peak" and Billy Crystal in "City Slickers." Her TV appearances include "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with Patrick Stewart. W...

Dr. Annmarie Waite is a nurse with a Ph. D, who’s also a wellness coach with a unique approach to supporting women on their health and self-care journey.  Her distinctive care is rooted in a foundation of her own life experiences and recognizing common themes of neglect and shame that many women endure that impact their long-term health. Annmarie’s coaching style involves listening deeply and guid...

Episode VBB 344 features Certified Mental Health and Trauma Recovery Life Coach Teresa Ford. Her story samples her life journey as a child raised by emotionally immature and emotionally unavailable parents who left her unprepared to live an empowered life.  Ironically, it was the death of a parent — her mother — that triggered Teresa to explore the keys to healing from generational trauma. On her...

Holly Shaw is a stand-up comedian and hypnotherapist, renowned as a performance anxiety expert. Before becoming a comedian, Holly was a TV host, film actor, professional dancer, and has since become a speaker and coach. Holly has authored and published three books, including her latest, Queen Lessons: What Stand-Up Comedy Taught Me About Dealing with Life's Hecklers and Finding Courage in Your Que...

Entrepreneur, coach, and Amazon bestselling author, Kat Sterling, sets the stage by asking the questions that most people avoid: "Why am I not where I want to be in life? Or, Why am I not winning?" Kat reveals that these questions are reflections born out of self-assessment and hard life lessons. Constantly surrounded by success, Kat felt that despite her corporate efforts and personal achievement...

With over 30 years of experience as a hairstylist and salon owner, listening to the life drama of her customers, Dianne Harris was well-positioned to become a successful Life and Relationship Coach, a role she has excelled at for the past five years. In her personal life drama, Dianne is a twice-divorced single mother of three sons, and a survivor of the insidious effects of emotional abuse. After...

Deena Baikowitz, aka Fireball Deena, is a dynamic coach, trainer, facilitator, speaker, and comedian with a unique way of delivering serious business and career advice that’s infused with creativity, compassion, and, of course, humour.  Deena’s educational and career background spans social work, healthcare, marketing, events, and the arts, which have expanded into global networking, branding, mar...

VIRGIN.BEAUTY.BITCH, are not words women choose. These words, historically, have been used to put and keep women in their place. V.B.B. Podcast acknowledges the harmful intent and history of these words: the Virgin as pure and obedient, a sexually repressed woman; Beauty being adored or objectified and disrespected, and the Bitch punished for expressing her autonomy and being herself. However, Chr...

Koya Bakare is a NY model featured in Essence, Vogue, and InStyle. She’s also an educator, author, and the National Beauty Pageant Winner of the Elite Ms. US United — 2024-25. However, for Koya, pageantry is much more than the crown and the glitz. For her, the discipline of modelling became the avenue that gave her the courage to dig deep within herself, confront a debilitating past, and find her...

Dr. Jody Carrington is a fearless champion for authentic human connection. Her energy and genuine approach are to help people solve the most complex human-centered problems. In a rapidly disconnected world that leaves so many overwhelmed, lonely, and burned out, Dr. Jody boldly believes that all humans have the capacity for good. However, because of isolation and burnout, we have lost access to ou...

In 2024, a contest was created to promote the most beautiful women the world has ever seen.  The competition is the brainchild of the World AI Creators Awards (WAICAS).  As the name suggests, real women need not apply, as all contestants are AI-generated personalities admired for their pixelated perfection.  We - Christopher & Heather - were curious, so we discussed where this idea would push...

Tori Jenae has lived through a personal hell that has included childhood trauma, family dysfunction, betrayal, abandonment, divorce, plus the kind of grief that can crack a person’s soul wide open. Remarkably, she not only survived, she transformed. As a trauma-informed confidence and relationship coach with over 13 years of experience, Tori now helps women heal, starting at their emotional, psych...

Bunny Ambrosia is a true modern-day Wonder Woman whose life story reads like a wild country song full of resilience, grit, and a rebellious spirit. From a deeply challenging upbringing in the conservative South, through motherhood and widowhood at sixteen and surviving homelessness as a single mother, Bunny has transformed every adversity into fuel for her growth. She shares how her daughter becam...