DIG IN: I Love That Throbbing Feeling

Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball

Jo and Zoe celebrate Earth, Wind & Fire Day before diving into a discussion about the social double standards surrounding female body hair. The

Key takeaways

• Helen raises the issue of body hair double standards, citing Phoebe Bridgers' appearance at the Venice Film Festival as a point of media scrutiny.
• Janine is transitioning into a new career in horticulture through an RHS Level 2 course at One Garden in Brighton.

Main topics

• Body hair grooming standards
• Empty nest syndrome

Notable quotes

Who decided that men can grow what they want, where they want, but when a woman does it, it's seen as unfeminine.

Conclusion

The episode provides a comforting and relatable exploration of life's

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Coming up on Dig It. I had to hose the big breakfast Speaker 2 (0:02) with my arms out because they were in agony. Never waxed them since. I love that throbbing feeling. And I found it really traumatic. I just, I cried so hard. Couldn't breathe because I was crying so much. I just couldn't bear the thought of the family dynamic changing. Do Speaker 3 (0:17) you know what? I can't believe that people Speaker 2 (0:19) listen to this and act on stuff that we do and say. That's really made me so happy for all the reasons. All of that, right after this. Speaker 3 (0:36) Hello, Diggers. Welcome to Dig In. Hello, Jo. Hi. Nice to see your face again. Lovely to see your face. I'm okay. Have you remembered? It's the 21st of September. It's Earth, Wind and Fire Day. Any excuse to Speaker 2 (0:49) play that Speaker 3 (0:50) song. Any excuse to listen to that song. It's the one day that it was written about. I wonder, going back in the history of Earth, Wind and Fire, why the 21st of September was so important to them. I must look that up. Somebody must know Speaker 2 (1:02) somewhere. I'll find out. Also, how is it already the 21st of September? Speaker 3 (1:07) Also, can I point out a really funny meme that made me laugh? And it was, I said, sweater weather, sweater weather, not. sweatier weather. It's too hot for September. I don't like it. I need to be getting into my winter woolies. I want to eat stews. I want to light the fire. No, you can do that in November and not December. In London, it's like 24, 25 degrees. I don't want this heat anymore. Yeah, but September often is Indian summer. Oh, I'm over it. I like a season change. I like it on the day. I want to be warm. It's autumn equinox. It's happened. I want to be warm. be cold. Speaker 2 (1:47) If you're loving Dig It so far, hit follow or subscribe and that way you'll get brand new episodes as soon as they're out. First of all, shall we kick things off? We've got a question from Helen who says, female body hair. Let's talk about this. Who decided that men can grow what they want, where they want, but when a woman does it, it's seen as unfeminine. This is proven by the fact that when musician Phoebe Bridges was pictured at the Venice Film Festival with hairy legs. it was actually made into a headline. People were talking about it like it was a thing. Wouldn't it be just amazing if the perception of women's body hair was exactly the same as men's? It would save us a hell of a lot more time and money. Would love to hear your thoughts, ladies. And that is from Helen. Speaker 3 (2:30) Yes, Helen. Where do you stand with this? Well said. Do you know what? I used to tidy myself up and I actually like... My new song is let it grow, let it grow. I was like, I can't be. Well, firstly, the good thing is, is my eyesight goes as I get older. I can't see how hairy Speaker 2 (2:47) my armpits are. That is genuinely a thing. Speaker 3 (2:50) It is a thing. And also on my legs, I can't be bothered to shave. I shave them and I blink and they've grown again. So I kind of, my lovely mate, Sammy, staying with me. She's been my roomie sometimes. And she was saying, oh, you know, you've got to shave every other day. I was like, who bothers to shave every other day? That's another thing I love about the seasons change. I'm going to be wearing trousers. I'm going to be wearing long socks. I'm going to be wearing tights. I don't have to shave my legs anymore. Armpits I do once a month, possibly. Speaker 3 (3:21) area lady area well i do if i think i might get lucky which is not that i Speaker 2 (3:26) don't know mine has just literally stopped growing i think we said this before but underarm hair is a thing of the past which is fantastic you know it's just when does it stop growing I want that to happen. I don't know. I think maybe, maybe I had it waxed because I was very religious about having it waxed all the time. Your Speaker 3 (3:44) armpits? No. That's normal. I had that done once when I was hosting the big breakfast and I had to host the big breakfast with my arms out because they were in agony. And I've never, Robbie, the throb. Oh my God. Never Speaker 2 (3:56) waxed them since. Oh no. I used to really like that. I love that throbbing feeling. It was very red. So I think I just waxed Speaker 3 (4:04) it Speaker 2 (4:04) so much that now there is no hair and that goes for pretty much everywhere apart from on my legs and I do think as a fairer person I have it a lot easier I can see with my girls who are um darker than me that it does bother them and they do shave and they do care about getting rid of the hair um but hopefully you know they can be liberated by seeing people like Phoebe Bridges, who is extraordinarily cool, not caring. And Julia Roberts as well. Do you remember when she was a film premiere and she had armpit hair? Why would you not have armpit hair? Everything has changed so much because when we were younger, you just didn't have hair. It was not the done thing. So I think we're conditioned to try and get rid of it all the time. Even now, my legs are a bit hairy and I'm thinking I really would prefer not to feel the hair. I would prefer them to be nice and silky smooth. Speaker 2 (4:50) That doesn't make any sense at all, but it's how I feel inside. I don't know. I'm very much Phoebe Bridges these days. And I love Speaker 3 (4:57) that she's just like, who cares? No one's goddamn business if I want to have hairy legs. I feel like there's so much else to worry about. Shaving my armpits and my legs is one thing that just goes by the by. And, you know, I did actually go and have my walrus face sort of threaded the other day. by one of the lovely lasses at Brow. What's it called? Brow. Blink Brow Bar. Blink Brow Bar. It took her about 25 minutes to do my furry face. What was that? Speaker 2 (5:27) That