Illuminating Taboo

Happy International Women's Day/Month/Year/Forever! So this is one of Barnes's favourite episodes and illuminated taboos, not only because she changed her perspective on #FGM and how to tackle it, but because of the compassion of Paige helped her see that maybe her views before were incorrect. In this episode, we cover: 1) What is FGM? 2) Where is it happening? Does it happen in the West?  3) Is it cultural or religious?  4) How do we combat it in a culturally sensitive way?  Hope you enjoyed this episode as much as us. As always, continue the conversation on our Instagram at @illuminatingtaboo and follow @paigenak_ for the important work she does in woman's reproductive health and women's rights. 

What even is toxic positivity!? Are we just putting 'toxic' in front of everything we dislike? Or is there a rational basis for it? where's the balance to be met? Are smiley and positive people being labelled toxic to quash their light? These are all philosophical ponderances of Barnes & Boom in this episode of Illuminating Taboo. Not to be missed! Continue the conversation on our Instagram @illuminatingtaboo and help us lift taboos...

Recorded in December 2020, we are joined by Dan Bradshaw to talk about his journey with Gender Dysphoria when young. This is a very holistic conversation and we hope you learn something new (even if just a different perspective). We discuss: 1) What is transgender / transexual / transvestite and the differences? 2) What is the experience of Gender Dysphoria? 3) Individual trans struggles VS social issues with the community; 4) Transphobia - is JK Rowling transphobic? 5) Should hormone blockers be allowed for children and teens? & 6) The Way Forward: How can we learn to communicate on these issues and topics? Follow us on @illuminatingtaboo to continue the conversation and add your opinions! Disagreeing is 100% okay. You can also find us on our website illuminatingtaboo.com

Recorded in October 2020, we are joined by Terry from @analyzedatheist to talk about Religion, Atheism & Anti-Theism. This is a critical yet compassionate conversation covering: 1) What is anti-theism? Why would someone be anti-theist?  2) Analyzing atheism - is it helpful? 3) Religion - are other religions better than others? Why can't people see past their religions?  4) Spirituality - The Way Forward - can we have a world without any spirituality and should we ever want that? 5) Is the new “woke” movement akin to a Religion? & 6) “Islamophobia” VS anti-Muslim bigotry. Follow us on insta at @illuminatingtaboo to continue the conversation and SUBSCRIBE to us at illuminatingtaboo, where you can also apply to be on the Podcast like Terry did. 

Recorded in August 2020, Barnes & Boom are joined by April Cote to discuss Domestic Abuse & Violence. We tackle this often difficult topic to talk about from the perspective of: 1) A mother & wife (April), 2) A girlfriend (Barnes) & 3) a daughter (Boom). This is a really difficult topic to discuss, but at Illuminating Taboo we believe that courage inspires courage. We discuss: 1) Our experiences with domestic abuse & life after abuse - how to trust again?; 2) The worst stigma of "why didn't you just leave?"  3) The perspective of a child witnessing abuse; 4) What we wish the world knew about Domestic Abuse (including gaslighting); 5) The way forward - how do we help survivors? How can society help? We have also included Domestic Abuse helplines on our Instagram post @illuminatingtaboo - never feel afraid to reach out! Also make sure you're subscribed at illuminatingtaboo.com. 

Recorded on 16 June 2020, this episode is all about the "Patriarchy." Often quoted as those wanting to ‘smash it,' we try and tackle the lesser spoken of problem of: what even is it? We discuss: 1) What is the Patriarchy? 2) Why do people want to smash it? 3) What are the main arguments for / against it? 4) If we smash the Patriarchy, won't there be another form of hierarchy to smash? 5) Western Patriarchy compared to Middle Eastern; 6) Solutions? PS: Apologies for tech difficulties, we still thought this episode was important! Follow us on @illuminatingtaboo to continue the conversation.

Recorded on 19 June 2020, this episode is about the spectrum of Privilege. Often only spoken about is White Privilege, but is that the only way privilege shows up? We think not & we invite all our listeners to analyse their privileges too. We discuss: 1) CHECK YO' PRIVILEGE 2) White Privilege – why is there an over-focus? 3) What it means to say you have no Privilege? 4) Who are most under Privileged, really? 5) Should we be more grateful for all our Privileges? 6) The Way Forward? As always continue the conversation on our Instagram: @illuminatingtaboo & SUBSCRIBE at illuminatingtaboo.com tor subscriber only exclusives.

Recorded on 15 June 2020, this episode is a window into getting to know Barnes & Boom. It is also a way that we can shed light on the topic of childhood trauma that many shy away from. What is not brought to light will mean many innocents suffer in the dark. We discuss: 1) What is childhood trauma? 2) How is it managed/dealt with? 3) How many are impacted and why do people not want to talk about it? 4) How does childhood trauma affect you in later life? 5) The proposed Developmental Trauma Disorder framework by Bessel Van Der Kolk; 6) The Way Forward? Make sure you connect with us on illuminatingtaboo.com & @illuminatingtaboo on Instagram.

Recorded mid-August after the drop of the highly controversial WAP video with Cardi-B & Megan Thee Stallion, Barnes & Boom share their views on the video. They discuss: - 1) What is WAP? -2) Is the video empowering for female sexuality? -3) Is it TOO much or not enough? -4) Why is it so uncomfortable for many? 5) Do women want to be sexual but not sexualised, creating a paradox for men? As always Barnes & Boom don't always agree but do so with respect. Any views expressed are taking the words of what some are thinking! Let us know what you think of the video. Is the fact it is controversial saying a lot? As always join the conversation at illuminatingtaboo.com or through our  Instagram: @illuminatingtaboo. Let's all learn to tastefully disagree with one another and illuminate taboo together!

Episode 1: Recorded on 29 May 2020, this episode was fresh in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd on 25 May 2020. In this episode, Barnes & Boom are in the thick of the emotional impact, but still muster the courage to ask questions. We discuss: 1) What happened on 25 May 2020? 2) What does this say about race relations? 3) The social media backlash - was it appropriate? 4) The expectations of White People - was this fair? 5) A beautiful spoken word piece by Boom; 6) A Way Forward? As we state, we were in the thick of our grieving and our opinions have since evolved. Barnes even feels like she got “converted” in some way to the social justice movement at the time & felt like it was hostile to share her views. Stay tuned for our episode on White Privilege...