What if you stopped voluntarily sacrificing your present desires to accommodate hypothetical preferences of a stranger?

In this episode, Emily Paulsen sits down with Rebekah Buege, a mentor for body neutrality, intentional singleness, and joyful feminism. Rebekah's Substack Nobody's Mother explores what it means to stop being the good girl who accepts the bare minimum. Emily and Rebekah discuss body neutrality as freeing up mental space instead of spending 17 years thinking about body image, intentional singleness as not waiting for a hypothetical partner before buying the house, and why women voluntarily tell themselves no. Rebekah shares why she painted her house pink and created her Barbie dream house unapologetically.

They discuss why if you're a woman with high standards and a man wants to marry you, that's a compliment to himself, why marriage benefits men more than women according to data, joyful feminism as moving beyond anger, and why Rebekah chopped her long hair into a pixie cut as liberation.

Key Takeaways:

• Body neutrality frees up mental space: American women spend 17 years of their life thinking about body image.

• Stop planning around hypothetical partners: Women voluntarily sacrifice their own present desires to accommodate hypothetical preferences of a stranger.

• Marriage benefits men more than women: Men are happiest and healthiest when married, while everything tanks for women.

• Joyful feminism celebrates options: Feminism is moving beyond anger into celebrating the rights we finally have.

• Get curious and playful: Question what you think you have to be to perform femininity.

Host Emily Paulsen is an accomplished entrepreneur and happily childfree woman shining a light on the childfree-by-choice perspective. Whether interviewing experts or positioning leaders to scale through her Brand Studio, Electric Collab, Emily's power lies in allowing people to feel seen and celebrated for who they are.

Learn more about Emily at: www.curiouslifeofachildfreewoman.com

Connect on Instagram: @curiouslifeofachildfreewoman

Guest Rebekah Buege is a Mentor for body neutrality, intentional singleness, joyful feminism, & self confidence. She is the creator of the Substack Nobody's Mother, where she explores intentional singleness, identity, and redefining womanhood beyond partnership and motherhood. Through her writing and social platforms, she challenges the 'good girl' narrative and encourages women to consciously choose the lives they want, at any age.

Follow Rebekah on Instagram: @rebekahbuege

Read Rebekah's Substack: rebekahbuege.substack.com