Reverse, Reset, Restore
This is for all of us who have been wounded by our own (and others) judgements and expectations, who have listened to those inner voices and believed the lies we've sold ourselves and for those who truly want to love and honour who you were always meant to be. If you've struggled with self-acceptance, poor body image and a belief system that is no longer serving you (if it ever did!), then this podcast is your reminder that you're not alone and you can choose to make changes - from your health and wellbeing, to your thoughts and the way you move in the world.
Reverse, Reset, Restore
When Women Create, Culture Shifts - International Women's Month 2025 - Part 2
What happens when women use their creativity as a voice?They reshape our world.
Join me as we dive into the transformative stories of three extraordinary women who didn't just participate in culture—they fundamentally changed it. In this International Women's Day exploration, we uncover how Virginia Woolf, Frida Kahlo, and Maya Angelou used their creative voices to challenge and redefine what was possible during their times.
Discover how Woolf championed women's intellectual freedom despite being denied formal education, creating a manifesto for women's independence that still resonates today. Travel to Mexico where Frida Kahlo transformed her physical suffering into surrealist portraits that forced viewers to confront raw, unfiltered realities about womanhood and identity. Then witness how Maya Angelou's poetry and prose gave voice to generations of Black women, proving that storytelling itself is revolutionary.
Though separated by time and geography, these women share a powerful legacy—they refused to let society dictate their worth or silence their expression. Their art became their activism, their pain became their power, and their voices continue to echo through generations.
This episode concludes with a reading of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," reminding us that even in uncertain times, we can find strength in defiance and hope in creative expression. These women weren't just responding to culture—they were actively shaping it, one word, brushstroke, and verse at a time.
What culture are you creating? What boundaries will you push? Because if history has taught us anything, it's that when women express themselves freely, entire societies transform. Subscribe and join our community of change-makers who believe that true progress happens when we decide to be part of it.
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Hi there and welcome to Reverse Reset. Restore the podcast where we talk about change, healing and the choices that define us. I'm Sally and I'm on a journey of embracing my awesome self in a world where that sometimes feels super impossible. This episode is episode two of our International Women's Day series. The theme this year is Accelerate Action, and we're breaking down what that really means and hopefully creating some awareness that progress happens when we decide to be a part of it. Change comes from within.
Speaker 1:Welcome to today's episode, where we're diving into the stories of extraordinary women who didn't just exist within their cultures. They shaped them Through their art, words and activism. They pushed boundaries and redefined what was possible. Today, we'll explore the impact of three such women Virginia Woolf, freda Carlo and Maya Anjuru. Though they lived in different areas and came from vastly different backgrounds, they each used their creativity and courage to influence society in profound ways. So let's jump in.
Speaker 1:Imagine living in a world where your voice, your very ideas, were dismissed simply because of your gender. Yeah, I know, this isn't something some of us have to imagine at all, because it's still happening today. From corporations to cultural domination, since societal expectations, and even in the places like your doctor's office. Women's voices continue to be dismissed or silenced. This was also the reality for Virginia Woolf, a woman who refused to be silenced. Born in 1882, woolf grew up in an intellectual household but was denied formal education because, you know, girls can't learn. It's improper. Or rather, much more accurately, girls can learn and then they will have their own opinions and outshine certain other people of society as well. She refused to conform to societal norms of being regulated as daughter, wife, mother, as someone who also struggled with her mental health. Virginia refused to let that define her or stop her from championing women's intellectual freedom. She became one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Her novel A Room of One's Own wasn't just literature. It was a manifesto arguing that women needed financial independence and literal space to create freely, and that need for self-expression wasn't unique to Woolf.
Speaker 1:Across the ocean and a few decades later, another artist was reshaping how we see the world Frida Kahlo. Born in 1907 in Mexico, kahlo used surrealism and folk art to capture the pain and triumph of her own life. She faced polio as a child and then, as a teenager, she was involved in a horrific accident which caused such damage to her body that she would endure a lifetime of physical suffering because of it. Yet she refused to let it define her. Instead, she took that suffering and painted her pain Through self-portraits. She explored identity, feminism and the complexity of human emotion. She made people confront the raw, unfiltered reality of not just lifelong physical disabilities, but what it meant to be a woman, something society continues to overlook.
Speaker 1:Then we have Maya Angelou, a woman who mastered the art of resistance through words. Born in 1928 in St Louis, missouri, angelou's early life was marked by hardship, including being sexually abused, but she transformed not only her personal experiences but the struggles of generations of black people suffering racial injustice into poetry and prose that resonates across generations. With I Know why the Caged Bird Sings. Not only did she tell her own story, she gave voice to the experiences of countless black women. Her words empowered and uplifted, proving that storytelling itself is a revolutionary act. Despite living in vastly different times and places, wolfe, carlo and Angelou shared a common truth they used their art to challenge the status quo and shift culture. Wolfe's words carved a space for women in literature, carlo's paintings turned personal pain into political statements, and Angelou's poetry gave a voice to the unheard, and her activism helped push forward the civil rights movement. They were not just participants in culture, they were architects of it.
Speaker 1:So what's the takeaway from this incredible woman? That expression, whether through words, art or storytelling, is one of the most powerful ways to shape the world around us. Their courage reminds us that pushing boundaries isn't easy, but it is necessary. What stories are we telling today? What culture are we shaping? Maybe it starts with picking up a pen or painting a canvas, or simply sharing our truth and our experiences, because if history has taught us anything, it's that voices like Wolf and Carlo and Angelou's don't just echo. They have the power to transform. Thanks for joining me today. If you were inspired by these little snippets of their stories, feel free to share this episode. Hit the like, follow or subscribe button, depending on what podcast platform you're listening to this on, and keep the conversation going with me by heading over and talking to me on the Reverse Reset, restore Facebook or Instagram pages.
Speaker 1:I'm going to finish this episode with reading a part of the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. These words speak to me, as they've done for so many others since first spoken, because they are powerful and while they are deeply rooted to the racism within the USA, I feel empowered when I read them personally, over the context of my own pain and suffering. They give me hope and remind me of my resilience and defiance against the tyranny of the injustices I've experienced on a much smaller scale, obviously in my own life. I did um and ah a little bit about speaking this poem myself. As a white middle-aged woman from little old New Zealand, my life, my experiences have not been shaped by the generational trauma of slavery and the systemic injustices that continue to be the experience of countless people of color around the world.
Speaker 1:I can't begin to understand how deeply ingrained that pain goes, and even though I see it so clearly played out, obviously in places like the US and also at home and here in Australia. And as a white woman, with that privilege comes not only a responsibility but an obligation to be a part of a solution where equality is not an ideal but a reality. To be a part of a solution where equality is not an ideal but a reality, where every damn one of us on this planet is met with respect and value and dignity, not because of our differences but because we as human beings collectively celebrate each other for being global sisters and brothers, for being simply a human. This opinion, of course, would be criticized by some as being woke, as though that is somehow a slur. I'd rather be woke than asleep. I'd rather be kind than mean. I'd rather be living my life with the thoughts of how can I be of service to others rather than how can I only serve myself.
Speaker 1:Let this poem, these words from Maya Angelou, be the anthem we need to get through a period of time which feels very uncertain and fraught with danger. Still, here I rise. You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? Cause I walk like I've got oil wells pumping in my living room, just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes springing high. Still, I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken, bowed head and lowered eyes, shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries? Does my hauntingness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard cause? I laugh like I've got gold mines digging in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise.