EP.162 - Harleen Randhawa - "My Existence Is Resistance"

In this episode, I sit down with artist, mother, and fellow Randhawa, Harleen, to explore what happens when we stop performing the lives expected of us and start expressing our truth.

Having immigrated to Canada as a baby, Harleen grew up in the in-between, navigating identity as a child of Indian immigrants while learning who she needed to be to belong. She shares her journey through body image struggles, fat shaming, and the pressure to be the “good girl, a version of herself shaped by family, culture, and the quiet weight of societal expectations.

From writing a letter to God at 12 asking why she didn’t look “right,” to navigating grief after the loss of her mother, to leaving corporate work life  to pursue her art. This conversation is about unlearning. Unlearning the belief that our bodies are the problem. Unlearning the idea that being “good” matters more than being whole.

We talk about how beauty standards are constructed and reinforced, why fatness is so often villainized, and how language, family dynamics, and systems like patriarchy and white supremacy quietly shape what women believe they’re allowed to be.

We also explore what it means to mother yourself while raising daughters, to break cycles in real time, and to create a life where  'we' and the next generation don’t feel like we  have to disappear to be loved.

At its core, this is a conversation about honoring your younger self, questioning the rules you were handed, and choosing joy, expression, and authenticity.


 

Join the conversation:
What’s one thing you’re ready to stop performing?

Follow Harleen’s work:

Instagram: harleen.illustrates