In this episode (LISTEN TO THE EPISODE), Lucie talks about the roots of a perfect body image idea. She believes it’s in a woman's own mind, warmed up by society and cultural pressure, and the idea actually goes against nature. She says that we grow up to be a woman and our body is not supposed to be a teenage body for the rest of our life.
She also talks about how she was a TV model in her younger years and is planning to do it again.
Lucie talks about how she is dealing with people's drama every day at work, as she is a psychiatric nurse in the emergency department. She knows that to have good mental health you just need to do very simple things – eat well, sleep well, exercise and have good relationships.
She says that nothing beats a genuine smile on a woman’s face. You don’t even think about how you look when you are happy. Happiness is very attractive.
10 Facts About Lucie
(at the time of the project)
1. 53 years old.
2. Lucie was born in Brazil.
3. She’s been in Australia since 1998, more than 20 years.
4. Lucie was a full-time model on Italian TV when she was younger.
5. She is doing part-time mature modeling now.
6. Lucie also works at one of the busiest Sydney emergency departments and provides psychiatric assessments for people with emergencies.
7. Lucie has a passion for animals, in particular dogs. She has a small dog.
8. Lucie’s greatest accomplishment is setting up her life as it is, her independency, coming to Australia, and starting here a new life for herself, and that she did this on her own without anyone. It was hard, but at the same time, Lucie feels very accomplished that she made it.
9. Biggest challenge at this age – “I think that the major challenge is the hormonal turmoil that I go through.”
10. Positive change with age – “I stopped putting so much pressure on how I look or how beautiful I am, and just came to my own acceptance.”
Watch Lucie's VIDEO interview HERE
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE :
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT (auto-generated) :
Hi, you are listening to My Body My Story podcast,
The major challenge basically is the hormonal turmoil that you go through. There, very few women talk about it because there is so much taboo around it.
This is the 45 or 45 chapter where we celebrate rule breakers and role models, the women who inspire us to live life our way and to show that sensuality, beauty, soul and true essence. Here we talk about what it's like to be 45 Plus, adjusting to the changes that come with time, and will listen to the stories of our participants. If you have an interesting story to share, we would love you to participate, you can email us on info@aleksandrawalker.com or visit our website, www. aleksandrawalker.com
Hi, Lucy.
Hi, Aleksandra
Welcome to our studio. And while you're sitting in the makeup chair, and getting your makeup and hair done, we'll ask you a few questions, and we will chat about you. So tell us a bit about yourself.
So my name is Lucy right. And I'm 53 years old now. And when I found out about your job, I thought that was very interesting for me to do, because now I just think about starting to do some mature age modelling. I'm a nurse as a profession, psychiatric nurse. But now I'm quite interested in doing mature age modelling because I was a model on TV when I was younger. Oh, wow. So I just like feel a bit nostalgic about being a model. So this is a kind of good exercise for me to feel like I'm going back in time. That's great. So but at the same time in bracing, how I look now, which I was just telling Tanya, you know that I just want to look like 53 Now I don't want to look younger, but how I am right now.
So whom did you model for?
So I used to model for basically, catalogues of swimming wear and luxury when I was younger. And then I had like basically full-time job on TV advertising. Julie here in Italy. Yeah, so was three hours of life on TV presenting antic? Surely?
What are you most passionate about?
So I'm quite passionate about what I do, because I deal with the basically the human dramas. So basically, My job involves talking about people lives, people, crisis, people, difficulties and struggles to live. And so I'm the person who is there for them when they are a day worst or in the moments of crisis. And so it's is quite difficult and challenging, but at the same time, quite rewarding to be able to be there for people. So are quite passionate about what I do.
Is it kind of a counselling job, or
basically, I provide psychiatric assessments for people with emergencies that are one of the busiest Sydney emergency departments. So yeah, it's quite challenging, but it's quite can be quite rewarding. As well thing.
Did you have any interesting cases during your practice?
Yeah, of course, I have to keep it confidential. But I think that every day, I always get surprise about people stories. Yeah.
And now you're here to tell your story.
And now I'm here to tell my story. That's why, and I have a passion for animals as well in particular dogs. So I have a small dog and I'm just starting to do like dog sitting as well. So, um, quite a versatile kind of person.
Yeah. Do you have any particular breed of dogs or type of dogs you like?
I love puddles
Yeah, the smallest ones. They look like teddy bears. And, you know, they like adults, you can brush them, you can groom them and dress them up. It's like having a, like a dog, you know,
and play with them
Yeah, and play
Everyone knows that with age we change. But what positive changes have you experienced with age?
Well, I think the main positive thing is that I stop to put so much pressure on how I look and how easily my I am or how beautiful I am is, like, there was a point where you say, that's enough, you just come to your own acceptance. And I think that's, for me happens like that, I felt like I just gave up on trying to appear in such a way and just accepting how look like, you know, like, when you are younger, you have so much pressure to be slim and to look a certain way. And I think with the age, you kind of relax about it. At least I did. Well, I'm relaxed about how I look. Because you understand that the most important thing that will never that that doesn't change the way you carry with you forever is your knowledge and your experience and you become more wise. So, you give it a different value to things in life.
Where do you think this idea of perfect body image comes from?
So I think a much has to do with the cultural values and the media, I think that there is there has been always pressure or movement to be beautiful. I remember myself as a leader growing or like being point out some cultures for example, there is some aspects of your physical body that has to be a certain way. And I think women ourselves you know, set up some kind of ideas on how you should look like or how big your nose is, or you know, your lips have to be bigger or your hair have to be blonde and you know, so I think that I think is as women that is actually part of our history are not doing crazy things and painful things to look in certain way and to be beautiful and the pressure of being beautiful. And now the idea of beauty has changed over the years. Like in the past like for example in in the classic era, like the Greek, the woman should be more voluptuous …and the last few years there has been the obsession that you have to be like really really skinny I hope this goes away because I'm getting sick of it.
I think now we have trends quite opposite and trying different brands that trying to show the real Woman, with her real curves and body. Not that anorexic slim ideal image
because in nature the idea was that we are voluptuous in the hips that we have some a little bit of body fat to be able to childbearing so yes, so we went against nature basically in the last few years in my opinion.
Hopefully it will come back to normal
you grow up to be an adult woman, your body cannot remain as a teenager for the rest of your life. You know, and that is I noticed that there has been a lot of pressure in the last few years that you you remain like a teenager kind of body you know as you reach me though aged that unless you are one of those few like peoples in the world that they have time to be to three hours a gym and do very restricted diet You won't get a body like that.
Or genetically slim
exactly which are very few women, you know the majority of women in my understanding and all like that
So, coming to question, what is the biggest challenge your experience at this age now? Would it be body change, or something else?
I think that the major challenge in basically is the hormonal turmoil that you go through there, very few women talk about it, because there is so much taboo around it. So I think that is the main challenge, because that is something that is totally out of your control. It's just biological. Meaning that happened to you. And, you know, you go through this turmoil of situations, because of that, that's, and keeping yourself healthy. You know, and I think that is the most challenging thing that you go through, as a woman around 45. My age 53. The ones that are going through, they know what I'm talking about.
I'm sure they do, yeah. Describe your greatest accomplishment.
So I think my greatest cloud accomplishment have been to set up my life as it is, and to have conquered my independency to have leave my home country, South America and coming here, and starting a new life for myself, and that I have been able to do this on my own without anyone, you know, giving me a hand. So it was hard, but at the same time, I feel like very accomplished that I made up, you know, and do around one and, um, and build up a career for myself and life for myself that I really enjoy. And I have my own security. Or at least my sense of security, because nothing is completely safe in life. Yeah, so I think that's the main thing for me, really.
How long you've been in Australia?
So I've been in Australia since 1998. So a little bit more than 20 years. Yeah, it went so fast. And finally, I feel like a made Australia home, you
I was going to ask if you feel like home.
Because you know, when you are a migrant, you know, you always feel like you were divided that you know centre, that your heart is always somebody somewhere else. And now I think that's a great accomplish for me, because I really feel that I made and I feel like Australia home, that I am home that I'm not divided. And because that one makes you happy, you know, to feel like you are where you want it to be. So that's a great achievement for me.
What advice would you give your 30 year old self?
Don't stress too much, you know, things if you keep working hard as you are, you know, things will happen. And you'll find your way, eventually everything was set in place. I think that we, as a 30 year old put on so much pressure on myself, you know, like you are so anxious about are you? What are you going to accomplish? What are you going to do? And you know, maybe just try to be happy and enjoy the journey. Yeah,
enjoy the ride ...
And what advice would you give younger women who will eventually undergo these changes?
I think that if you're from early age, you know, you learn to look after yourself and value yourself. And that includes, you know, in a holistic way psychologically, find yourself, know what you want from life and value, what you got, you know your own body because we're talking much about women body, and valuate. Give yourself value and respect yourself. And that means that you're going to be able to look after yourself and take care of yourself, in particular your health. And if you are healthy, you get at this age, you know, the way you want it to look like?
Yeah, seems like health is the most important topic with age.
Yeah, because they have flex in your skin in your hair, in your energy levels. And you know how much evaded you are to do things. And you cannot forget, you know, your mental health and to have a good mental health. You need to, you know, eat well be healthy, do things that you know, make you feel good. Sleep well and sounds like a cliché, but that really makes a difference. Yeah. And then have a good relationship in your life and yeah,
everything shouldn't be balanced for peace of mind.
What does it mean to you feeling good and looking good? What do you think comes first?
obviously comes first feeling good because that really reflects. Personally, I think I only look beautiful and I actually feel good. If I feel good, then I will look good. And that is very attractive, actually, happiness is very attractive, you can look very good. But if you're not happy, you don't attract. If you don't look beautiful people don't know, to you, you know, nothing beats I smile. Generally in one
..the beauty is within
Yeah, you know, like, for example, I found that that some occasions they were women much more beautiful than me by attract much more men because I was happy. Yeah, I remember being in Rio de Janeiro, you know, real, there are so many beautiful women, I was like in a bar there in a in a club there. And there was so many beautiful women, but I for some reason my table was full of champagne, because men keep sending champagne to my table.
Why would you think why?
I think I was so happy that nit that was approved to meet their happiness is very attractive. You know, it could be so many other beautiful, like physically beautiful women or people they're buy if they not happy, they don't attract, you know, people, people don't think it's beautiful.
That's true, that's true. So when and what makes you feel the most beautiful?
It's about being where you wanted to be and doing what you wanted to do. You know, what works for you, you know, the clothes that you feel comfortable with the the way you do like to be you know, worrying about anything, you don't have any problems that you are worrying about as why he usually happens when you are holidays, you know, worry about anything, you when you are there just to enjoy life. And, and also, you don't worry too much about you looking in either because that's even relevant when you are happy. You know, you just don't have a thought about is just being in the present, being present and being relaxed here. I think that's it going with the floor. Yeah, but to do that, you know, like you, you have to be in a certain state of mind. And to reach that, you know, like, there is a work behind the like, is about waves. This is like, his life is like waves, you know, like you work hard and stuff. If you're always relaxing and never doing anything, you wouldn't be able to be able to appreciate those relaxing times. So yeah, it's at the end is all about balance. If you don't work hard, then you're not able to enjoy, you know, your moments of relaxation, either.
What is your favourite quote about being a woman or your favourite thought?
Well, I don't know, how is the experience about being a man. So I think the experience about being a woman is great. There's so many great things about being us, you know, for what we can do for how we can look like for being feminine. You know, for me, it's a pleasure being feminine. I don't mind the feminine things, you know,
What do you think is the biggest power of us as women, which the biggest power we have?
I think that the biggest power is the feeling of being female. And that the fact that we can have children you know? Yeah, I think that's the main thing. And that that is very powerful.
Thank you very much Lucy for joining our Project and telling your story and sharing your thoughts and hopefully you will enjoy the photoshoot and the experience.
Yeah, I think I will. Yeah.
Thank you Lucy.
If you have an interesting story to share would love for you to participate. You can email us at info@aleksandrawalker.com or visit our website, www. aleksandrawalker.com
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This is the 45 over 45 chapter of MY BODY MY STORY podcast, where we celebrate rule breakers and role models - the women who inspire us to live life our way and to show their SENSUALITY, BEAUTY, SOUL, and TRUE ESSENCE.
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