🎙️New episode of the This Is (Not) About Your Body podcast!

This is embarrassing to admit but I used to be the most "male-centered," "pick-me," "simping for the patriarchy" Self-Objectifier out there.

But thanks to body neutrality, deprogramming patriarchy, and decentering men however, I now live a life that younger me would have been HORRIFIED by: one in which my body and mind are my own, and men's opinions, desire, and approval feel completely irrelevant.

I'll be turning 40 in a few months, and in this episode I share a list of 29 things about my current life--including how I look, think, feel, and behave when men are around--that my former Self Objectifier self could never have even fathomed.

🎙️This Is (Not) About Your Body with Jessi Kneeland, S4 Ep3

What does testosterone actually do—and what happens when you start taking it??

After several years on testosterone HRT, I have a LOT of insights to share. In this episode of my podcast, I’m sharing my entire experience with testosterone: why I started, what changed, what surprised me, the benefits and side effects, and everything I wish I’d known before I started.

We get into what testosterone actually does in the body, total vs. free testosterone, SHBG, testing and dosing, pellets vs. injections, energy, mood, muscle, libido, acne, hair changes, PMDD and perimenopause—and why testosterone is still such a complicated and overlooked part of the conversation for women and AFAB people's health.

I also talk about the parts that have been harder to quantify: the subjective and existential lessons testosterone has taught me about gender, sexuality, identity, capacity, and myself.

This is my personal experience, not medical advice—but if you’ve ever wondered what testosterone actually does, what HRT can feel like, or why changing one hormone can affect so many seemingly unrelated things, this is the episode I wish I could have listened to before I started!

I start by answering all the questions people asked about my own personal journey with using GLP-1s to quit vaping (including the specific type and dosage and effects), and I try my hardest to put into the words the intangible changes I experienced to my non-vape-related mental chatter and what I’m calling “coping noise," and "signal clarity."

Then I go through the emerging non-weight-loss related benefits, and where the research is with regard to each one currently—including around addiction, compulsive behaviors, inflammation and chronic pain, and more—as well as how to understand the contradictory information we’re seeing around how GLP-1s impact libido, energy, pleasure, and other motivational “drives.”

Finally I dive deep into the massive alarming risks and concerns that I think we should all have about GLP-1s, in particular for people who are using it to lose weight. including malnutrition, the triggering of old (or new) disordered eating thoughts and feelings, the rise of GLP-1 abuse and increased fatality among people with eating disorders, and the mental health catastrophe that a lot of people face if they need to stop taking them for any reason.