EP 18: Bold and Honest Beauty Activism with Content Creator, Storyteller, Self-Love Advocate Nikia Phoenix
We might want change now—but change is almost always met with resistance.
And resistance to change is, at its core, protective.
Yet, this well-intentioned approach can end up hurting instead of helping especially when the desire to protect is at the expense of the well-being of others.
When we look at the industries that focus around our image, it gets even messier.
I am late to the fashion, make-up, skincare party—and I have loved playing around with style and products that make me feel good. It has been fun to support some incredible companies caring more about just the bottom line and support causes that serve the greater good.
Still, the messaging around beauty and health can be disorienting… and sometimes downright demoralizing to the point where we confuse the truth on our worth and value.
This is where leaders transform their care into activism in order to cultivate spaces that are brave and safe for all.
This is work.
This is THE work.
So what does cultivating spaces that are brave and safe actually look like? How do we dismantle our own internalized bias or oppression to create spaces where people truly feel welcome and included in the work at hand? And how does this all relate to the work of building a business or managing a team or leading a movement?
That’s what we’re going to be exploring in today’s episode.
My guest today has been called a beauty activist. She is someone who models what it looks like to do the inner work that allows her to keep showing up and disrupting homeostasis for the greater good.
Nikia Phoenix is a content creator, storyteller, and occasional commercial actress with a passion for social change and conscious living. She is also the founder of Black Girl Beautiful, a loving and safe space that celebrates Black women. After diving deeper into wellness and self-care, Nikia recently became a Reiki master and meditation practitioner.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
- How Nikia sees the intersection of beauty and leadership and how she defines leadership
- Nikia’s experience growing up and how she cared for the young parts of her story through how she is leading her life as an adult
- Nikia’s experience on how she navigated a work betrayal
- A story from Nikia’s childhood that’s still echoing in my heart today (don’t tap out early on this episode or you might miss it)
