For the first episode of the Pleasure-Seeking podcast, I chat with Jessica DeFino, an award-winning journalist who’s been called “the woman the beauty industry fears” for her work unpacking the psychological and societal impact of beauty culture. We dissect Coralie Fargeat's body horror The Substance, analyze the relationship between botox and sex, and discuss how beauty culture has shaped our experiences with dating and romance—plus, how the male gaze has been replaced by “the sale gaze,” how the internet changed beauty culture, extreme beauty trends like the “morning shed” videos circulating on TikTok, and whether looksmaxxing can be empowering.People, places, and things we mentioned: Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom, Everyone Is Botoxed & No One Is Horny by Jessica DeFino, Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny by RS Benedict. Annihilation of the selfie by Haley Nahman, and the works of Bell Hooks and Audre Lorde (broadly speaking). Plus The Hole Debate, where my fellow sex writer Magdalene Taylor debated the politics of labiaplasty.You can get more of Jessica's insights by subscribing to The Review of Beauty, her weekly newsletter on beauty culture.Illustrated by Molly Crabapple, with music by Sinning. Thanks for listening! Get full access to Pleasure-Seeking at www.pleasure-seeking.com/subscribe