Clementine Ford's Big Sister Hotline – Details, episodes & analysis

In the first episode of the newly relaunched Clementine Ford's Big Sister Hotline, Clem dives deep into a listener's struggle with intimacy, trust, and the emotional and physical scars we carry with us.

Today's caller shares her painful experience of body-shaming, sexual humiliation, and abuse from a man, leaving her torn between wanting to explore sexual connections and feeling hesitant to trust anyone with her body and emotional well-being.

In this unapologetically honest, yet heart-led session, Clem delivers no-nonsense truths about the toxic dynamics of hookup culture, misogyny, and how some men exploit women’s vulnerabilities to impress other men. From sharp rebukes of damaging behaviour to practical advice on rebuilding sexual trust, Clem reminds us fiercely that your body is your own, and you deserve every intimate encounter to leave you feeling empowered, not diminished.

Content note: This episode contains discussions of body shaming and image-based abuse. If you or anyone you know needs help, please contact 1800RESPECT or call 000 in an emergency.

If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Big Sister Hotline: the no-nonsense feminist advice line that doesn’t mince its words but always leads with love.

Best-selling author, writer, and fearless feminist trailblazer Clementine Ford returns with her newly relaunched award-winning podcast, here to guide you through life's most tangled, uncomfortable moments with the kind of wisdom you may not want to hear but absolutely need to.

Each week, Clem answers your calls, cutting through the noise with unapologetic clarity, raw honesty, and a resolute refusal to indulge in patriarchal bullshit. Whether it’s love, boundaries, breakups, body image, politics, sex, career, or finding your voice in a world that constantly tries to silence you, no topic is too taboo, no feeling too big, and no question too difficult.

She’s the big sister you always deserved, the mum you never had, the aunty who listens without judgement, and the friend who won’t let you settle for anything less than the best.

So, plug in, speak your truth, and let Clem help you navigate the chaos and claim your power.

If you would like to submit a question for a future episode, please email bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In November 2020, an Instagram account began to publish anonymous stories of harassment, abuse and

assault in the Australian music industry.These were stories that journalist Ruby Jones had heard whispers about

before. But when she started looking into them, she found that the allegations were much worse than she had

thought, and that they were an open secret in the music industry. Everybody Knows is a new five-part podcast

series from the makers of Australia's number one daily news podcast, 7am. Follow Ruby as she investigates

what has held back the MeToo Movement in Australia, and whether this new wave of women speaking out could

be the start of a true reckoning. 

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains discussion of men’s violence against women, sexual assault, rape, historical allegations, and reference to suicide

I’m joined this week by one of my friends and Hotline alum, the marvellous Karen Pickering! Karen is a feminist organiser, an author, host of the feminist salon Churchez La Femme and all round excellent human. We had a frank and candid chat in my kitchen about the disastrous state of affairs with misogyny in Australian politics right now. Imagine you were overhearing our angered conversation in a cafe, discussing all the ways Scott Morrison fails to represent the women of this country, how sexism exists on both sides of the political spectrum and what it means to see rape culture expressed so brazenly in the highest office in the land - that’s what this conversation is.

But it’s also good humoured, warm hearted and funny, just like your big sisters should be! It’s a conversation we need to keep having, because nothing will change unless we make it.

You can follow Karen here:

Instagram: @karenpickering

FB: @karenpickering

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/KarenPickeringFeminist

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

HELPLINES:

ACT — Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525

New South Wales — NSW Rape Crisis Centre 1800 424 017 or NSW Health Sexual Assault Services (visit web page to find the number in your local area)

Northern Territory — Department of Health, Sexual Assault Referral Centres

Queensland — Sexual Assault Helpline 1800 010 120

South Australia — Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service (08) 8226 8777 or 1800 817 421 freecall

Tasmania — Sexual Assault Support Service 1800 697 877

Victoria — Sexual Assault Crisis Line 1800 806 292

Western Australia — Sexual Assault Resource Centre (08) 6458 1828 or free call 1800 199 888

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains discussion of men’s violence against women, domestic abuse, domestic homicide and men’s behavioural change

In this week’s episode, my wonderful friend Ada Conroy welcomed me into her kitchen to discuss men’s behavioural change, domestic abuse, working in the family violence sector and how our own shame can be confronted to create meaningful change and accountability.

Ada does incredibly important work in the family violence sector, and shares some of her nuggets of wisdom with me. My favourites from this episode are:

• Sorry is a behaviour, not a word
• We are planting seeds in a forest we may not get to spend time in
• If you’re going to bang your head against a brick wall, try to do it where there’s a crack

We also talk about Buffy and its toxic creator Joss Whedon, asking what does it mean to separate art from the artist.

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CONTENT NOTE: This episode contains discussion of fatphobia, eating disorders and disordered eating, sexual experiences involving men’s desires that may be triggering for some people

Hurrah! This week’s episode features the amazing Cara MacB, creator of the brilliant “OBCC Helpline”. As Nanny MacB, she uses TikTok and Instagram to call out fatphobia in an hysterically funny way. We have an incredible conversation in this episode about how people end up co-opted into internalised systems of hatred: internalised fatphobia, misogyny and adherence to patriarchy. Cara and I discuss the choices we can make as parents to change the patterns we both learned about food and bodies when we were growing up and the concept of loving the inside of your body as well as the outside. What does it mean for our relationships with other women - and in particular, our mothers - when we make the (sometimes scary!) choice to walk away from diet culture.

From little sisters, we answered questions about what makes a ‘decent’ man (for those of us unfortunate enough to be attracted to them lololol) and what to do if your new boyfriend’s sexual repertoire is not just out of a porn handbook but how self care extends to the kind of sex we’re willing to tolerate. 

I really love this episode and I know you will too!

Follow Cara on Instagram: @nannymacb

Follow Cara on TikTok: @nannymacb

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I’m proud to welcome to the Hotline an incredible educator, anti-racism activist, mother and friend KIRSTY RUTHERFORD! Kirsty is a passionate anti racism activist who educates people daily on Instagram, and she joined me to talk about all these things. 

From little sisters, we answered questions about how to deal with the mad that you feel and channel it into something healing, and also how to set boundaries from the get go with potential partners who have experienced a lot of cis-het male privilege in their lives. 

Follow Kirsty on Instagram: @quirkykirkyruthers

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

APRIL HELENE HORTON aka THE BODZILLA returns to the hotline for her second appearance! April has recently become the face of Curvy Swimwear, the first plus size bikini model to feature on a billboard in Australia. What a win! She joined me to talk about what young April would think of this, finding joy in life and how to drown out the haters. 

From little sisters, we answered questions about how to deal with your friend’s loser boyfriend and how to move on from a relationship where you experienced gaslighting, emotional abuse and a lack of support from friends.

Follow April on Instagram: @thebodzilla

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I'm joined by KOA BECK, author of the incredible new book, "White Feminism". The book is a blistering examination of how white feminism aligns with capitalism, individual ambition and, ultimately, patriarchy in order to secure some version of liberation for the minority while ignoring the masses of women whose labour and subjugation is required to maintain those systems. I found myself writing notes furiously throughout it but also feeling deeply uncomfortable in parts, which is what any good book should do!

In this wide ranging conversation, Koa and I discuss the roots of white supremacy in the suffragette movement how white feminism and capitalism have always been bedfellows invested in the same end goals; how heteronormativity and homophobia have worked to placate patriarchal ideals of womanhood even within a movement supposedly invested in women’s liberation; and how all of this supposed “freedom” women enjoy now actually comes at the expense of women still marginalised by race, class, body politics and economics.

One of the resounding things I walked away with both after reading this book and speaking to Koa was the urge to think more consciously about truly collective liberation versus a collective “we” of whiteness that ensures capitalist success for some at the expense of the whole. 

I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time and urging everyone I know to read it. It’s comprehensive and uncompromising, and it’s also profoundly hopeful and visionary. I really hope you enjoy this episode, and if you are white like me I encourage you to discuss it with your friends!

Buy Koa Beck's "White Feminism": https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/O6PaP

Follow Koa on Twitter:@koalani

Follow Koa on Instagram: @koabeck

**

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the very first episode of the hotline’s SECOND SEASON!

My guest this week is the extraordinary Laura Bates. She’s a writer, activist and educator based in the UK, and her latest book “Men Who Hate Women” is a blistering take on misogyny and how it proliferates in men’s groups both online and off. She joined me for a very special episode (no listener questions on this one I’m sorry - there was too much to discuss!) to talk about incense, men’s rights activists, pick up artists, misogyny and how all of these things are weaponised against women. We also discuss how these groups specifically work to target men for radicalisation into terrorist ideology - and why this kind of violence against women should be labelled as such.

It’s an intense conversation with moments of levity, but please go gently with it as we discuss some very triggering content.

Laura Bates will be speaking at All About Women this year. You can buy tickets to that here: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/events/whats-on/all-about-women/2021/laura-bates-men-who-hate-women.html

You can purchase “Men Who Hate Women” here: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/k7xQV

Follow Laura on Instagram: @laura_bates__

Follow Laura on Twitter: @everydaysexism 

Feedback/Question submission: bigsisterhotline@gmail.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/clementineford

Instagram: www.instragram.com/clementine_ford

(And remember, if you like the show then please consider rating and reviewing it and subscribing!)

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Follow Clem on Instagram & Facebook

Subscribe to her Dear Clementine Substack

Join her Patreon

This podcast is part of the Kind Regards Network. Follow @kindregardsnetwork to stay in the loop, meet your next audio obsession, and more.

Interested in collaborating? Drop us a line at partnerships@kindregardsnetwork.com - we’d love to hear from you.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/clementineford-bigsisterhotline.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.