Welcome to Series 1 of Debunking the Lies That Bind. In this opening episode, we take a bold step into the deeply rooted narratives that have shaped women's lives — the ones passed down through education, culture, and even the silence of history.

We’ll challenge the myth that a woman’s value lies in how she conforms, not in how she contributes. We’ll revisit powerful moments like Charles Moore’s lens on injustice and Katherine Switzer’s defiant marathon, asking: What else have we inherited without question?

This is the beginning of unlearning — and of finding truth in our voices.

Episode Resources:

1. The Lies That Bind (Rethinking Identity) Kwame Anthony Appiah) Creed, Country, Colour, Class Culture..

2. We Should all be Feminist:

A personal and powerful essay from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the bestselling author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun.

‘I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves. And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently.

3. Charles Lee Moore (March 9, 1931 – March 11, 2010) was an American photographerknown for his photographs documenting the Civil Rights Movement. Probably his most famous photo is of Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest for loitering on September 3, 1958. It is this photo that sparked Moore's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

4. Kathrine Virginia Switzer (born January 5, 1947)[1] is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator.[2]

In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor.[3] During her run, the race manager Jock Semple assaulted Switzer, trying to grab her bib number and thereby remove her from official competition. After knocking down Switzer's trainer and fellow runner, Arnie Briggs, when he tried to protect her, Semple was shoved to the ground by Switzer's boyfriend, Thomas Miller, who was running with her, and she completed the race.[3]

As a result of her run, the AAU banned women from competing in races against men.[4] It was not until 1972 that the Boston Marathon established an official women's race.[5]