I want to bring you along while I figure out womanhood: work, ambition and the 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 that comes with it. One-ish hour a week to make sense of whatever bs is going on. In English and Italian, because that's who I am.
The "Humility Tax": why staying quiet is COSTING women money (Best of Episode)
What you're about to hear is a highlight edit of our conversation with powerhouse publicist KJ Blattenbauer.
👉 Watch/Listen to the FULL 46-minute episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epBTYcXWpBA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epBTYcXWpBA)
Girls and women are socialized early to stay in their box, not ruffle feathers, and treat visibility like vanity. In adulthood, that "good girl conditioning" turns into a real economic and recognition penalty: the Humility Tax.
In this highlight cut, publicist KJ Blattenbauer breaks down why "letting the work speak for itself" means doing great work in a black hole, how the media minimizes female founders as "inspirational moms" while calling men "operators and strategists," and her free 10-minute-a-week PR blueprint to go from a hidden secret to hired.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS / CHAPTERS
00:00 – The "Humility Tax" & Good Girl Conditioning
00:50 – Why Visibility Is Not Vanity (And the PR Agency Paradox)
02:10 – The Likeability Double Bind: "Bossy" vs. "Natural Leader"
03:06 – Media Gatekeeping: Why Men Are "Strategists" and Women Are "Inspiring"
04:32 – Why Pushback Starts Between 35 and 45 (And How to Flip "Abrasive" Feedback)
06:04 – Talk About Yourself Like You Gush About Your Best Friend
07:05 – The Taylor Swift Effect: Why You Can Rise, But You Can't Reign
08:13 – The One Word Women Need to Delete From Their Vocabulary Tomorrow
08:53 – Why Self-Promotion Is a Community Service
11:10 – "I Let My Work Speak for Itself" (Why That's a Black Hole)
12:21 – Reese Witherspoon vs. Jeff Bezos: Challenging Media Narratives
13:49 – Being Visible Without Sacrificing Your Personal Safety Online
16:15 – Recovering From Online Burnout, Doxxing & Media Downfalls
17:52 – The "Earned, Owned, Borrowed" Framework (And Why Real PR Is Free)
20:52 – The 10-to-30 Minute Weekly PR Blueprint (Step-by-Step)
23:22 – The Economic & Emotional Relief of Finally Being Seen
26:06 – Your 1-Sentence Homework: Owning How People Talk About You in Rooms You Aren't In
🔗 CONNECT WITH NO WONDER PODCAST
Full Episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epBTYcXWpBA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epBTYcXWpBA)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowonder.podcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/nowonder.podcast/)
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nowonderpod (https://www.tiktok.com/@nowonderpod)
Articles & Transcripts: https://www.bobine.tv (https://www.bobine.tv)
23 Oct 2026
Coding, money & control: the untold Story of Women in 1970s Tech (Best of episode)
In 1975, Nadine Reichenthal was programming early computers. In 1988, Swiss law still dictated that married women couldn't open a bank account without permission. At 28, after becoming a widow, the state legally placed her under a guardian because women were deemed unfit to manage their own financial affairs.
In this deep-dive, host Honorine Zanata sits down with a pioneering European IT veteran and startup coach (ITC & VentureLab) to examine the real history of women in tech, financial subjugation, and the unspoken barriers that kill female-led businesses.
Moving past superficial "girlboss" mantras, we break down:
• How women originally dominated computer science in 1975—until the male "geek" archetype erased them.
• Why the #1 barrier to women launching startups isn't capital or tech skills—it's the "mother-in-law test" and domestic scheduling.
• Maternal guilt, McDonald's vs. baking cookies, and the double burden of the "Mompreneur."
• How to dismantle imposter syndrome by separating personal self-worth from customer problem validation.
• The 13-women board ("Les Cellules") and the global sorority networks (FCEM) keeping female founders alive across 65 countries.
• Cross-cultural business: why rigid Swiss scheduling fails compared to African and Italian relationship-building.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - France (1965) & Switzerland (1988): When Women Couldn't Open Bank Accounts
00:54 - Coding in 1975: When Women Built IT (Before the "Geek" Myth Erased Them)
02:05 - Solopreneur vs. Real Entrepreneur: Mindset & Resource Scarcity
03:30 - VentureLab & The Legitimacy Gap: "Ask Your Husband for Tuesday Evening"
05:10 - The "Mother-in-Law Barrier": The Real Threat to Women's Startups
06:20 - Mompreneurs & Maternal Guilt: The McDonald's vs. Homemade Cookies Trap
07:43 - Widowed at 28: Placed Under Swiss State Guardianship ("I Had to Prove I Was Fit")
08:45 - The 3 Pillars of Business: Fall in Love With the Pain Point, Not the Product
10:00 - Emotional Stability: Detaching Your Self-Worth From Market Failure
11:00 - "Les Cellules" & The 13-Women Board: Sorority, Real Life & The Broken Money Jar
12:35 - Mixing Personal & Professional: Why Traditional Male Business Clubs Fail Women
13:30 - FCEM (Femmes Chefs d’Entreprises): Going Global Across 65 Countries
14:15 - A Safe Space to Be Heard: Why Women Don't Need Men to "Fix" Their Problems
15:00 - Cross-Cultural Business: Swiss "15-Minute Squares" vs. African & Italian Relationship Building
17:00 - Dismantling Swiss Superiority: Why Local Solutions Beat Imported Formulas
17:39 - The #1 Survival Rule for New Women Founders: Empathy Maps & Talking to Real People
ABOUT NO WONDER:
No Wonder is an analytical, bicultural podcast hosted by Honorine Zanata that critiques the cultural, corporate, and systemic contradictions of modern womanhood, body politics, and labor. Grounded in research and lived experience, no corporate fluff, no toxic positivity.
FOLLOW & CONNECT:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nowonder.podcast
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nowonderpod
In-Depth Articles: https://www.bobine.tv
If this conversation challenged how you think about work and autonomy, share it with a colleague or founder who needs to hear it.
26 Jun 2026
Is Burlesque Feminist? (Why Showing Skin is a Political Weapon)
Djerry takes us on a deeply personal journey from her past as a UX designer in the digital tech industry to finding absolute liberation on the stage. She opens up about overcoming severe eating disorders, using her art as a form of body therapy, and breaking down the total hypocrisy behind how society judges women's bodies.00:00 - introduction: meet burlesque performer jerry can00:33 - the explosive story behind her stage name02:14 - transitioning from pole dance to full-time burlesque04:20 - quitting tech: leaving a ux design job for the stage05:03 - overcoming eating disorders & finding body therapy06:44 - the wardrobe malfunction that changed everything09:34 - deciding to take the leap: becoming a full-time performer11:49 - how feminism guides djerry's on-stage storytelling14:19 - is it a character? djerry on authenticity in performance16:41 - turning personal pain into public awareness19:40 - beach bikinis vs. stage bikinis: society’s total hypocrisy22:50 - what is burlesque? classic vs. neo-burlesque explained25:59 - inclusivity and diverse bodies in the new generation27:36 - the perception of the body: fitness influencers vs. burlesque performer31:44 - interacting with the audience & keeping eye contact34:44 - the real difference between burlesque and striptease37:16 - satire, history, and dita von teese’s revival39:26 - confronting the male gaze & redefining sex work44:19 - radical feminism: why showing skin is a political weapon48:47 - djerry's ultimate goal: spreading positive messages through art
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