The BBC seems to have come around to catcalling – in the Caribbean

Where in the world is it best to be a woman? You might think that’s a tricky question to answer, given the number of factors that go into the mix, but a new BBC podcast has pledged to find out. The format of the show is that on any given topic – body image, say, or fair pay – two women will speak from two countries that ‘are getting things right’. The one that proves more convincing could win ‘a place in our female fantasyland’, the composite, woman-friendly utopia that the programme is building as its ultimate goal.

Although the word ‘wellbeing’ was flourished in the pitch, the hosts Sophia Smith Galer and Scaachi Koul assure us that they are sceptical of the wellness industry ‘so you won’t be getting any horse yoga or vaginal steaming here’. Instead, they’ll be ‘getting into the facts, exploring the nuances and the complexities’.

First up was St Lucia, chosen for its body-positive atmosphere in which ‘fullness is encouraged’. It appears the hosts were led to St Lucia largely on the basis of a blog by ‘a fat acceptance activist called Stephanie Yeboah’ who – self-conscious about her weight in other settings – felt relaxed enough there to strip down to a bikini on the beach, to ‘compliments and cheers’.

A St Lucian historian and artist, Fiona Compton, assured the hosts that it is indeed ‘an extremely complimentary community’. In fact, a friend of hers had said, ‘Any time my confidence is low, I’ll go to Castries’, the capital, because there will be men shouting out appreciative remarks. But it wasn’t all good, she said: the legacy of slavery means that lighter complexions and eyes are disproportionately prized, as is a strong physique, which can make life hard for disabled people.

The hosts were interested in the effects of colonialism on body image, and the damaging promotion of ‘thinness and whiteness’ as a beauty standard.