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Private Notes
In the first episode of her new series, Angela Scanlon takes an intimate look at some of the ways in which Irish people like to get naked. She meets up with Naturists from home and abroad as they gather for their Congress in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim. She finds out why a growing number of Irish women want to have their pictures taken in the nude; why thousands of Dubliners went for a dip in the nip on Sandymount Strand; how one Irish woman became a centrefold for Playboy; and why the butchers of Swords couldn't wait to get their kits off. Finally, Angela faces the ultimate challenge: is she prepared to throw off her own clothes as well as her inhibitions?
In this episode, Angela explores some of the ways we try to fake how we look. She looks at some of our role models, including Ms. Barbara Millicent Roberts - better known to the world as Barbie - and meets up with some of her disciples, the so-called "living dolls". She discovers why the Irish are the world's biggest consumers of fake tan; undergoes her own radical make-over; ventures into cyberspace, and, finally, prepares herself for one of the fasting growing cosmetic procedures: the bum-job.
In the third episode of Angela Scanlon - Full Frontal, Angela explores the world of fitness and diet. 'We are more conscious of health issues than ever before and yet we are also more prone to new forms of illness,' says Angela. She samples some of the latest dieting fads, including the Paleo diet, in which we confine ourselves to the foods that our cavemen - and cavewomen - ancestors might have eaten.
Our preoccupation with food has been accompanied with a rapid growth in the popularity of new fitness regimes. Many different hardcore gyms have sprung up in Ireland in recent years. There seems to be an addictive element to some forms of exercise that extends beyond the gym, and Angela meets several fitness enthusiasts for whom exercise has become a whole way of life. And perhaps there are some more basic reasons why people want to get fit: 'Everyone wants to look good naked', Angela is told by one personal trainer, 'and the truth is that feeling fit and ripped will also make you feel more horny.'
Angela also encounters the new wave of female body building, where the emphasis is on shape and tone rather than bulk. She is given individual tuition by one of the world's leading bikini models - Nathalia Melo - and learns how to strut her stuff on the stage. Bikini modelling is one of the fastest growing forms of fitness for young Irish women, and Nathalia - who comes from Brazil, but now lives in Belfast, is something of a legend in body building circles. She won the 2012 'Bikini Olympics' which is considered to be the top event in this sport. Angela also embarks on the road "to hell and back" by taking part in a gruelling endurance race in Wicklow that includes ice baths, mud swamps, and electric shocks, not to mention Angela becoming the human target in Sniper's Alley. At a time when Ireland can sometimes seem to have become polarised between those who are struggling with weight issues, and those who are single-minded in their pursuit of physical perfection, Angela w
In the final episode of Full Frontal Angela explores the world of dating apps. These apps allow people to hook up for romantic encounters without bothering to find out if they have any shared interests: it's all based on appearance - and availability. The most popular is Tinder. Although it's less than two years old, it claims to have more than 160,000 registered users in Ireland. But already Tinder is in danger of being overtaken by newer apps - such as Happn - which cut to the chase, so to speak, even faster. Angela meets some of those who regularly use Tinder and other apps for quick no-strings-attached hook-ups, she tries her hand at "cat fishing", and she asks - can casual sex really be that simple?
