Age 23

I'm a 23 year old Black Woman and my body has only recently truly become a part of me. I’ve spent most of my life wishing for a different body and feeling uncomfortable in my own skin because I didn’t understand or appreciate my body as much as I do now; but better late than never as they say.

It struck me though, that apart from female family members and a few friends, I didn’t have much support growing up. I’m talking about the kind of support that says ‘the way you’re feeling about your body today is normal because I’ve felt it too.’ Each female body is special but its problems hardly are. I appreciate The Body Image Project for this reason. I wanted to do something to prove that solidarity among women, particularly black women, concerning body image issues is possible and necessary to build body conscious confidence, as I call it. This is how Girl, It’s Not Just You was born – a site focused on the body image and consciousnesses of black woman, regardless of age, skin tone or nationality. It is an effort to share our problems such that we understand that the various things we experience are not unique to us as individuals.