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Susan Kaittany: I’m constantly body shamed for being skinny


At just a glance reality TV star Susan Kaitanny appears to have it all – good looks, fame and a slender figure. But when the camera lights go off, the mother of two says she has to face a monster that has been following her since she was a little girl.

The monster of body shamers who feel that she is too thin for an African woman. She says some of the people she met as a little girl would tell her to add some weight.

“As a skinny girl growing up, I was body shamed a lot through the years and its what made me step out and become a model. I became a beauty queen, represented my country for the crown and walked the runway to prove that it’s ok to have a body like mine. Even though I was hurting so deep inside,” Susan recounted.

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“Through the tears and the pain, I knew I had to do it to show the world that skinny is great, it’s how I was made and it’s A ok to look like me. It’s ok to have the longest legs and a lean body a long graceful neck and big African lips. Pain has grown me so much and through the journey, I have become a bold woman,” she said.

“I’m back on the run way this year strutting the biggest fashion shows in the world. I’m really confident, bold and sassy & as I turn 40 later this year, I’ve come full circle. It’s incredible, I’ve never felt more stunning than this. It’s indeed always a long painful journey to body positivity, don’t let anyone fool you or brush it off as nothing,” she went on.

Body shaming, she says, is not only for thick women, but skinny women, like herself, also go through the same. However, the paradox of her situation is that she gets asked by other women how they can be skinny like her and if the grass is greener on her side.

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“Body shaming happens for skinny girls & big girls & in Africa a lot more directed towards the skinny girls, There’s a lot of projecting, & culturally it’s not ok to be skinny. It’s interesting to observe, because I get asked what I do to stay skinny by women, joining gyms & spending the rest of their time obsessed with looking skinnier. So it’s the grass greener on the other side I suppose. There’s no winning. It’s diets & exercise, then it’s – you’re skinny, do something .. why though?”

Susan also offered a word of advice to her fans, urging them to stop body shaming women whether they are thick or skinny.

“We need to stop being tone deaf. It’s not right, it’s wrong & it’s toxic. It’s damaging, we need to stop body shaming as women. Thick, thin you’re gorgeous all the same. We are us, you are you perfect,” she said.

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