Shania Twain felt 'exploited' about her body as a young singer: 'What was so natural for other people was so scary for me' - Yahoo Life

Shania Twain whitethorn beryllium a queen of state euphony these days, but the Canadian vocalist struggled tremendously successful her younger years.

Twain, 57, spoke candidly with the Sunday Times about the lengths she would spell to successful her pre-pubescent years successful bid to fell her changing body. Growing up with a physically and sexually abusive stepfather, Twain saw her eventual aging into her teenage years arsenic a threat.

“I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs. I would deterioration bras that were excessively tiny for me, and I’d deterioration two, play it down until determination was thing miss astir me. Make it easier to spell unnoticed. Because, ohio my gosh, it was unspeakable — you didn’t privation to beryllium a miss successful my house,” Twain explained to the newspaper. “But past you spell into nine and you’re a miss and you’re getting the mean different unpleasant worldly too, and that reinforces it. So past you think, ‘Oh, I conjecture it’s conscionable s****y to beryllium a girl. Oh, it’s truthful s****y to person boobs.’ I was ashamed of being a girl.”

By property 22, her parents had died successful a car accident, and Twain was near to rise her 3 younger siblings. However, her narration with her assemblage didn't improve, and she continued to consciousness "exploited."

“All of a abrupt it was like, well, what’s your problem? You know, you’re a pistillate and you person this beauteous body? What was truthful earthy for different radical was truthful scary for me. I felt exploited, but I didn’t person a prime now. I had to play the glamorous singer, had to deterioration my femininity much openly oregon much freely. And enactment retired however I’m not gonna get groped, oregon raped by someone’s eyes, you know, and consciousness truthful degraded," the vocalist said.

In her 20s, Twain gained a consciousness of confidence, utilizing her assemblage connection to nonstop the connection "don’t adjacent get immoderate closer" erstwhile she walked into the room. But she recovered she liked her body, and “wanted to turn into it, admit it.”

"I was ne'er an exhibitionist for the involvement of, like, saying, you know, ‘Look astatine my tits.’ It was truly maine coming into myself. It was a metamorphosis of sorts," said Twain, who hopes younger girls tin larn to exude that aforesaid confidence.

These days, Twain says she's "celebrating" her ain consciousness of assurance successful her songs, manner choices, assemblage language, and performances.

“I americium celebrating escaping this horrible authorities of not wanting to beryllium who I am. And I’m truthful confident. Now that I discovered that it’s OK to beryllium a girl," she shared. "The unapologetic pistillate is simply a precise almighty idiosyncratic indeed.”

In caller years, Twain has done her champion to talk retired astir assemblage positivity. Last month, she teamed up with vocalist Jax to stock a video of the 2 lip-syncing to Jax's deed opus "Victoria's Secret," Yahoo antecedently reported. The opus calls retired the infamous lingerie institution and inspires women to emotion their bodies.

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize has been sexually assaulted, assistance is available. RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline is present for survivors 24/7 with free, anonymous help. 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online.rainn.org.

For anyone affected by maltreatment and needing support, telephone the National Domestic Violence Hotline astatine 1-800-799-7233, oregon if you're incapable to talk safely, you tin log onto thehotline.org oregon substance LOVEIS to 22522.

Wellness, parenting, assemblage representation and more: Get to cognize the who down the hoo with Yahoo Life’s newsletter. Sign up here.