Shania Twain says she wanted to be a bodybuilder after she was allegedly “touched inappropriately so many times” as a child.
In a new interview with Us Weekly, the “That Don’t Impress Me Much” singer explained why she struggled with her body image growing up.
“I was always insecure about my body. As a female, throughout my youth [I was] touched inappropriately so many times [and] I was in abusive situations where you hate being a woman,” she said.
“I hated being a girl. My mother goes, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ and I said, ‘A bodybuilder.’ I wanted to be a big, strong man that nobody was going to f–k around with,” Twain added.
“No one was going to touch my arm or my ass or anything unless I was OK with it. I was hiding all through my teens.”
The Canadian singer said she “hated having boobs” and “hated having hips.”
“I think a lot of that was also because a lot of the models when I was a kid were very, very thin,” she explained. “That was a sign of elegance and feminine beauty to me.”
In a 2022 interview, Shania, 59, opened up more about the physical and sexual abuse she endured throughout her childhood from her late stepfather, Jerry Twain.
“I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs,” she told the Sunday Times. “I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I’d wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me. Make it easier to go unnoticed.”
The “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” songstress said “you didn’t want to be a girl in my house” and that she would fight back against Jerry when she abused her and her mother, Sharon Morrison. (Morrison and Jerry both died in a car crash in November 1987.)
Shania said she didn’t “appreciate” her body until she reached her mid-20s.
“By the time I had my record contracts I was the kind of woman that … when I walked in the room, it’s like, don’t even get any closer. It was clear in my body language,” she said.
“And I think maybe what young girls can learn too is to exude that confidence.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-4224453 or text BEGIN to that number.
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