Shania Twain recalls ‘flattening my boobs’ to avoid sexual abuse from her stepdad
Shania Twain has said she would try to flatten her breasts in order to avoid sexual abuse from her stepfather.
The country legend, 57, reflected on her difficult childhood during which her stepdad was physically and sexually abusive.
Twain said that in order to avoid sexual attention from her stepfather, she would “flatten” her breasts.
“I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs,” she said. “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.
“Because, oh my gosh, it was terrible – you didn’t want to be a girl in my house.”
The “That Don’t Impress Me Much” singer continued: “But then you go into society and you’re a girl and you’re getting the normal other unpleasant stuff too, and that reinforces it. So then you think, ‘Oh, I guess it’s just shitty to be a girl.
“Oh, it’s so shitty to have boobs.’ I was ashamed of being a girl.”
In a previous interview in 2018, Twain said that the abuse started when she was 10 years old.
Her stepfather and mother died in a car crash in 1987 when she was 22 years old.
Earlier this year, in an interview with The Independent, Twain said she found it difficult to “transition easily into being a curvy female”.
She continued: “I wore tracksuits and dressed in boys’ clothes. I never wore a bathing suit at the beach. And I became very withdrawn and uncomfortable in my own skin. As a teen I strapped my breasts down, I wore two bras. Anything to stop the boobs bouncing.”
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.
