Learning to Love Your Body: Danielle Brooks' Journey to Self

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Danielle Brooks created the role of Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson on Orange Is the New Black to thunderous critical acclaim in 2013. But the 25-year-old Julliard graduate from Greenville, South Carolina, (who also was the first black actress to play a starring role on HBO's Girls) noticed a disappointing reality once she made it in Hollywood. In this exclusive essay for Glamour, Brooks shares a very personal lifelong struggle to self-acceptance and love. Being a teenager can be one of the hardest phases of a person's life. For me, I struggled every day tricking myself into appearing confident. After reading over old journal entries, I realized some days were less successful than others. I came across one that took me aback. In this entry, I had written about how insecure I was about my weight. I wasn't able to wear the flared jeans and cute tops the other girls wore—they didn't come in my size. On top of that, I was dark-skinned and had natural hair. By the standard definition of beauty I had absorbed from the world around me, I had three strikes against me: I was too dark, too curly, and too fat. Because of this insecurity, I was
Danielle Brooks created the role of Tasha Taystee Jefferson on Orange Is the New Black to thunderous critical acclaim in 2013. But the 25-year-old Julliard graduate from Greenville, South Carolina, (who also was the first black actress to play a starring role on HBO's Girls) noticed a disappointing reality once she made it in Hollywood. In this exclusive essay for Glamour, Brooks shares a very personal lifelong struggle to self-acceptance and love. Being a teenager can be one of the hardest phases of a person's life. For me, I struggled every day tricking myself into appearing confident. After reading over old journal entries, I realized some days were less successful than others. I came across one that took me aback. In this entry, I had written about how insecure I was about my weight. I wasn't able to wear the flared jeans and cute tops the other girls wore—they didn't come in my size. On top of that, I was dark-skinned and had natural hair. By the standard definition of beauty I had absorbed from the world around me, I had three strikes against me: I was too dark, too curly, and too fat. Because of this insecurity, I was