Kenna (@KENNABBBY) on Twitter has recently exploded with popularity. With 27.2k, she has a huge platform and uses it to raise awareness about feminism, and is a plus size and vegetarian activist. I asked her about herself and her journey, her passions, her account, and how it has impacted her life.
Here is what she had to say:
A: You often tweet about body positivity and self love, and teach acceptance of bodies not viewed as beautiful in society. was the journey to self acceptance hard? what was it like growing up with a body that was not “ideal”?
K: My personal journey to self love and acceptance has been pretty rocky, to say the least. Since I was born pretty much my weight is always been up-and-down. I was a chubby baby, and up until I was about seven I was really skinny. Then I went through a two to three-year period where I was chubby. When I was 11 I started getting really sick. I was literally drinking a 24 pack of water bottles a day, eating more than five people combined, yet i continued losing weight; and it’s funny because even then as a 90 pound 11-year-old I remember having the same insecurities as when I was bigger. I would look in the mirror and even though my ribs were poking out, I still genuinely thought I was fat. So anyway, my mom took me to the doctor and I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. I’m very secretive about it because people automatically associate the word diabetes with being unhealthy, eating bad, and not exercising which mostly holds true to Type Two, but with Type One your pancreas literally just stops working. It wasn’t until after I got diagnosed that I had a significant weight gain, within a week of being on medication I already gained 10 pounds, within a year the medicine made me gain so much weight. Insulin is a hormone, therefore, the more you take, depending on your sensitivity, the more weight you will gain. I don’t like telling people because they automatically assume because I’m bigger, I did this to myself. Which is not even close to the case. There is nothing I could have done to prevent it. Anyways, being put on two different medications, and struggling with depression, my weight has definitely taken a hit. I’ve been dealing with this for five years now I am definitely hated my body for long periods of time there are still days where I get dressed and just don’t like what I see. I grew up with the mom that was 5’3″, 100 pounds, in the best shape ever. I was always surrounded by super skinny people, I was always the fat friend. I’m slowly but surely gaining self acceptance. It definitely helps to associate with people that have similar issues and can help you through and inspire you to love yourself.
A: what is your biggest advice to people, especially young girls, struggling to love themselves and their bodies?
K:The best advice I can give is to remember that your opinion of yourself is the ONLY one that matters. You have to constantly have that in your mind, this is your body and it most likely isn’t going to change anytime soon. You have to just work with what you’ve got and own it! Hating yourself takes so much more energy. My biggest problem hasn’t so much been self-acceptance, but more everyone-else-acceptance. People seem to have such a problem with someone who doesn’t fit the typical beauty standards loving themselves. But with all that said, being your biggest fan is the best way to go. Every single body is beautiful!! As long as you love yourself, all the flaws included, nothing else should matter. My DM’s on Twitter are always open to anyone who needs advice or a confidence boost.
A: who is your biggest feminist influence? when and why did you become a feminist?
K: You know, it’s funny, because everyone’s always saying “Get off social media and get into real life!”, but the side of Twitter I’m involved in IS real life. It’s more real life than real life. Issues are talked about, things are brought to light that never would have been, people can tell her stories and express their opinions all while being able to relate the same thing from someone across the world. I have never told her this, but a girl named Cliona (@notcliona) has influenced me more than anyone. Just a year ago I was so ignorant and problematic. I just remember coming across her page and I was so inspired by her. She’s such a strong voice for everyone. She really did introduce me to intersectional feminism, I can say with 100% confidence, I would not be as influential as I am today without her. Since then I’ve learned so much and now I can help other people learn. I’m relatively new to feminism, believe it or not, I used to be one of those girls that would wear a meninist shirts to try to get guys to think I was cool. I was always so insanely worried about men and what I could do to appeal to them. When I was 13 years old I would literally spent hours and hours and hours just googling the stupidest shit; What color lipstick do men like? Do men like pale skin or tan skin? Curly hair or straight hair? I mean you couldn’t even imagine. We live in such a male dominated society, I think women genuinely feel that their main purpose is to appeal to men. I remember one night I was sitting at dinner with my mom and her boyfriend, and I just wanted him to like me so bad and think I was cool. I literally said these exact words; “I hate feminists. Just go back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich” Literally. I said those words. I didn’t even know what feminism was I just knew that men didn’t like feminists and I really wanted him to think I was cool and relatable. To go from that to where I am now in just a year is just such a world of difference. Somewhere along the line I started to realize that I should stop trying to be this perfect woman to please men and focus more on trying to please myself. (I wish someone would’ve punched 13-year-old me in the throat)
A: you have tweeted before about how you struggled in public high school. What advice do you have to those having a hard time? Does it get better? How do you stay positive?
K: I went to high school for not even a full year and it was one of the worst times of my life. I went to 8 different schools so at a certain point I just kind of decided that I was going to stay quiet and not really talk to anyone. I always had trouble relating to people my age. When I started ninth-grade I knew nobody. I went in with the mindset that it would be cool to meet new people, but it wasn’t my goal I always sat at the back of class, didn’t talk, partner activities were the worst, I was always the one without a partner. Every day during lunch I would go into the bathroom and sit until it was over because the thought of having to find somewhere to sit was absolutely horrifying. I went in the bathroom during pep rallies, I would fake being sick if I knew there was something social happening. I severely struggled with depression and anxiety, which eventually led to me being pulled out mid-freshman year to do online school. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to remember that you are there to LEARN. You are not there to make friends. Focus all your energy on yourself. The social aspect of high school DOES NOT matter once you graduate, it will get so much better once you’re out of there. Please invest your time in your interest and education, not trying to fit in. When you look back you will feel so much better knowing you put energy into something that actually mattered.
A: how has becoming vegetarian changed your life? What made you go vegetarian? How can people take steps to cut meat out of their diet?
K: I became a vegetarian and I was 15. I just remember I was eating a piece of chicken and I looked at it and felt so sick. In my head I was just like….this was a living animal…very recently. It was so simple and stupid but ever since then I haven’t eaten meat. There’s so many benefits, not only are you helping the environment, but you’re helping your body. There are so many added hormones and antibiotics in meat, not to mention the disgusting living conditions and treatment of animals, and we wonder why everyone’s always getting sick. When I was first transitioning into being vegetarian I ate fish for awhile so that it wasn’t such a shock on my body, that definitely helped the transition. Look up vegetarian recipes and snacks for inspiration. I would definitely recommend eating little to no meat if possible, I promise you will feel so much better!!
A: You are launching your own line, STATEMENTBBY, November first. What will you be selling? what do you hope o achieve with your platform?
K: STATEMENTBBY Is going to be a line of T-shirts and hats that are all centered around activism. The designs range from body positivity, to animal rights, to #BLACKLIVESMATTER and #PROTECTTRANSLIVES. I’m hoping to achieve my goal of making a statement and getting a message across. Even if we only sell 50 shirts, that still 50+ people that are going to see the statement that is being made. I told myself I had to do something with all of this exposure I’m getting. I couldn’t just do nothing. I had to do something that’s going to make some sort of an impact, and that’s what I’m hoping to do
A: How has having such a large follower count impacted your life (in positive and negative ways)? Has the positive outweighed the negative?
K: My follower count has increased insanely fast in the past 90 days. I’ve gained over 18,000 followers which is crazy. The more love you get, the more hate comes with it. When I first started getting hate, it affected me so much. It would put me down so much, I’ve gotten called every name in the book. There are accounts that literally dedicate their whole life to preying on young girls that are just being confident. Sometimes I miss the days when I could post a body positive picture without someone threatening to murder me. But then I remember all the people I’m helping. These people on the “savage” “no chill” side of Twitter are literally doing nothing. They’re picking on someone that is literally just loving themselves. I can handle when people make fun of me, I know how to mentally deal with it. But I will not stand for them doing this to other people. Some of us don’t know how to deal with stuff like that, just hearing one comment can set some people over the edge, which is why when people come at me I just ignore it, but 100% I’m going to defend someone else that needs it. These people are getting a laugh in the moment, what they’re doing is temporary. What I’m doing is impacting people and helping them learn to love themselves. Someone sees a picture of me embracing my stretch marks and cellulite and then it can help them learn to love their flaws. For me personally, the positives most definitely outweigh the negatives. The hate is so worth it even if I’m only making a difference in a couple people’s lives.
