I thought there was something wrong with my body – until I shared a shower with 50 strangers

<p>Naked in a forest, among people of every age, race, gender and physique, I finally shook off the self-doubt that had haunted me since my teens</p><p>When I was 15, I grew nine inches in nine months. My bones ached at night. I grew out of my clothes at a rapid clip, exposing skinny ankles beneath the bottom of my blue jeans. I went from being average height to towering over everyone in my class.</p><p>I had been uncomfortable in my own skin even before that. I grew up in the US in the late 70s, and my body type was not in fashion. I was curvy in places that were not celebrated, with thighs and a butt that announced themselves in ways I found uncomfortable. I was a teen when I first started dieting, and women’s critiques of their bodies, and the bodies of others, quickly became a constant refrain of my youth.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/12/thought-something-wrong-with-body-then-shared-shower-with-50-strangers">Continue reading...</a>