Broadcasters Miquita Oliver and AJ Odudu has spoken candidly about their experiences of growing up as young Black women in the UK.
AJ, 32, and Miquita, 36, have revealed that they each experienced struggles with their identities as they spent time in environments that lacked diversity.
However, both stars have credited their mothers with helping them to embrace who they are over the years following periods of self-loathing.
Speaking out: Broadcasters Miquita Oliver, left, and AJ Odudu, right, has spoken candidly about their experiences of growing up as young Black women in the UK
In an interview with Women’s Health, Miquita, who co-hosted Channel 4’s Popworld between 2001 and 2006, said: ‘It was rough having my body develop, fluctuate and become fleshier in front of the Popworld cameras.
‘I was also one of few people of colour on TV back then and my body anxiety was compounded by self-loathing about being Black.
‘I cut off my curls and got hair extensions because I felt they made me look more acceptable – more white. I just wasn’t very comfortable being a mixed-race woman.’
Mother’s wisdom: Miquita is pictured as a baby with her mother, chef and musician Andi Oliver
Miquita, whose mother is chef and musician Andi Oliver, 56, also spoke about her mixed-race heritage and it’s only recent months that she learned of her famous parent’s experiences with racial abuse.
She said: ‘Growing up, I saw Mum as being so celebratory of our culture. So I was surprised to hear – during discussions sparked by the Black Lives Matter protests – about the racism she experienced growing up, and the shame she once felt about being Black.
‘Now, I’m proud of myself, proud of my heritage and proud to be my mum’s daughter.’
Andi, who was born in the UK to an Antiguan family, also spoke on her own experiences with racism as a child.
Opening up: Andi, who was born in the UK to an Antiguan family, also spoke on her own experiences with racism as a child. Pictured in March 2019
‘Growing up in 1970s Suffolk, I was the only Black girl in my school,’ she recalled.
‘I had a really rough time – people were overtly racist and I used to fantasise about being a little white girl; I’d walk around at home with a towel on my head, pretending I had blonde hair.
‘I thought the more I spoke, the more I would draw attention to the fact that I was Black, so I kept quiet.’
She added: ‘Right now is the most confident I’ve ever been in my body and my Blackness. I feel like the older I get, the more settled I feel in myself; I find so much joy in being me.’
Singled out: AJ, pictured as a child with her mother Florence Odudu, revealed she was the only Black child in her school when she was growing up and was singled out by other pupils
For TV presenter AJ, the experiences also started early, having been the only Black child at her school in Lancashire.
Out: Read the full interviews in the October 2020 issue of Women’s Health , on sale now
‘At school in Blackburn, where I grew up, I was the only Black kid,’ she told Women’s Health. ‘Classmates would touch my hair and call me names. I tried to fit in by ironing my hair and gelling down the front bits.
‘Mum would say to me, “Why are you doing this?” I’m grateful for how she’s always encouraged me to stop trying to change myself to fit in.’
She continued: ‘Mum was bold and brave and knew herself. She’d pick me up from school dressed in colourful Nigerian fabrics, and even though I’d be like, please just wear jeans, I admired her for it.
‘Now, I champion my heritage, and I’m grateful that she taught me to do so.’
Read the full interviews in the October 2020 issue of Women’s Health, on sale now, and also available as a digital edition.
Cultural pride: AJ now says of her mother’s insistence on instilling cultural pride in her, ‘Now, I champion my heritage, and I’m grateful that she taught me to do so’