#MyBodyStory is different from most. I didn’t grow up being teased about my size or with a negative view of my body. I did, however, grow up incredibly sheltered. I’m what I like to call “old fat.” I didn’t gain weight later in life, I’ve been fat since I was 6 years old. I remember vividly when I realized I was the F word. I had visited Texas for the summer and my sweet grandparents gave me all of the snacks that my mother didn’t. And I packed on 20 pounds that summer…

The thing is, I’ve never hated my body. But, when I think of the story of my body, I often think about how large swaths of it were not written by me. I think about how I used neutrality as a mode of survival and protection. How my two options were to either take note of every fatphobic thing I see and hear, or feel a deluge of shame for simply living in my fat body. Instead, I chose the middle, where everything was neither here nor there…

Hello my name is Bertha Chan. Do you ever wonder why Asian people always give themselves English names? Well, I didn’t choose this name myself, a priest did when I was 3. Here is a little fact about Hong Kong before 1997. Back in the colonial days, almost everyone had an English name because we were somewhat Westernized! Being under great influence of the British school system and basically the society as a whole, we were taught in English and it is also one of our official languages in Hong Kong…

My name is Moa! I have Down Syndrome, live in Sweden, and I will be 19 years old soon. I have one chromosome more than you. I live with my mom and sister, Maja. My mom is so happy that I came into her life. When I was a little girl, she taught me how to speak sign language so I could communicate. She thinks I am perfect just the way I am! I currently attend a special school, which I love…

Five years ago may have been my downfall- but it was also my breakthrough. Five years ago I was really hurting. I dealt with bulimia, severe depression and on top of that I was diagnosed with PTSD. Unfortunately I kept it a secret for too long. I remember the day I told my mother I needed help. Looking down at my…