Actress Tasha Low, 26, on how she overcame poor self-esteem and regained confidence after her stint as a K-pop artist.
AN EX-KPOP IDOL ON YOUTH PRESSURE AND BODY IMAGE
Millennials often preach self-love, but I don’t think we truly understand what it means. Instead, we criticise our bodies: too fat, too skinny, too muscular or too curvy.
All these have brought about endless body image issues, poor self-esteem, and online bullying.
I used to be chubby. Then, my peers would tell this “fatty” to go on a diet. I began to loathe myself, and I stopped snacking and took up more dance classes
While I lost weight, the scars never went away and it later sparked a series of body image issues that affected me as an adult. It wasn’t until years later that I finally learnt how to love myself.
I spent four years in South Korea as a K-pop idol with the now-defunct group Skarf.
It was a dream come true. Dance is very much part of me. I was born into a family of ballroom dancers. My great-grandfather was Low Poh San, who introduced ballroom dancing to Singapore, and my parents are also accomplished ballroom dancers.
The time I spent as a K-pop idol was gruelling. While I enjoyed performing, the pressure was tremendous. My daily routine included practising up to 17 hours a day with my bandmates. There were (strict) rules to keep.
My manager took my weight every day to ensure that I was consistently losing weight. I couldn’t enjoy different foods, as I was put on a diet of mainly fruits and sweet potatoes. No meat, rice and bread, so they say.
I was tired, but I followed the rules. I saw it as a stepping stone to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Inevitably, I allowed myself to be controlled by the unrealistic beauty standards.
This story is from the April 2020 edition of Her World Singapore.
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This story is from the April 2020 edition of Her World Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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