Actress Joy Bryant says she was ashamed of her thin frame during her growing up days.
The 41-year-old "Parenthood" actress, who recently opened up about her body insecurities, said her peers made her feel "inadequate" and "out of place," reported People magazine.
"I hated me: I was too damn skinny and I wanted to be thicker. I didn't want to be no stinkin' beanpole.
"The world around me only confirmed my proportion distortion. Like my best friend's mother telling me on a regular basis that I looked like a boy. Or that same best friend telling me I was lucky I was cute, or else no guys would ever talk to me because I was so bony. Or people telling me to put some meat on my bones," Bryant said.
The model-actress said she became a subject to body shaming on a regular basis.
"I wasn't even in high school yet, but comments on my body, what it should look like, and whom it should please, were the norm. I felt like a sidelined player keeping the bench warm as everyone else played the game I so desperately wanted to be in.
