Teen Bullied For Dark Skin Becomes A Model, Stuns And Inspires The Internet

Being different than the norm can result in one being bullied more, but those differences can also set one apart from others in life in a very positive way. Just take a look at 19-year-old Khoudia Diop. The gorgeous teen is a Senegalese model who was once bullied for the dark color of her skin.

Growing up, Khoudia was often called “Darky”, ‘daughter of the night’, and ‘mother of stars’ – all nicknames to make her feel bad about her appearance. She told the Daily Mail:

“bullies used to come with all kinds of names thinking I’ll feel bad about my color, well guess what, I loved them all and showed them how much I didn’t care about what they think.”

By adopting an attitude of self-love, the self-proclaimed “Melanin Goddess” has overcome hardship and landed an incredible modeling career. In addition to modeling in campaigns, Diop inspires over 235k people on Instagram. She says:

“I was teased a lot growing up, because of my skin tone. And now even online sometimes, people will make comments. Growing up, I faced it by confronting the bullies. As I grew, I learned to love myself more every day, and not pay attention to the negative people.”

As DesignYouTrust relays, women and men of African origin are going to extreme lengths to adhere to standards of beauty idolized in the West. In Nigeria, for example, an astonishing 75% of women are using skin bleaching creme to attain a fairer skin tone. Not only are the creams potentially dangerous due to harsh chemicals, they’re also unnecessary. Unfortunately, the latter message is rarely conveyed by mainstream media sources, which is why Khoudia’s activism is so important.