Growing up different can be tough. It almost always means being bullied, and when you’re a kid in the awkward, insecure throes of growing up and more, words about your appearance can mean the world. 10-year-old Kheris Rogers knows a thing or two about that life, due to being dark-skinned.
Apparently, it started in the first grade; it was especially rough due to the fact that there were just four other black kids at her school. She was called names for her skin tone since they hadn’t seen it before. Kheris remembers a sensitive incident in which students were told to draw themselves, and instead of a brown crayon, the teacher gave Kheris a black crayon. ”I was really upset”, she recalled.
But then one day, her 22 year old sister Taylor wanted to boost Kheris’s mood by posting images of her on twitter with the hashtag #FlexinInHerComplexion. The simple hashtag soon garnered over 83,000 likes and went viral! Talk about a confidence boost!
The whole situation inspired Kheris to create her own clothing line, named after the tweet: “Flexin’ In My Complexion”. Yes to everything about this – here’s to hoping out future daughters turn out as badass as Kheris.
We hope that more people out there turn their painful experiences with prejudice into something beautifully energetic and ambitious, like this mega babe did (oh, and did we mention she’s absolutely stunning – and those modelling skills ain’t too shabby either).
Kheris said, “I feel confident in it myself because, even if I still get picked on because I’m darker, when I put on the T-shirt, it makes me feel bold”. Don’t you wish you had your own anti-bullying shirt as a shield when you were a kid? We sure do, and we think this idea is pretty damn enlightening. Kheris herself says she hopes that people generally just learn to feel comfortable in their own skin, “especially for younger kids”. Us too, Kheris.
So for all the haters that bullied her, how do you feel about your 10-year-old classmate now being a successful business owner while the rest of you are still trying to learn how to write cursive and whatnot? She’s expanding into crop tops soon, so watch out!
And like a real boss, the proceeds are going towards her college education, not something frivolous (though we bet those racist classmates are pretty thirsty to be her friend now). We hope she expands into onesies so we can flex in our comfort and complexion.
But in all seriousness, Kheris is breaking boundaries, being a praise-worthy role model, and reminding the world that beauty isn’t defined by your complexion, or your size, or how perfect your booty is. What do you flex in?
