Shania Twain opens up about wanting to be a bodybuilder after being 'touched inappropriately' as a kid
- The beloved hitmaker got candid about her past body image struggles
- Shania, 59, explained that she grew up feeling very insecure
- READ MORE: Shania stuns in glam-free photo after plastic surgery speculation
Shania Twain has opened up about her childhood desire to become a 'big, strong' bodybuilder as a child, due to incidents where she had been 'touched inappropriately.'
The beloved hitmaker got candid about her past body image struggles in a new interview where she admitted that she had often desired to become someone that 'nobody was going to f**k around with.'
Speaking to Us Weekly, the 59-year-old singer explained that she grew up feeling very insecure about herself during her youth.
'I was always insecure about my body.
'As a female, throughout my youth [I was] touched inappropriately so many times [and] I was in abusive situations where you hate being a woman,' she explained.
The Man, I Feel Like A Woman singer continued: 'I hated being a girl. My mother goes, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and I said, "A bodybuilder."
'I wanted to be a big, strong man that nobody was going to f**k around with.'
Shania added: 'No one was going to touch my arm or my a** or anything unless I was okay with it. I was hiding all through my teens. I hated having boobs, I hated having hips.'
Shania Twain has opened up about her childhood desire to become a 'big, strong' bodybuilder as a child, due to incidents where she had been 'touched inappropriately'
The beloved hitmaker had a lot of past body image struggles and often desired to become someone that 'nobody was going to f**k around with' (pictured as a teenager)
In previous interview, the chart-topper shared further details about the struggles she faced as a young child growing up in Canada.
During an appearance on CBS News, the singer/songwriter shared that she had to perform at a young age to bring money in for her family.
One of her gigs was singing at a bar when she was only eight years old.
The country singer was on the verge of tears when she recounted working in the over-21 environment.
Shania began by saying she did not like performing as a child because she had to do so in seedy bars where there was risqué behavior and drunk men.
'I was very uncomfortable with it. It might have been that I was performing in adult venues,' she shared adding that some of those bars had cages in them.
The artist did not specify, but it was hinted there were scantily clad women in those cages.
'The adults thought I should be a star, thought I should be the next Tanya Tucker,' she added during her sit-down interview.
![She explained: 'As a female, throughout my youth [I was] touched inappropriately so many times [and] I was in abusive situations where you hate being a woman' (seen as a teenager)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/03/05/20/71828801-14465451-She_explained_As_a_female_throughout_my_youth_I_was_touched_inap-a-62_1741206299709.jpg)
She explained: 'As a female, throughout my youth [I was] touched inappropriately so many times [and] I was in abusive situations where you hate being a woman' (seen as a teenager)
She explained: 'I wanted to be a big, strong man that nobody was going to f**k around with. No one was going to touch my arm or my ass or anything unless I was OK with it (seen in the 80s)
She revealed back in 2018 that her stepdad Jerry had sexually abused her, and he was violent to her mother - her mother and Jerry died in a car crash when she was just 22 (pictured)
Though the star had wanted to be a veterinarian or engineering architect, she was forced to sing for money.
'Music was a passion. It wasn't a profession in my mind. It was something I loved to do best when I was alone,' she said.
'So if my parents were fighting, I would go to the backyard and - and I would start a fire and sit there with my guitar and pretend that everything went away.'
Indeed, the singer has often been candid about her difficult childhood, growing up in poverty in Canada with four siblings, her mum Sharon and stepdad Jerry Twain.
She revealed back in 2018 that Jerry had sexually abused her, as well as being violent to her mother.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Shania explained how these childhood traumas influenced her music, particularly hit tracks Black Eyes, Blue Tears and Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
She said: 'One thing I avoided the most in my life was becoming my mother or being in her situation. I had to break that cycle. But when people hear [Black Eyes, Blue Tears] they may not think I lived that.
'You have a story, that's one thing. Then you put it into a three-minute commercial song and it's not just a story — it's a song. And my story was never part of a commercial career.'
Shania previously explained how these childhood traumas influenced her music, particularly hit tracks Black Eyes, Blue Tears and Man! I Feel Like a Woman! (Seen in 1999)
Elsewhere, the star has also spoken out about having a hard time when her parents died and she was left to raise her siblings.
In 1987, her mother and step-father died in a car accident, leaving Shania to take care of her younger family members when she was just 22.
She told The Sun newspaper: 'It was a very touch and go period in my life.
'I had frostbite many times just by not having the right clothes.
'I'd have to go down to the river and bring back coolers of water to drink and do the laundry down there by hand.
'I chopped my own wood, piled my own wood. It was a lot of pressure,' she added.
