“Media influences
pop culture
and trends,
so it’s crucial
for the media
to celebrate
everyone”
What motivated you
to become a body-
positive activist?
I think most young people experienced
and continue to experience pressure
to conform to many ideals of
beauty, size and all the psycho-
social pressures that made one feel
the need to fi t in. Thankfully, I was
fairly bullish and tried very hard to
ignore those. That’s not to say that
there weren’t moments when, as a
teenager, issues relating to my hair
and trying to keep it very straight
weren’t part of my existence.hoW has your heritage
helped you define beauty?
My heritage is one that is very diverse
and that certainly has been the
catalyst for a true acceptance of
diff erence and an ability to recognise
that the ‘ideal’ is very subjective.What does being south
african mean to you?
Being South African is such an
integral part of who I am. I’ve lived
elsewhere, but the ability to feel
grounded, to feel that I have a home
where I’m free to exist as I please,
say what I feel and be energised by
incredibly warm and generous people,
is truly a unique privilege.our heritage is our
inheritance. What lessons
have you learnt from
older figures about
self-confidence?
All our strengths and weaknesses,
values and foundations were laid by
those who have gone before us. MyYasmin Furmie
The fashion guru and brand
owner is all for living boldly.memories of grandmothers and my
mother, those strong women who
didn’t always have loud voices, but
whose actions showed their power,
moulded me into the woman I’ve
become. They persevered through a
time when patriarchal values were
deeply entrenched, but in their own
actions they strove against it through
sheer necessity. The messages passed
on were ones of being independent,
educated and principled. Their DNA
has resulted in my self-assured and
confi dent nature.What has it been like
connecting With
different Women
around the World?
My journey has been an unexpected
but very joyous one, with incredible
messages of support for what I say,
what I portray and for inspiring
many women here and elsewhere
to be confi dent, to own their voices
and their space.What do you love
most about dove’s
#shoWus campaign?
It speaks so clearly to the direction we
need to move in as a society; one not
only of representation but also of
inclusivity. The actual ability to see
a diverse range of women and non-
binary individuals is surely one of
the fundamental blocks in building
a positive and self-accepting person.language (Setswana) fl uently play
a signifi cant role in showing that
I’m unapologetically a black Tswana
woman.hoW do We break the
cultural stereotypes
that play a role in
hoW Women carry
themselves? and Where
do We draW the line?
The best way to break cultural
stereotypes is by educating my elders
without undermining their teachings.
Sometimes it’s our families that can
be ignorant, and I’ve learnt that most
times it’s not intentional, it’s just a
matter of not understanding certain
things. So I always try to educate in
order to break the cycle for future
generations.