We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ms. Pretty Kurvz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ms. Pretty below.

Hi Ms. Pretty , thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I’m often mistaken for being arrogant or overly confident. I’m honestly a private person with a public platform. I do not consider myself to be arrogant and I feel that some are intimidated by my level of confidence. Just because I’m on the Plus Size, it doesn’t mean that I have to feel less confident or less than others. I wish my confidence was not considered as provocative. I’m just a lovely black woman and I feel empowered by my femininity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always been a multitalented person and I was in all of the gifted classes as a young child. I’m an artist, I love to focus on pencil art. I’m able to visualize the images and put them on paper. I wrote poetry a lot as a teenager, and I later published a book. The art of poetry allowed me to express my emotions. I grew up in a very unique household. I am the eldest of six, and I used to feel overwhelmed by life’s experiences. It wasn’t easy to express my emotions to my parents. I actually suffered in silence by carrying a lot of things around because I wasn’t comfortable with talking about growing pains. I would get lost with my thoughts along with my pen and paper. It was relieving to let it out without any negative reactions from those who would burden me for having those feelings. Being an artist came naturally and my mother did not know that I could draw. I felt so withdrawn from my family. I felt that I was unique and misunderstood mostly all of my life.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I joined the body positivity movement back in 2018. I started embracing my natural body and curves. I was always considered as the girl with the big hips when I was in high school. Growing up, they always made a difference between the curvy girls and the skinny ones. They used to condemn my body type and I had the curviest shape in high school. It wasn’t until modern times that people started to understand the beauty of being naturally shaped. It amazes me how much we’re glamourized nowadays compared to back then. I’m just glad that I no longer have to explain why I have this shape. I was born to look this way, and I don’t have to feel bad about it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I don’t have to feel bad about being sexy. I was condemned simply because I’m beautiful. I had to deal with a lot of jealous women in my life. From coworkers, schoolmates, supervisors and family sometimes. It’s a gift and a curse in having natural beauty. It’s not always peaches and cream with a cherry on top. It’s honestly not always as glamourous as others may think. I used to humble myself by trying to not outshine others. I had to unlearn that behavior because I’m naturally a star. I learned that others may feel intimidated by my presence because of their own insecurity and it’s not my fault. I do not have to feel bad about being marvelous. I am unapologetic about it these days.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.linktree.com/prettykurvz
• Instagram: @prettykurvz
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/prettykurvz
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/prettykurvz