Meet Reajanae Thompson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Reajanae Thompson.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started with one of my grandmother’s wigs, a swipe of her red lipstick, and a film camera. My grandmother noticed I was always interested in playing dress up and taking pictures, she kept me busy and education was important to her following that she was the president of The Roosevelt school district and an outstanding influence here in Phoenix! Ballet, tap, hip hop, pageants just to name a few extra curriculums. So I began dancing and modeling until about fifteen years old, then I became self-conscious, insecure, argumentative with everyone supporting me. The world became dark and cold and I felt like everyone looked at me shamefully as I grew into “Womanhood.”

About four years after, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I wanted to relive what used to make me happy, I wanted to smile like I used to when my grandmother was alive, I wanted to build my confidence again. I reached to social media and began to create my accounts. I had taken so many pictures trying to boost my confidence it began to encourage other women to reach out and share their stories with me. After a while, I was interfered with many shameful “feminism” comments and became interested with why their opinions were so different like I could not believe how many people were upset at someone empowering women and their bodies. I pursued to oppose it and push it to the extreme! I motivated my protest by projecting a “Normalizing the UN normal” campaign, first and foremost nudity. No more body shaming, no more making women responsible for men’s actions and thoughts due to how revealing we are with what we wear.

A photographer from when I was younger discovered me through a mutual friend on Instagram and was intrigued with my maturity and empowering message. We collaborated and two years later here I am with many exclusive offers and life-changing positive experiences while I influence other women to “Go nude.” My nudity is passive not sexual. I do what I do to influence women not to attract men. I want women to feel comfortable doing things such as breastfeeding in public, dressing comfortable however we express ourselves without being stared down and feeling like we are not modest enough for this society.

I hope one day my message can alter the opinions of both men and women so we can normalize nudity, sexuality, and all of the other UN NORMAL topics. We are defined by our character not by what we wear. I plan on continuing my message as I pursue my teaching career, I cannot wait to teach, I believe education should be free and valued. Knowledge is the only thing no one can ever steal from you, it shouldn’t be priced.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has tremendously been a rocky road. Managing my schedule between school, work, and balancing that with my mental health. Exceeding that, I still to this day receive a lot of body shaming, “immodest” negative comments, name-calling and more. I had moments where I felt meditated and eased at life, but also had times where I felt like I failed myself and actually question myself if maybe what people are saying about me possibly true. I always push forward and remind myself how many people are actually supporting me. Even though this is my life I feel as if we are living for others, we are living for the ones who are constant in our life, supporting us, empowering us, looking up to us.

I also inherited a couple of issues with my skin color and how deeply toned my skin is, how short I am, and how I am not a size zero. I accepted myself for who I am so I cannot do anything but encourage others to do the same. No one can control your self-esteem, it’s YOUR “SELF” ESTEEM, only you can control that. “NO” just means (N)ext (O)pportunity. It’s amazing how we are all different shades and sizes. I think we should embrace it!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am known for being open-minded and curious, not judgmental. People are so serious in this industry nowadays I think they forgot it can still be fun. You can still be professional and not mean. I am not trying to impress, attract, or compete with anyone. I just want to get my message across and empower women as we change the opinions of immodesty. I am mostly proud of how far I made it, how many people I influenced and how many events were inspired by me. I have a vlog on the way tackling schizophrenia and normalizing un normal topics, I am excited to be telling my detailed story about my mental illness and how I cope with it by meditating, home remedies, and the use of chakra stones. I also have a 2020 issue calendar coming out by the end of summer so that’s also exciting. Other than the interviews for the “sexy” magazines I have featured in, I am also proud of this invitation, I highly appreciate the recognition.

Is there a specific memory from when you were younger that you really miss?
One of my favorite childhood memories was when I was a flower girl at my uncle’s wedding. Lol, it was beautiful ice sculptures, bright white doves, tall jaw-dropping cake, and a huge chocolate fountain. I had on a vibrant pearl dress, shiny white shoes, and the cutest white socks with drape-like material at the ankle. Receiving permission, I made sure the chocolate fountain was my first priority. I approached the fountain and began to dip strawberries and my hands in the chocolate not knowing I was decorating my white dress with chocolate. My family was lost of words, being so young I wasn’t even embarrassed. Just happy to get my hands on that chocolate fountain.

Contact Info:

• Email: reajanaet@gmail.com
• Instagram: @chocolate_drizzled

Image Credit:
Joshua Oring; Ricky Throttle; “Footprints” dance studio; Shyra Bonner (swimsuit designer; in loving memory); Desertcassia (crochet clothing designer)

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.