Tems, a singer from Nigeria, claims that because people thought her voice was terrible, she was teased and made fun of as a child.
The Essence singer claimed that she had endured cruel nicknames from her friends, who had compared her voice to a frog or a boy. This had a negative effect on her self-esteem and led her to believe that her voice was unappealing by nature.
In an interview with The Cut, Tems revealed that she was silent until she was three years old, and she attributed this to her early realization that her voice was different from what society expected.
“I was bullied to the point of tears and was a target of ridicule. This led to the belief that I sounded like a boy, or a frog, with the impression that my voice was ugly.
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Tems recalled her attempts to push through social situations and acknowledged withdrawing into her own world, turning to her love of music for comfort.
The sharp contrast between her voice and the accepted standard of femininity alienated her despite her attempts to engage with classmates.
“I was always in my own little world. When I did make friends, I would try to make them sing my songs and other girls had these sweet, high voices and my voice had a bass.”
