Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Rama Duwaji, AKA The New First Lady Of New York City

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While living in Dubai, Rama says she was known as “The American.” But when she moved to the US, she says her “sense of identity took a hit,” as she realized she was “not really American in the typical sense” either.

In an interview with Shado Mag in 2019, she recounted, “My sense of identity took a hit so I think I kind of clung to my Middle Eastern identity, whatever that is. It’s not inherently Syrian nor Emirati, but whatever it is, it definitely influenced my work in a major way. The radical acceptance of my culture stayed the same, now in the form of exploring body acceptance, embracing features that don’t comply with Eurocentric, conventional beauty standards and unpacking the stigmas of mental health in our communities.”