16 hours ago
13 
‘I would go to parties with people from different schools and boys would have my topless picture in their “wank bank” – everywhere I went, people called me a slut.’
Gaby Grant was just 14 years old when her topless photo was shared without her consent by a boy she’d been chatting to online.
A ‘confident’ and ‘curious’ teenager growing up in North West London, she spent years blaming herself – convinced that her love of ‘mini skirts and crop tops’ or ‘boy-obsessed mentality’ was the reason why this happened to her.
Now 29, she’s stopped running from her reputation and turned what was once a traumatic event into an opportunity for empowerment.
Gaby’s business, ‘These Tits Are Mine’, gives women the opportunity to buy their own custom titty and chest tees, by sending in topless photos of themselves or taking one live at her pop-up photobooth.
Sitting down with Metro to tell her story, Gaby shares: ‘I’ve slowly realised that this has been my way of taking back the ownership of that image which was leaked all those years ago.
‘It’s me saying “if I can put my own t*ts on a t-shirt, you’ll never have this power over me ever again”.’
In my teens, the power my body had over boys excited me
‘I was always a girl who was very curious about sex from a young age. I was obsessed with boys – who I was going to talk to, first kisses, boyfriends etc,’ says Gaby.
‘And I was always trying to find different ways to get their attention, things like dressing slightly provocatively. I think going into my teens, I was also aware of my body as a weapon – I knew the power of growing boobs, and the attention that came with it excited me.’
Then, gifted a BlackBerry for her 13th birthday, Gaby discovered a portal to a whole new world: ‘I finally had a way of communicating instantly with boys, it was so exciting. At one point my dad told me I’d used more data on my phone than the whole of his company combined.’
Describing each message she’d receive as a ‘dopamine hit,’ it was during this time that she connected with Ben*.
Having met a party, they added each other on BBM.
‘It was the most serious back and forth I’d had with a boy. It felt mature, we’d stay up late talking and I’d hide my BlackBerry under my pillow, just in case my mum came in to check on me.
‘I thought he was going to be my boyfriend, I’d dream about our first kiss.’
But then, Ben* started to ask Gaby for naked pictures.
‘There was a relentlessness in his asking,’ Gaby shares. ‘It felt like he was desperate to see me naked – but in a good way. Almost as if he was willing to do anything because he was so obsessed with me.’
Even though she knew it was probably a bad idea, after more pleading, Gaby conceded.
She went into her bedroom, into a private spot, got topless, took a picture that included her face and the background of her room, and sent it.
“I’ve seen your t*ts – and so has everyone”
Around two months later, Gaby was on a French exchange trip when she received a message on BBM from a boy at a different school.
It read: ‘I’ve seen your t*ts, and so has everyone else.’
By this point her contact with Ben* had fizzled out, like so many teen romances, and in a panic, unsure of what to do, Gaby decided to make a Facebook group with every single person she knew, to try and beat people to the story and ask people not to share the photo.
Despite her efforts, the image continued to circulate around the entirety of North West London.
‘There was no loyalty towards me. And I later found out that the reason it’d been so widely spread is because Ben had boasted about it at school, another boy had then taken his phone, sent it to himself, and then put it in a group chat with 20 other boys from five different schools.
‘So, in the click of a button, it was everywhere.’
Terrified to tell her parents and convinced her school couldn’t do anything to help her, Gaby became an instant target.
‘People would message me on Facebook and call me derogatory names, tell me I had big nipples, and I thought I deserved it – I had put my sexuality out there.’
Even when she finally left London, moving to Edinburgh to study art, the picture followed her: ‘I’d meet Londoners up there who’d also seen the picture. I even found out that my cousin had been sent it.’
But, as awful as that was, Gaby slowly started to heal – using art to reclaim her body.
People started telling me about their own traumas
It was in Edinburgh that she retook a topless pic and printed her body on a t-shirt for the first time.
Gaby explains: ‘At the time I sort of didn’t realise what I was doing. I didn’t see it as an empowerment thing. But then I slowly realised it was my own way of taking ownership over my image that had been leaked all those year before.
‘And then, people started telling me about their traumas, and asking to put their own t*ts on a t-shirt. Either because they’d been through a similar experience, of they were insecure about their boobs.’
Since her uni days, she’s done a few commissions here and there. But now, while juggling a full-time job in advertising, Gaby’s going full-steam ahead.
‘When my picture was shared, it felt like my t*ts belonged to everyone – but they’re mine. I want everyone to feel like that.’
How does ‘These Tits Are Mine’ work?
There are two ways you can purchase a custom piece: online, using a Google form linked in the brand’s Instagram bio, or by attending an event with the iconic TTAM photo booth where you can have your image taken in real-time.
Something Gaby emphasises is that because of her own experience, she takes protecting these images extremely seriously.
‘We have vigorous terms and conditions for both myself and the customer. Part of this includes making sure that all of the images are handled by as few people as possible.
‘Every piece is handprinted by myself and all images are wiped from all digital and non-digital sources as soon as a customer’s order is produced.’
I’m currently awaiting my own order. I’ve not worn a bra in over five years and regularly have moments where I’m insecure about my own boobs. Being able to turn them into my own personal work of art feels incredibly liberating
Eager to attend more events, particularly within queer and sex positive spaces, Gaby wants everyone to feel involved.
‘At the end of the day, it’s not a faceless pair of t*ts. And everyone who chooses to get their own, I commend them – I think everyone is so brave. The whole point of TTAM is to embrace your body, it’s not about looking good, it’s about feeling proud.’
*Name has been changed
Bengali (Bangladesh) · 
English (United States) ·