I Am Shauna Rae - General Discussion

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Young adult Shauna Rae survived a rare form of brain cancer as a child, but now navigates life in the body of an 8-year-old.

Premieres on TLC 2022.01.11

[bref]

An interesting premise, but feels potentially icky at the same time. Maybe if TLC approaches the subject in an informative instead of an exploitative matter...oh, who am I kidding, it's TLC. 

[readheaded]

8 hours ago, bref said:

An interesting premise, but feels potentially icky at the same time. Maybe if TLC approaches the subject in an informative instead of an exploitative matter...oh, who am I kidding, it's TLC. 

Yeah, I was skeptical about this one but read an article about her and am genuinely curious and will watch at least the first episode. In the article, Shauna does not seem like she’d be easily exploited and like, as she says on the trailer, “desperately wants to be seen as an adult.” One thing I hadn’t thought about and found really disturbing from the article is that she has a hard time dating because she gets a lot of attention from perverts.
 

 If done well, the show could help her get her message out that she’s an adult in her own right. But, as you note, it is TLC, so we’ll see! 

[chenoa333]

2 hours ago, readheaded said:

One thing I hadn’t thought about and found really disturbing from the article is that she has a hard time dating because she gets a lot of attention from perverts.
 

I thought about that the first time I saw her. She's a target for predators, pervs and all weirdos. 

 

[all4mom2]

Definitely icky.  It's like they want to condition us to accept a sexualized "child" (I realize she's not a child, unless we're being punked by TLC which is entirely possible, but she looks and sounds like one).  Is this a common side effect of chemotherapy?  I must say, it's a new one on me!  How many others are affected thusly?  There must be many, many more out there if it's legit...

Edited January 1, 2022 by all4mom2

[chenoa333]

48 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

Is this a common side effect of chemotherapy?  

I was shocked too by her condition being the result of brain tumor (s) when she was a child. Or the treatment for those tumors. But I know close to nothing about that particular cancer in children. Maybe it will be explained in the first episode.

[all4mom2]

20 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I was shocked too by her condition being the result of brain tumor (s) when she was a child. Or the treatment for those tumors. But I know close to nothing about that particular cancer in children. Maybe it will be explained in the first episode.

Well, millions of children have had brain tumors, and I'm sure thousands have undergone treatment for them and survived (although, frankly, brain tumors are considered to be among the least curable), so surely this isn't the ONLY child in the country -- or world -- to be "frozen" at a certain age.  If so, I call shenanigans!  It wouldn't be hard to find an 11-12 year old child actress to act more mature for the right money. 

Any medical experts on here?

And they're premiering it right after "I Am Jazz" (the former cute, slim girl child).

That's gotta hurt!

Edited January 2, 2022 by all4mom2

[EtheltoTillie]

On 1/2/2022 at 12:01 PM, all4mom2 said:

Well, millions of children have had brain tumors, and I'm sure thousands have undergone treatment for them and survived (although, frankly, brain tumors are considered to be among the least curable), so surely this isn't the ONLY child in the country -- or world -- to be "frozen" at a certain age.  If so, I call shenanigans!  It wouldn't be hard to find an 11-12 year old child actress to act more mature for the right money. 

Any medical experts on here?

And they're premiering it right after "I Am Jazz" (the former cute, slim girl child).

That's gotta hurt!

yes, what happened to Jazz?  I fear she is being exploited too. 

[all4mom2]

1 minute ago, GussieK said:

yes, what happened to Jazz?  I fear she is being exploited too. 

Jazz was "a girl trapped in a boy's body" and now we have "an adult trapped in a child's body."  As in the movie The Yearling, "You ain't cute like you used to be..."

[crazycatlady58]

I checked out a Facebook page in her name ( not sure who set it up but it had TLC in the name) a lot of the messages were frankly disturbing.  Hopefully she does not read there 22 is still young and does not need to read that.  None were x rated just...disturbing. 

[chediavolo]

That Facebook page is full of perverts! 
Holy shit, I think this girl is in for a world of hurt. This show will not be good for her emotionally. Wow, I can’t imagine what she had to go thru being 21 & looking 8!😳😢

[all4mom2]

I hope they come up with some explanation as to why human growth hormone wasn't administered; it IS available.  It also looks like she never went through puberty?  I mean, there are medical remedies.  I still say TLC is punking us here.

[LEILANI2]

She's not too smart, smoking, drinking for a brain cancer survivor.

I also feel like this is a big con, because her voice is still so young. Shouldn't it have aged if she's smoking up a storm?

Would TLC neglect doing an actual check to verify she really was really born 22 years ago.

Also her parents should have gotten her into being a horse jockey or on television like Gary Coleman's parents or hell maybe a stunt person or body double for television and film.

Her dogs are cute and it's nice to see some big dogs on a TV show, all the 600 lb people have little dogs.

Edited January 12, 2022 by LEILANI2

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I found this extremely boring. I get it; she looks like a child.  Let's keep putting her in situations where people think she's much younger than she is.  I can skip the rest of the series.

[Straycat80]

Another TLC exploitation show. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention at the beginning but apparently the chemo affected her pituitary gland. I can’t remember if she said anything about trying growth hormones. I don’t know why she doesn’t work or drive, little people drive with special hand devices. 
Shauna is very immature IMO. I can understand her parents being protective, she’s looking for guys online, not a good idea, and also admitted to perverts being attracted to her. She’s also smoking and drinking too. Getting all tatted up isn’t going to make people think she’s older, she should act it. 
I probably won’t watch anymore more of this. One episode was enough. 

[missnoa]

I feel bad saying this but there were a few scenes where she came across as very unlikable, especially when she was talking to that sister of hers. I know that some families talk to each other like that and that's fine cause they're close and they "get" it and don't get offended with each other but it's not super pleasant to watch. I'm not really sure why they thought they could get an entire series out of this - seems more like it should have been one of their "specials" like they did on that Indian girl Jyoti who was super small too.

[LEILANI2]

3 hours ago, missnoa said:

I feel bad saying this but there were a few scenes where she came across as very unlikable, especially when she was talking to that sister of hers. I know that some families talk to each other like that and that's fine cause they're close and they "get" it and don't get offended with each other but it's not super pleasant to watch. I'm not really sure why they thought they could get an entire series out of this - seems more like it should have been one of their "specials" like they did on that Indian girl Jyoti who was super small too.

The smoking, drinking, and all the other stuff comes off as what preteens think is grown up very off putting.

The smoking and drinking when she's still at risk for cancer is just plain stupid and ages her face.

I find her immature. Most people who are outcasts are more self aware which is why I think this whole premise could be a fraud.

Edited January 12, 2022 by LEILANI2

[libgirl2]

I ended up turning it off. I don't know, something just didn't sit right with me. I had watched an special on TLC earlier in the day about a young woman in the UK who is a little person, Georgia Rankin. I really enjoyed that special. 

[readheaded]

It seems like she's really rebelling against her parents. I understand wanting to protect her, but there are little people (I understand her situation is not exactly the same) who live full, adult lives. It's like she's perceived as an 8 year old not only because of her physical appearance and voice, but because she presents herself as an 8 year old who's trying to act like an adult. I also wonder if she would benefit from voice coaching.

[greekmom]

I watched the first episode.  Not sure why this girl is on TV. 

Being small is her 'lot in life'. Deal with it. You have to pull your ID everywhere?! Boo hoo. Many women in their 30's plus would love to be carded. Just have it handy. Smile and present it. Don't make an issue about it. (BTW I was carded at 22 and I'm 5'4 bc I looked young).

You can't drive? Why not?! Many ppl who have dwarfism drive. (See Alina from Before the 90 days). All you need is a special equipped vehicle . 

I sympathize with her dating issues because any guy would get some  sideeye being seen with her. Plus she would attract some creepy guys who could be pedophiles. But I'm sure if she applied herself with some groups that deal with this issue she could find someone special. She can't be the only one.  Look at the kids from Webster and the other one from Different Strokes.

But overall she does seem bitchy and whiney - even giving her a small pass for her age and immaturity. 

She really should view her cup as half full given the fact she beat cancer.

[chenoa333]

I thought this would be a tv show about someone dealing with being "different" than most young women

 but so far, it seems it's just a reality show about a very pretty young lady who gets "carded" frequently, can't go on all amusement park rides, has difficulty finding clothes and gets the side-eye from strangers. 

First episode...I'm bored

 

[FurBabyMama]

Very staged scenarios… she knows she looks young, so why get annoyed having to show your ID? She acts very immature as well. 
 

i disagree somewhat with those who say she should think herself lucky… she had cancer at 6 months old. She doesn’t remember it. What she knows is all the after effects of the height (and probably other hormonal issues since her pituitary isn’t working). But it’s hard to be thankful for surviving something you can’t remember. And in the same vein, I can’t blame mom for being overprotective. She almost lost her child, that’s not something you easily forget. 

[kathyk24]

1 hour ago, FurBabyMama said:

Very staged scenarios… she knows she looks young, so why get annoyed having to show your ID? She acts very immature as well. 
 

i disagree somewhat with those who say she should think herself lucky… she had cancer at 6 months old. She doesn’t remember it. What she knows is all the after effects of the height (and probably other hormonal issues since her pituitary isn’t working). But it’s hard to be thankful for surviving something you can’t remember. And in the same vein, I can’t blame mom for being overprotective. She almost lost her child, that’s not something you easily forget. 

I think she doesn't mind showing her ID it's people assuming that she's a child. Comments like we can't serve children at the bar or the children's menu is on the back must get old. I'm short and have never experienced comments like that, I give her credit for not pretending to be a child when it would be very easy for her.

[bref]

She is a woman who looks and sounds like a child. I imagine that will affect her most severely in terms of finding a romantic partner. A man who is not attracted to children would not be attracted to Shauna; likewise, there is an inherent problem with any man who is attracted to her, given her appearance of prepubescence. This would seem to be a genuine dilemma. I feel sorry for her but I'm not sure this unusual situation is enough to sustain an entire series.

[chediavolo]

Very boring & staged. I agree. 

[Annifran]

As I watched the show, I wondered if Shauna ever thought about or made attempt getting involved with LPA (Little People of America).  Even though she does not have dwarfism, this association may be just the place for her to find a boyfriend/spouse of small stature who would be more suitable for her than a normal-sized man.  It would be a shame for her to go through her entire life without the romantic companionship she is looking for.

 

[chenoa333]

In all seriousness, this young lady could probably make some legitimate money working for law enforcement doing undercover/ online "to catch a predator" type jobs. 

And maybe she might just meet a really honest, cool partner (in law enforcement) who is NOT a freak. 

I'll give this show another try. But I'm not seeing anything interesting so far. She's sweet and cute, nice family but zero on "intriguing".

Edited January 14, 2022 by chenoa333

[FurBabyMama]

2 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

In all seriousness, this young lady could probably make some legitimate money working for law enforcement doing undercover/ online "to catch a predator" type jobs. 

And maybe she might just meet a really honest, cool partner (in law enforcement) who is NOT a freak. 

I'll give this show another try. But I'm not seeing anything interesting so far. She's sweet and cute, nice family but zero on "intriguing".

She probably could make a killing doing undercover type stuff, but I somehow don’t see her having the maturity level right now to do that. Granted she’s only 22, but she seems like a young 22. They never mentioned if she went to college, and she keeps talking about gaining her independence, so I wonder what she’s been doing the last few years since graduating high school 

[SongbirdHollow]

At her age I’m sure she handles situations way better than TLC portrayed. I mean she must pull out her ID before ordering drinks, and know what rides she can fit on. TLC is just setting situations up. It’s very shallow. I hope they dig a little deeper. She seems cool. 

[SongbirdHollow]

On 1/5/2022 at 1:55 PM, all4mom2 said:

I hope they come up with some explanation as to why human growth hormone wasn't administered; it IS available.  It also looks like she never went through puberty?  I mean, there are medical remedies.  I still say TLC is punking us here.

I think she said her growth plates had already fused so growth hormones wouldn’t help. You’d think they would have done it earlier then, though. 

[all4mom2]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:32 AM, Annifran said:

As I watched the show, I wondered if Shauna ever thought about or made attempt getting involved with LPA (Little People of America).  Even though she does not have dwarfism, this association may be just the place for her to find a boyfriend/spouse of small stature who would be more suitable for her than a normal-sized man.  It would be a shame for her to go through her entire life without the romantic companionship she is looking for.

 

I thought it was mentioned that she is considered to have medically induced dwarfism.  Has she sexually matured/gone through puberty?  If not, what could and would she do with a "romantic partner" other than platonically?

[readheaded]

22 hours ago, SongbirdHollow said:

I think she said her growth plates had already fused so growth hormones wouldn’t help. You’d think they would have done it earlier then, though. 

I don't think they knew the growth plates had fused until it was too late. 

[Fostersmom]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:21 PM, FurBabyMama said:

She probably could make a killing doing undercover type stuff, but I somehow don’t see her having the maturity level right now to do that. Granted she’s only 22, but she seems like a young 22. They never mentioned if she went to college, and she keeps talking about gaining her independence, so I wonder what she’s been doing the last few years since graduating high school 

She acts like she's 10 years old. I can't tell if her sisters are just as immature, or just like that around her. 

On 1/15/2022 at 1:57 PM, readheaded said:

I don't think they knew the growth plates had fused until it was too late. 

What kind of backwoods doctors was this girl seeing? They didn't notice she was tiny and not growing until she was in kindergarten and then no one figured out she wasn't going to have a massive growth spurt until she was 16? I'm not buying it. I have a friend who is tiny, she's 1 inch too tall to be considered a little person, and when we were 16 in like 1992, she had already been told that she would be on bedrest at about 2-3 months if she ever got pregnant and would twins would probably end up with a catastrophic situation. Needless to say, her son is adopted. And sure, she shopped at KidsRUs when we were in high school, but she went to college and is actually a college professor herself now.  My friend will be 45 in a few months, so how has modern medicine (and apparently common sense) somehow missed this family? 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Fostersmom

[BAForever]

19 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

She acts like she's 10 years old. I can't tell if her sisters are just as immature, or just like that around her. 

What kind of backwoods doctors was this girl seeing? They didn't notice she was tiny and not growing until she was in kindergarten and then no one figured out she wasn't going to have a massive growth spurt until she was 16? I'm no buying it. I have a friend who is tiny, she's 1 inch too tall to be considered a little person, and when we were 16 in like 1992, she had already been told that she would be on bedrest at about 2-3 months if she ever got pregnant and would twins would probably end up with a catastrophic situation. Needless to say, her son is adopted. And sure, she shopped at KidsRUs when we were in high school, but she went to college and is actually a college professor herself now.  My friend will be 45 in a few months, so how has modern medicine (and apparently common sense) somehow missed this family? 

Thought the same thing. Makes you wonder if the family was able to seek out the best in medical advice/care. Seems like when she was younger maybe more could have/should have been done.

[auntjess]

 

On 1/14/2022 at 8:46 PM, all4mom2 said:

I thought it was mentioned that she is considered to have medically induced dwarfism.  Has she sexually matured/gone through puberty?  If not, what could and would she do with a "romantic partner" other than platonically?

I wondered too.  I thought she said that the cancer treatment damaged her pituitary gland, and she didn't  mature sexually.  So she's not just small, like a little person, but not mature.
Her voice is young.  I feel very sorry for her, but don't see her having a dating/sex life.

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by auntjess

[charmed1]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:51 PM, LEILANI2 said:

Also her parents should have gotten her into being a horse jockey or on television like Gary Coleman's parents or hell maybe a stunt person or body double for television and film

I laughed way too hard at this. I’m thinking of Mickey from Seinfeld who was forced to make the difficult decision to wear lifts when the child he stood in for kept growing. RIP to Gary though. His parents did him so wrong.

I watched 10 minutes of Shauna Rae, but it felt icky and I turned it off. I’ll admit, watching her scream, “shut the hell up” did crack me up.

The whole premise of the show reminds me of that time Bugs Bunny was babysitting for an infant that was actually a babyfaced gangster and Bugs kept catching him smoking and shaving.😂

Edited January 18, 2022 by charmed1

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

The mom reminds me of Katy Segal . 

 

[all4mom2]

I still say she's either an actual child actress or has some variation of primordial dwarfism (where you're proportionally small and have that high-pitched voice).

She can't be the ONLY kid who's had this reaction to cancer treatment, if true.

[chenoa333]

14 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

She can't be the ONLY kid who's had this reaction to cancer treatment, if true.

I agree on that. Is there an actual medical term for her condition? I only watched the first episode and don't recall if it was mentioned.

[all4mom2]

The helium voice is bad enough...  But she's got that mile-a-minute, rapid fire speech like Jen Arnold.  At least she doesn't also have her machine-gun laugh.

Drinking game every time she says "independence."

[FurBabyMama]

Interesting how she admitted if they were consistent with the growth hormone, she would be about 5 feet. I wonder if the parents carry some regret for not staying more consistent with it. And I can’t believe the stress of worrying that your child’s stage 4 brain tumor would come back. 
 

she still annoys me though. I don’t know if it’s her immaturity or whether she’s just not interesting. I’m really curious what she’s been doing since high school. So far no mention of ever having a job or going to college. 

[all4mom2]

And why isn't she driving?  Judging by all the other dwarf shows, there's no reason why she shouldn't be able to.

[kathyk24]

I think Shauna's parents want to keep her a little girl. Why wouldn't you continue the growth hormone treatment? Being five feet tall is better than being under four feet tall. They also could have researched ways to help her become more independent including helping her learn to drive.

[nokat]

On 1/1/2022 at 8:19 AM, chenoa333 said:

I thought about that the first time I saw her. She's a target for predators, pervs and all weirdos. 

 

Yes, any perv will be interested, and just dating in general will make a man feel like he's always being judged as a pedophile.

[BAForever]

The sexual history really bugs. So she has never been on a date in public (assuming that means dinner, movie, sporting event), yet she has been intimate with multiple people? Not slut shaming, but I don't get that at all. She hangs out with people and has sex with them, but they never go out? I did really like her doctor. 

[chediavolo]

She pretty much said that she’s never been on a real date. I think she’s only hooked up with various men at parties or who knows what. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be this girl she’s never going to find a normal man. If there a chance she did find that prince of a man with a heart of gold what are his friends and relatives and just people on the street going to think ? like a poster said  up ahead,  any man who is seen with her is going to be seen as a pedophile. Unless maybe she were to find another little person at least ? What I don’t understand is why they didn’t go into more depth about why the hormone growth treatment was stopped what was the reason ?this makes no sense. she should get vocal coaching to get rid of that little girl voice at least. And maybe get a mature haircut do something to make yourself look older. Is she the only person that has this condition? And then secondary but very much in importance is the fact that she had brain cancer as a baby😳☹️. It seems like many cancers return. I would be more concerned about this than anything I think. 

[nokat]

1 hour ago, chediavolo said:

What I don’t understand is why they didn’t go into more depth about why the hormone growth treatment was stopped what was the reason ?

I didn't understand why it stopped either. She said she may have been 5 ft tall.

Edited January 20, 2022 by nokat

[readheaded]

13 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I think Shauna's parents want to keep her a little girl. Why wouldn't you continue the growth hormone treatment? Being five feet tall is better than being under four feet tall. They also could have researched ways to help her become more independent including helping her learn to drive.

Her mother is more crippling than her stature. It's disturbing.

[Kid]

On 1/11/2022 at 9:51 PM, LEILANI2 said:

.Her dogs are cute and it's nice to see some big dogs on a TV show, all the 600 lb people have little dogs.

 

Loved, loved, loved the dogs!!!!  

[overtherainbow]

Never seen people that own so many big dogs. I can only imagine how much work they are, but hey to each their own. 

The show is boring. It's the parents that are the ones keeping her a child. She's an adult woman, stature notwithstanding, if she wants "independence" she can go out there and get it herself, starting by getting her license. Nothing's keeping her from finding work and moving out at 22 years old. This is just another ultra stagey TLC show. 

I'm probably the minority opinion but I don't think she actually looks 8. She's clearly diminutive but her face is definitely older, she looks like she has dwarfism not like she stopped growing as a child. It'll just become more apparent in 10 years when she starts aging more. 

Edited January 22, 2022 by overtherainbow