Meet Corina M.

Corina McClure was 16 years old when she noticed her hands changing color. She originally thought she didn't wash her hands enough. Corina remembers standing there scrubbing and scrubbing her hands to remove the white spots. After realizing that washing her hands was not an effective solution, she decided to move on with her life. Corina started to believe she needed to eat more vegetables because her grandma used to fill her head with sayings about what happens when you do not eat your greens. She found getting Vitiligo as a teenager to be very difficult, and she was bullied by her peers. They called her countless cruel names. “The name I will always remember is “cow”.  Being called cow really hurt the most.” “My mom once put suntan lotion on my hand around the spots. The next day I woke up to dark rings around my white spots. I had to go to school like that.” After experiencing the bullying, Corina decided to cover her white spots as much as she possibly could.

Even though Corina has family members who also have the autoimmune disease, their reaction to her Vitiligo was to try and cure it. Her family tried to hide her spots, which never seemed to work. Her family members don’t embrace their spots as much as she does. “I try to show them that we are different in a good way and that if they would learn to love it and show it off then it would be just fine.”

As a 28 years old adult, Corina  has decided to try and embrace her condition now that she has realized she cannot cover her spots so easily.The white spots currently cover most of her body. “I still get a lot of looks and questions.” Meeting other people with Vitiligo has helped her learn to love her spots because she knows she is unique. Even though she has embraced her spots now, should a cure for vitiligo be found tomorrow, when asked if she would take it, she responded “Yes, yes a hundred times yes!”
@corinalovesayla.n.rowan
Photo by Corina McClure

author Tiffany Grant 
@itscalledvitiligo.grant 

I have been living with Vitiligo for 21 years. My first spots appeared on my knees at the age of 7. I decided to get the tattoo "It's called Vitiligo" a few years back to put a name to the disease and help educate others. Many sources, including Women's Health Magazine and the Daily Mail,  shared my story around the world, spreading awareness and breaking down the stigma of living with Vitiligo. From Brooklyn, NY, I continue to advocate and raises awareness for Vitiligo.