Twayna Mayne: Black Women

Twayna Mayne was born in London to Jamaican parents. When she was two, she and her older brothers were taken into care. Twelve years later the three of them were adopted by their foster mother, a white farmer's daughter from North Devon. Twayna and her siblings were then raised on a healthy diet of ratatouille, country walks and lots of Radio 4, but also, in a place where she was seen as not 'belonging' with a family make-up that invited stares and incomprehension, and still does.

As a teenager two things became glaringly obvious to Twayna: firstly, she knew more about The Archers and fictional farming than any self-respecting teenager should; and secondly, she needed to become 'more black'. But how was she meant to grow up to be a strong confident black woman when she'd spent most of her life being brought up by a white parent?

Twayna Mayne's Black Women is a stand-up comedy show for BBC Radio 4 exploring Black British female identity through Twayna's own experience - she is not your average black woman, but then - who is? Twayna's adoption has led her on a quest to discover her real identity in a country that often makes it hard to find black role models. This series will explore transracial adoption, identity, sexuality and colourism. Twayna is having the conversations black women across the UK are having and she's working those impassioned discussions into comedy.