Selena Gomez thinks Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus have ''found their identity''.

The 'Good for You' hitmaker and her fellow female pop stars all grew up as child stars on the Disney channel and she insists they all had to ''go through s**t'' to get where they are today.

She explained: ''Everyone has found their identity in a really interesting way. We didn't come out as these robots that looked and dressed the same.

''We had to go through our own s**t. At the end of the day, it's respecting every female artist's choice in how she expresses herself, because that's what she wants.''

And just some of the jibes the 23-year-old star refers to are the criticisms about her body after photographs of her in a pink swimsuit surfaced earlier this year.

She told Refinery 29: ''It was appalling. I had never experienced that before. I was sad. I was angry. I feel all of it. But I also got motivated.

''I don't want to become little or hurt or a victim. I want to be strong for girls. I just want them to know that there is an option of standing up for yourself.''